ZENO Glucosamine HCL & Hip and Joint Chews for Dogs – 150 pcs – Advanced Hip and Joint Support for Senior Dogs – with MSM & Green Lipped Mussel – Chicken

Great Dea
My picky dog LOVES the smell and taste, and she ate it (chicken flavor)! Great value a 1month supply for my 2 dogs.

Our dogs like these…even the picky one (and the cat likes these, too!)
These glucosamine treats have been readily accepted into the rotation during treat time. Each night at around 10pm our dogs (and one of our cats, too) knows that it is “Treat Time.” We grab a full array of different treats–hard ones, soft ones, beef, chicken, peanut butter, cheese, homemade ones, you name it–and everyone gathers on the floor and we just go in a circle, doing tricks, paw shakes, spins, rollovers…even the cat gets in on it but he is not required to do any tricks. He just gets to paw through the dish of treats and pick what he likes. Anyway, so these have been added into the mix, and I love that the dosage is so few to get the RDA…one for our Schnauzer mix and only two for our big German Shepherd/Redbone Coonhound/Staffordshire mix (the uber picky one. He is 16 and 2 months old and has gotten soooo temperamental about his dinner menu, his treat options, etc.) So at three per night, plus a few here and there for the cat, one container should last us at least a month and a half.Here is my criticism of these types of products, including this one, and that is the “other ingredients” a.k.a. the tagalongs. A few of the ingredients of which I do NOT approve include the following:1) Beets. There is absolutely no nutritional reason to include beets in a glucosamine formula for dogs, unless they are organic ONLY and either roasted or steamed. But any other processing of “beets” is bad news, folks. 99.9% of the “beets” grown in the U.S. are GMO, and this is most likely the case in China as well. We live in sugar beet country and not even three miles from a sugar beet processing plant, where these beets are taken for rendering and processed for cheap ingredients like toxic sugar and other fillers for which they use the beet pulp. And during what they call the “campaign season,” let me tell you, the air REEKS to the point where I cannot even go outside. It smells SOOOO BADLY outside that there is no way that in my lifetime I will ever touch anything that is suspected by me of having any form of this sugar beet product. In fact, we made the decision to sell our home and move far, far away and one of the HUGE reasons for that decision was the sugar beet factory smell. It smells like death in the air, and they put that crap into products like this.2) Sunflower lecithin. Sunflower lecithin is a byproduct of industrialized seed oil from sunflowers, where everything is heated to an ultra high temperature. I realize that most likely the reason sunflower lecithin is added to this product is for the inclusion of phosphatidylcholine, but there are other, better, more natural ways to add it in to a product (such as eggs) and I suspect that the reason the manufacturer is using sunflower lecithin is because it is cheap. However, no matter how many Google search results tell you that “sunflower lecithin is good for you,” it absolutely disrupts the gut microbiome, and can cause stomach upset and digestive issues, in people AND in dogs. Yes, I realize that most everyone will say, “But it is just a tiny amount, blah blah blah…” but it is a tiny amount in MANY products, almost every product it seems, and a tiny amount added up a bunch of times equals more than just a tiny amount. Just sayin’.Other than that, I think this is a almost decent supplement, although there is grand speculation as to whether or not glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin intake actually has any verifiable health benefits. I appreciate the addition of the black pepper as it can increase the absorption rate by 2,000%. Years ago I took the most stellar nutrition class in college (actually two by the same professor, one of them being “Sports Nutrition”), and one of the things I remember him telling us was that it is EXTREMELY difficult for the body to absorb any glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin supplement and that most of the supplements are ineffective and a waste of money. So, I imagine it wouldn’t be much different with dogs. Still, our dogs enjoy these little bones (the cat, too) and if it keeps them kickin’ (especially our 16-year-old grandpa dog) then I’m all for it. However, after this container is done, I most likely will not repurchase due to the “other” ingredients. That’s my opinion and I’m stickin’ to it.

Our senior dog is running again
Our 11 year old lab mix had started bunny hopping when he ran, which had slowed down to hardly ever. Our vet recommended we start him on glucosamine and omegas, all the standard supplements. He’s extremely picky about food and treats and it’s a challenge to find something he’ll take without a fuss. He actually likes these and gets excited about taking them every morning. I like that the ingredient list doesn’t have a bunch of unnecessary fillers or flavors and that the benefits are coming from natural ingredients. He’s a large dog and gets four a day, but even taking four this container lasts 5 weeks. We can usually get about two weeks out of most brands. And at $15 (the chicken flavor is currently on sale for $10) they’re less than most, too. But what I like most is that I can actually see he’s feeling better. We have a one year old golden retriever who loves little more than playing fetch. Chasing after a ball at full speed is her default setting. He doesn’t play fetch and had never done much running before at all. He’s just started running after her while she chases the ball. Then he tackles her to the ground and rolls her in the dirt, but at least he’s running. His bunny hop is less noticeable and he’s running more normally. He’s walking at a more normal pace and not his previous old man slower than molasses in January speed. We’re definitely going to continue to give him these and feel like it’s making a difference in the quality of life for our older dog. I’m going to purchase a few of the chicken flavored ones while they’re on sale and stock up. I’d definitely recommend trying these!