A client recently asked me about a product, NuVet supplement, which after a little investigation seems to be the yet another fine example of snake oil marketing. It is quite similar to a product I reviewed not that long ago, Protandim, though all quack remedies share a lot of characteristics (as my reviews of DogtorRx, Supraglan, and others illustrate). Many of these characteristics are classic warning signs of snake oil, and in the case of NuVet, these include:
A “kitchen-sink” mixture of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other ingredients, some of which are essential nutrients or have individually shown some interesting properties in test tubes and mice, but none of which shown to be safe and effective in treating or preventing any disease in dogs or cats.
This hodgepodge is advertised as treating many unrelated diseases (cataracts, Cushing’s diseases, diabetes, allergies, etc) with good results and no risks. These include:
- · Addison’s Disease
- · Allergies
- · Arthritis
- · Cataracts
- · Colitis
- · Cushing’s Disease
- · Fleas
- · Hot Spots
- · Infections
- · Itching & Scratching
- · Kidney
- · Mange
- · Seizures
- · Tear Stains
- · Tumors
Vague claims are made about treating “oxidative stress” and “inflammation”, with the implication that “anti-oxidant” and “anti-inflammatory” agents must automatically be safe and beneficial.
Glowing testimonials are offered to support the wild claims made, but not a single clinical study has been done to demonstrate the truth of any of them.
A money-back guarantee is offered, though how this compensates for the suffering or even death of your pet caused by relying on an untested and probably useless remedy isn’t really clear.
Too good to be true? You bet!
What Is It?
The two products NuVet promotes are NuVet Plus and the NuJoint Plus. The joint supplement contains glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM. I have written about these ingredients before (1, 2) and the bottom line is that human and animal research evidence strongly suggests there is no benefit to taking these products for people or animals with arthritis. Barring contamination with something toxic, which happens surprisingly often due to the lack of effective regulation of supplements, NuJoint is probably harmless and useless.
The ingredient list for NuVet is much longer:
Alfalfa (Canine formula only) Alpha Amylase Amino Acids Beta Carotene Blue Green Algae Brewer’s Yeast Cat’s Claw Chicken Liver Copper Evening Primrose Oil Iron L Methionine Magnesium Manganese Oyster Shell Papain Phosphorus Pine Bark Potassium Selenium (Yeast) Shark Cartilage Taurine (Feline formula only) Vitamin A Vitamin B Complex Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Vitamin B12 Vitamin C (Ester C™) Vitamin E Whey Protein (Feline formula only) Zinc
Talk about everything but the kitchen sink! The rationales given for the inclusion of each range from vague descriptions of what the normal role of some of the nutrients is in the body to totally unsupported assertions about supposed magical clinical benefits. I will address these claims in a moment.
The story behind the “discovery” of this elixir is either a perfect example of the naïve and unscientific thinking that should warn consumers they are being offered snake oil, or it is a carefully crafted marketing gimmick.
It all began years ago when I was noticing certain changes in my beloved furry companion, Elvis…Even though I had always cared for him and tried to give him the best food available, it became apparent that Elvis needed something more. After several trips to our veterinarian and at a cost that I don’t even want to think about, I was left to try and find a solution on my own. All the medications and changes to his diet wasn’t making any kind of significant difference and I feared my best buddy was quickly slipping away from me. I tried all kinds of vitamin and herbal supplements because I knew there was something his body needed that he wasn’t getting but I just couldn’t find the right stuff.
It occurred to me that, like my Elvis, many other dogs and cats were not taking a sufficient regimen of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants equivalent to advanced human supplements used to fight against the damaging effects of free radicals, which are a major cause of disease. I thought that the right combination, in the exact formulation, using only the highest quality of ingredients, would be required to rid pets of these damaging elements and would create a scenario for greater health and a much longer life span.
Blake G. Kirschbaum President
Mr. Kirschbaum goes on to claim his product is needed because of “obvious” deficiencies in conventional pet diets.
Because most pets lack proper nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in their diet, even when they are getting the top of the line food, NuVet® scientists understood the necessity of filling this dangerous gap. Commercial pet foods can contain harmful “by-products” and useless fillers that can be toxic to pets, causing allergies and serious diseases. This kind of atypical diet creates a scenario whereby their food may actually be creating unstable oxygen molecules known as Free Radicals.
The next step after this brilliant insight was to set up a crack team to develop and promote the magic supplement all dogs and cats apparently need.
I decided to take matters into my own hands and established NuVet Labs®. I put together a team of highly respected scientific, medical and pet industry professionals that had the same goal as I did; to create a nutritional product that would go beyond current supplements that only gave symptomatic relief. Our objective was to make a truly effective nutritional supplement that would attack the root cause of sickness and disease, eliminating the free radicals and other sources of the problem, once and for all. This became my mission and although it took our team 8 years to perfect the formula, we finally got it right. An independent laboratory tested several dogs and cats, varying in age, size, and health conditions, under the direct supervision of a team of veterinarians.
Our Advisory Team is composed of a veterinarian, a doctor of pharmacy, a pet supplement and pet food formulator, a doctor of optometry, a licensed financial advisor, a litigation insurance administrator and a senior hospital purchasing manager.
Eight years of effort dedicated to solving the root causes of all disease finally vindicated by an unpublished test in “several dogs and cats.” Wow!
I have added the emphasis above to highlight the pre-existing faith Mr. Kirshbaum evinces in the nature of his dog’s health problems (nutrient deficiency and free radical damage) and the solution (the “right” supplement), as well as the astounding arrogance and naïveté this narrative demonstrates. The very foundational principles behind this product are unproven and scientifically empty beliefs, not well-established principles of health and disease. And the claim being made is that the One True Cause of disease, and its solution, which has eluded all scientists everywhere in the world has now been cooked up by one visionary and his small team of mavericks Not a good start.
Does It Work?
The underlying theory that all these disparate chronic diseases for which scientific medicine does not have a definitive cause or cure are caused by oxidative damage due to poor diets is nonsense. While free radicals exist and do cause cellular damage and even disease, this little core of real science has been rebuilt into a bogeyman that bears no resemblance to the truth. Like all overly broad and simplistic ideas, the oxidative damage hypothesis has proven far less robust than initial enthusiasm for it would have suggested, and many purported anti-oxidants have turned out to provide little benefit in preventing or treating disease, and even in some cases have been shown to be actively harmful (e.g. 3, 4, 5).
While many of the individual ingredients in the product are essential nutrients, there is absolutely no reason to believe that they provide any health benefits except in cases in which a pet is deficient in a specific nutrient. Providing excessive vitamins and minerals to prevent or treat diseases is seldom beneficial and, again, sometimes actively harmful (e.g. 6, 7, 8). And there is extensive evidence to show that while commercial diets are by no means perfect, they are not the deleterious pile of toxins and garbage described by those who are trying to sell supplements (e.g. 9, 10).
As for the other ingredients:
Alpha Amylase: There is no truth to the claim that digestive enzymes are beneficial for normal animals (11)
Bluegreen Algae- There is no reliable evidence to support the health claims NuVet makes for this ingredient (12). And some species of bluegreen can be highly toxic, especially to dogs (13).
Brewer’sYeatst- A source of B vitamins, but not an effective flea control product (14).
Cat’s Claw- There is weak clinical evidence in humans of anti-inflammatory properties to some of the chemicals in this herb, and there are also reports of serious side-effects (15). There is no controlled research evidence to show safety or any benefits in dogs and cats.
Evening Primrose Oil- There is limited evidence for benefits treating eczema in humans, and otherwise no solid evidence of benefit for any other disease (16). It may be a good source of essential fatty acids, which could theoretically have some benefits for allergic skin disease or arthritis. Obviously, the claims concerning cholesterol and atherosclerosis are irrelevant since dogs and cats do not suffer from this disease.
Papain- There is limited evidence for benefits of papain in humans for shingles and sore throat, and no reliable evidence for any other benefits (17). There is no reason to believe it has value as a “digestive enzyme,” and the limited research on it as a hairball remedy in cats and rabbits has not shown any real benefit.
Pine Bark Extract- There is some laboratory and animal model evidence that chemicals in this extract have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity, but actual clinical benefits have not been demonstrated in human or animal clinical trials (18). As always for any chemical with real physiologic activities, there is the potential for side-effects (19). I am not aware of any clinical trials investigating the use of this ingredient in dogs or cats.
Shark Cartilage- Shark cartilage has been proven ineffective for advanced cancers of various kinds, and there is inadequate evidence to show benefit for any other condition (20, 21). The harvesting of sharks for this supplement as well as for food contributes to the decline of threatened and endangered shark species (22).
And finally, as well as most important, there appears to be absolutely no published research evidence of any kind evaluating the safety or purported benefits of this product. That is not a good sign.
Is It Safe?
As indicated for the specific ingredients above, harm can result from indiscriminate use of even essential nutrients. The amounts of each ingredient in the final product are not made available to the public, so it is impossible to evaluate the safety of the doses even for those ingredients for which safe and unsafe levels have been established.
Due to the inadequate regulation of dietary supplements and herbal products, it is impossible to ensure the accuracy of ingredient lists or the absence of dangerous contaminants, both of which have been real problems for such products (23, 24). There is also no formal system for collecting and evaluating reports of harm from such products, so the only assurance of the safety of the product is the word of the manufacturer.
Bottom Line
This product is a hodgepodge of nutrients, herbal ingredients, and nutraceuticals thrown together with no clear logic or rationale. The claims that many pet diseases are due to toxins or other deficiencies in commercial diets and to oxidative damage are unsupported by any real evidence. Only a few of the specific claims for the ingredients in the mixture are backed by research evidence, and the quality of this is generally poor and only available for humans. The advertising of the product contains many of the hallmarks of snake oil marketing, but it does not contain any research evidence at all concerning the safety or effectiveness of the product, because none appears to exist.
While I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of the manufacturer of this product, I believe it is unethical to sell a product with no research establishing the safety or efficacy of the product for any disease and with little to no research even into the safety and efficacy of its constituents. Promoting the product with unproven or outright false claims about pet nutrition and disease designed to instill fear in pet owners and with wild and ridiculous claims about the effectiveness of the product for numerous unrelated diseases is wrong regardless of how sincerely the manufacturer believes in their own pseudoscientific theories. Any responsible manufacturer of a medical therapy should be expected to demonstrate their claims through rigorous science before profiting from the desperate need of people with sick pets.
You’re mistaken. All experiences and anecdotes are unreliable, which is why they don’t count for much as evidence. However, positive anecdotes are a lot more likely to be promoted by people trying to sell something, so I will often point out that negative anecdotes exist as well. That doesn’t make anecdotes of either kind trustworthy, it just brings some balance to the discussion.
Thankyou,I have loved and shared our home with siamese cats for 35 years,and am purchasing a siamese kitten from a woman who is insisting we use nu-vet and stick to the cheap commercial foods she uses,that my vet and I consider to be junk food.I only use cold processed coconut oil in small quantities as a supplement,and regardless of benefits other oils claim,I have proof that it protects tooth dentine(for me too).
I have a 6 month old shitzu/bichon mix and am confused what to feed him? I just left an initial dog obedience class I am taking and the the instructor recommended this vitamin which is how I ended up here and he totally bashed commercial dog food. I am not going to be going out buying meat/animal parts to make my own food. I realized you probably can’t promote a certain dog food but maybe a list of recommended top five?
I am a German Shepherd breeder who feeds my dogs the best food that I can possibly afford. A few years ago I had a bitch that we continued to have thyroid issues with. My vet checked her over and did many lab tests. we also had problems with her getting pregnant. After starting her on NuVet Plus all of her thyroid symptoms went away and we had no problems getting her pregnant. After a while I thought maybe that was just a fluke so I quit giving them to her. All of her thyroid symptoms returned and on her next breeding she did not get pregnant. My other moms after being put on the supplement went from having 3 to 6 puppies in a litter now consistently have 6 to 12 puppies in the litter.
I do recommend these vitamins to my puppy buyers but I do not require them in my contract. Why would a vet or any other person run down a breeder who recommends products they feel will help and benefit their puppies? Believe me the few cents the breeders get back from this company in no way is responsible for our recommendations. My dogs are my life in my adult children think I love my dogs more than them. I do everything in my power to take the best care of my dogs and encourage others In ways to keep their dogs in optimum health as well.
I have known of many dogs who had severe allergies that have used the supplements with great results. I have also seen dogs who had allergies use the vet recommended foods and take all of the Vet steroids and medications only to be put down. I am not anti-vet I love my Vet and her care. However our whole medical and veterinary industry uses a lot of chemicals and medications that have side effects whereas more natural options do not.
What about the mercury that is used in vaccines as a preservative but mercury in fillings as well as other areas of life are known to be toxic and cause problems! Why don’t all of the vaccine companies just use other preservatives instead of the Mercury like the more health-conscious diligent ones do.
Most of the complaints about commercial pet foods are simply made up out of nothing. If you want sound, scientific advice, I would consult a veterinary nutritionist (e.g. http://www.petdiets.com or your local veterinary college). I would also suggest reading Dog Food Logic which approaches the issues and arguments surrounding pet foods in a rational. science-based way.
Sorry, but anecdotes simply don’t prove anything. For every example of someone who uses a product and thinks they see good results, there is someone else who doesn’t. Most of human history we tried to use stories and personal experiences to figure out what worked in medicine, and we failed consistently. Then we came up with the scientific method and improved our length and quality of life beyond any previous time in history. These stories just don’t mean what you think they do.
As for mercury a a preservative, no one has ever done anything to show this is harmful, and the fear of it is based on basic misconceptions about chemistry, different kinds of mercury, the doses involved, and so on.
Here is
Why Anecdotes Can’t Be Trusted
I have a cabinet full of supplements my German Shepherd can’t tolerate. I feed her as close as I can get to the Leerburg Diet. I use cooked, organic brown rice with pre-cooked chicken to get the cooked oil out and chicken/beef liver. Karma also loves raw chicken gizzards with hearts, raw steak, raw chicken gizzards and raw beef livers. I also give her cooked eggs and raw eggs mixed with the cooked food. I also give her small amounts of organic barely miso mixed with the cooked food for cleaning her blood and digestion. Karma does not tolerate any kind of dog food. I also use wakeme seaweed in cooking as it also aids digestion. What do you think?
I have not used these supplements — a breeder recommended them — so I have no opinion about them BUT your comments about commercial dog food is way off base. Vets are taught VERY LITTLE about nutrition in vet school and what they do learn is sponsored by pet food manufacturers — kind of conflict of interest if you ask me. Any vet who is willing to learn on their own and run a more holistic practice will tell you commercial dog food is not all its cracked up to be — and if for whatever reason you choose to feed commercial, at the very least you need to add vitamin supplements to make up for everything that is lacking in the food. Commercial food is heated at such a high temperature the majority of the nutrition is killed.
Funny how you think vets know little about nutrition, but you believe those vets who “learn more on their own,” which just means making up their own theories and evidence, not doing actual scientific research, are somehow more knowledgeable than those who are board-certified veterinary nutrition specialists. It sounds like you choose to trust the sources that agree with what you believe and distrust those that don’t.
Here’s an article to consider on the subject of What Do Vets Know About Nutrition?
msg323,
Commercial diets have the necessary vitamins and minerals added, they are properly formulated – adding additional vitamins/minerals to an already complete/balanced product is asking for trouble (over-supplementation which can be detrimental to a pet’s health). Unless people feed raw or home-made, then yes, proper supplementation is required, only thing is, the majority of pet owners have no idea how to do this properly, and there is no evidence these diets are equal to or better than commercial diets. Thus the recommendation of a board-certified veterinary nutritionist is appropriate when choosing those type diets.
How can you possibly say that commercial food is better for a dog that whole fresh food? It is PROCESSED — just like we should not eat processed food! Commercial foods are fully of carbs that are not necessary for dogs — and cause too much sugar in their body with can cause cancer. Sorry . . . I will stick to homemade and it’s not that difficult to figure out what would be a balanced homemade food for my dog. I blindly listened to all the commercial dog food nonsense and fed my dog the best on the market — until she started getting skin allergies and the vet wanted to put her on steroids — did my research and started feeding her homemade food. Skin problems cleared up in 3 weeks and she now has the best coat she has ever had!
Unfortunately, you’re just repeating myths and misconceptions about nutrition. “Did my research” means you read some opinions and chose to believe them, not that you’ve somehow discovered some truth the veterinary profession is either ignorant of or denies due to greed and industry brainwashing.
“Processed,” for example, is a meaningless term. Unless your dogs are digging up plants and catching live prey, everything your fed them is “processed.” What you are implying is that because commercial food comes in bags or cans and has been cooked, supplemented with micronutrients, and preserved it is somehow the equivalent to Twinkies or other unhealthy convenience foods humans eat. But commercial pet diets are formulated and tested for nutritional goals, whereas human snack foods are produced solely for visual and taste appeal. “Processed” doesn’t mean “junk,” and it’s simplistic to treat them as the same thing.
Sure, fresh foods may have advantages, and it wouldn’t surprise my if a balanced, cooked homemade diet were better for dogs than a commercial kibble. However, most homemade diets are actually nutritionally unbalanced because a haphazard collection of things that sound good for dogs, which is what most recipes are, isn’t a truly healthy diet. And any health benefits have to be proven by research, not just assumed based on ideology. My grandmother would have told you that everyone knows men should eat a lot of meat to stay strong and healthy, yet all the men in her generation diet of CVD. What seems “obvious” or “common snse” is often wrong.
No, carbs don’t cause cancer. Reality is much more complicated than that, and dietary risk factors, including carbohydrates, are part of a complex, multifactorial causality.
I always liked when certain people used scare terms like “processed” and “rendered” when dealing with dog food.
Oh and from my reading it seems that homemade diets tend to be deficient in calcium and the b vitamins mostly because home feeders tend to feed less bioavailable sources of those two micronutrients. Where in commercial food, the more easily digested and absorbed is used.
As for the Vets don’t know nutrition thing. I have the text book that I’m sure most vet programs use, at least for clinical nutrition, and its a monster. But some random person on the internet knows more about animal nutrition than say someone that went to Kansas State or Cornell Vet schools and got their DVM.
That is not to say that all Vets know their stuff. There are quacks out there too.
NuVet illegal.
Letter from FDA to NUVET LABS 7/29/2016
…The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviewed your product labeling and your websites at various internet addresses where you promote and sell these products.
…Because your productsare intended to prevent, mitigate or treat diseases in animals, they are drugs within the meaning of section 201(g)(1)(B) of the FD&C Act, [21 U.S.C. § 321 (g)(1)(B)]. Moreover, these products are new animal drugs, as defined by section 201(v) of the FD&C Act, [21 U.S.C. § 321(v)], because they are not generally recognized among experts qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of animal drugs, as safe and effective for use under the conditions prescribed, recommended, or suggested in the labeling. They are not the subject of an approved new animal drug application, conditionally approved new animal drug application, or index listing under sections 512, 571, and 572 of the FD&C Act [21 U.S.C. §§ 360b, 360ccc, and 360ccc-1]. Therefore, the products are unsafe within the meaning of section 512(a) of the FD&C Act, [21 U.S.C. § 360b(a)], and adulterated under section 501(a)(5) of the FD&C Act [21 U.S.C. § 351(a)(5)].
https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2016/ucm525952.htm
What about NuPet products?
Are these products good? My yorkie-poo mix has a lump between two front paws finger length from neck and one on the rear of right paw and another one we just notice in the belly. Also has about 4-5 pimples; two close to tail, one on right side rear paw, one small one on head, one on front right paw and right side lower next area, my 13 year old also sneeZes/coughs once in awhile, maybe just dusty in home at times as we do pets are more sensitive, just to note; no loss of energy, no loss of appetite nor loss of drinking and peez alot like 3 times daily though, but i guess house must be to hot or something any thoughts folks?
Sounds like skin tags? The one on the paw should definately be checked, as well as the others. Just in case, see what you’d vet recommends.
The veterinary dermatologist that treats my dog says that all living beings have allergies to some degree, if they are mild often no treatment is indicated.
However if the allergies are causing discomfort, consult your vet about treatment options.
I am not a vet. Hope this helps.
definitely not definately. :-/
@ Tom
PS: If I were you I would take the dog to the vet for a senior checkup (labs and whatever else your vet recommends) If you haven’t done so already.
The first step would be to get an accurate diagnosis, this doesn’t mean that you have to agree to aggressive measures, but there may be other treatment options to keep your dog comfortable.
I doubt that food supplements will have any effect on the symptoms you described.
Good luck
What do you think about a raw diet
I have posted a few of articles on this subject that hopefully will answer your question.
I have found most of your information to be very scientific and accurate. Thank you.
There was just one minor point where you say that mercury as a preservative has shown no problems. It’s a little more complicated. I checked with WHO and they say;
Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil.
Exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health problems, and is a threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life.
Mercury may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.
Mercury is considered by WHO as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern.
People are mainly exposed to methylmercury, an organic compound, when they eat fish and shellfish that contain the compound.
Methylmercury is very different to ethylmercury. Ethylmercury is used as a preservative in some vaccines and does not pose a health risk.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs361/en/
OK?
I’m not sure where what I’ve said differs from the WHO statement. There is no reliable evidence I am aware of that the thimerosal in vaccines has been linked to health problems, and that seems to be exactly what is being said in the statement you link to.
My Golden Retriever had a lump on her stomach the size of a golf ball. I took her to the vet who did a biopsy and told me it was a “highly malignant tumor that was fast growing and fatal. No use doing surgery.” Whah! Then I met this guy at a garage sale who told me about NuVet Plus K-9. He said he had a friend whose dog had tumors and he gave the Nuvet Plus K-9 tablet to the dog 3 times a day instead of the bottle recommended 1 time a day and the tumors disappeared.
That sounded too good to be true, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try it. After 1 week (yes, 1 week) the tumor had shrunk to the size of a quarter. Really! Now after a couple of months the tumor has flattened out and the area where it was growing has started to regain it hair. Amazing!
I’ve read some bad reviews on this stuff, so maybe it doesn’t work for everything, and maybe it won’t cure my dog, but it sure has made a big difference in the size of a “highly malignant fast growing” tumor.
@Al O: Don’t make the fallacy of confusing Mercury with Methylmercury or Ethylmercury. Most people just say “mercury” in vaccines or whatever; @SkeptVet meant ethylmercury.
Methylmercury makes its way through the food chain in fish, animals and humans, and can build up over time (bioaccumulate) since it’s excretion half-life is several months. At high levels, it can be toxic to people. Ethylmercury is broken down and excreted much more rapidly than methylmercury; it is excreted in a few days and does not bioaccumulate.
Since these all contain the word “mercury”, many people assume they must be the same, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
A great example along the same lines is Sodium (Na). Sodium reacts rapidly with water to form a colourless solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrogen gas (H2). The resulting solution is basic because of the dissolved hydroxide. The reaction is exothermic (aka it blows up.) But when sodium is mixed with Chloride (Cl), to form the chemical NaSl, guess what it forms? Table salt. Which does not explode when it comes in contact with water, now does it?
Or, how about Hydrogen (H)? Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, highly flammable gas, the chemical element of atomic number 1. But, when it mixes with Oxygen, it forms water – aka H2O (because it’s two hydrogen elements with one oxygen element), which is safe to drink. BUT if you add an additional oxygen element to the mix – forming H2O2, what do you get? Not water, but hydrogen peroxide (which can be unsafe to consume.)
See my point?
I have had both my French Bulldogs on the NuVet Plus K-9 Wafers since I brought them home. Honestly, I was skeptical from the get go because the breeder required the supplement/vitamin be given to the dogs to keep the health guarantee valid. I went ahead and ordered the supplements; however, I did not use the code they provided me because I certainly wasn’t going to provide them with a kick back for requiring this. My dogs have been for the most part very health (minus a few minor skin issues). I’ve kept them on the vitamins because I figured they may be doing some good. However, after reading this I am even more skeptical than ever. Trying to decide if I want to fork over another $180 for 360 Wafers which lasts me about 4 months with 3 dogs! ?
Corey, during the time you worked for Nu Vet were you aware of any dogs that had to stop taking it (Nu Vet Plus) due to problems with diarrhea?
I’m curious about any having negative reactions to NuVet?
I can’t seem to find anything but I have one of my cats acting like he’s gagging, throws up and having trouble breathing when I put it in his food.
Nothing else seems to make him react that way…
Any thoughts?
I’m thinking it’s an allergic reaction…?
I am also aware that cats can be much more sensitive to things that dogs can tolerate or do ok on.
It’s scaring me because he’s a young cat and I can’t find any other common denominator. Have tried changing his food but it all comes back up when I give him NuVet. 🙁
@Cherie – “I can’t seem to find anything but I have one of my cats acting like he’s gagging, throws up and having trouble breathing when I put it in his food.”
“It’s scaring me because he’s a young cat and I can’t find any other common denominator. Have tried changing his food but it all comes back up when I give him NuVet.”
Stop giving NuVet and get your cat to your vet! (whether it’s NuVet or not, which is useless anyway, and obviously could have undeclared ingredients in it), your cat could also have something else more serious going on. Play it safe and get kitty to your vet ASAP.
I recently tried a product called “pro power “ from Dr.Marty.
Do you know anything about this product? He has seemed to help my German Shepherd.
I am Leary if all this online sales.
Nu Vet also claims to help stop shedding. (Persons I know claim it true ) is it good for a dog not to shed? Seems normal to me. Is there anything safe to help with less shedding?
Without clinical trials (and there are none for these products) all we have is anecdote, and that’s pretty unreliable for identifying both what works or not and also what is safe or unsafe. It’s really just rolling the dice, unfortunately.
I am a breeder and I checked out the Nuvet distributors agreement a couple of years ago. The product is $55 a bottle. Breeders make, on average, $25 per bottle in the beginning. The more bottles they get their puppy buyers to buy, the higher the breeder’s cut. This is the sole reason breeders are pushing this product; to supplement their income. It has absolutely nothing to do with concern for the health of the puppies/dogs or cats. Nuvet stated large breeders (a.k.a. puppy mills) are earning well in excess of $5,000 per month forcing puppy buyers to purchase this worthless supplement or void their puppy guarantee. Nuvet is pure junk folks, plain and simple. The ingredients were chosen, not for their health benefits, but because they are the least likely ingredients to produce noticeable side effects that can be directly linked back to the product. The FDA came knocking in 2016 and now they only sell to breeders, groomers, and others in the pet business (by referral from their puppy mill breeders who are well established Nuvet sellers) and they pay a very lucrative commission for those referrals. Breeders tie the Nuvet to their health guarantee to keep the “extra income” flowing for years after the sell of the puppy. Sorry pet parents, but you’ve been sold a wooden nickel.
You are absolutely correct. Breeders are paid as little as $25 per bottle to as much as $45 per bottle. That is the sole reason they are pushing this worthless product.
I was told by my breeder that my Shiba pup should be on the stuff at all times so we had been using it from when we got him up until he was about five and a half months old. He was having on-and-off again symptoms of colitis (runny or tar-like stool with flecks of blood, urgency in bowel movements, pain or discomfort while having a movement.) We went to the vet repeatedly trying multiple things. Change in diet, antibiotics, pills for upset stomach, even removing stressors. The antibiotics helped while he was on them, but it came right back as soon as he was off them again. Finally we remembered the one thing we hadn’t changed yet and took the vitamins to the vet. He told us to throw them out and put him back on antibiotics for a week. Before the week was up, he was totally healthy and all symptoms stopped.
I don’t swear by it. It was causing colitis in my 5 month pup. Our vet literally told to me to throw it away. Said it was worthless and possibly dangerous. After we tossed it, the colitis symptoms stopped.
Pingback: NuVet Labs Owner Blake Kirschbaum Bought the $35 Million Westlake Village Compound – The New York Performing Arts Academy
Great site and thanks for the real science and evidence. I have a large 7yo 125lbs rescue who is doing well but I am always curious about the “best” food. My vet says that if the dog does well on it than that is fine. She eats Blue Buffalo with no problems. My daughter is getting a puppy in a few weeks and the breeder recommends Purina’s Pro plan. Would love your opinion – seems really hard to nail down the food thing.
I tend to agree with your vet. If the food meets the minimum standards for nutrition (e.g. the AAFCO standards) and your pet is doing well (body condition, coat quality, stool quality, energy, etc.), then the diet is probably fine for that dog. Apart from specific disease states (e.g. chronic kidney disease), most dogs can thrive on a variety of diets. For more detail, you might take a look at Dog Food Logic.