Glyco-Flex III Joint Supplements (soft chews)

It took me forever to find a place that would ship these from the US to Canada, but they came in the mail today. We purchased them to help with Jaida's hip dysplasia and associated joint pain. The manufacturer is Vetri-Science.

First off, I'll say that buying them online was WAAAAAY cheaper than buying similar supplements at the vet. We got them off ebay from the "entirelypetsstore", a year's worth for just over $100 including shipping.

The ingredients:

Recommended for those that need maximum joint and connective tissue support. GLYCO-FLEX® III represents Stage III of our comprehensive stage of life program for joint support. It’s also recommended by veterinarians for geriatric and working dogs as well as a follow-up to orthopedic surgery.

Active Ingredients Per Tablet or 2 Soft Chews:
Glucosamine HCl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1000 mg
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). . . . . . . . . . . .1000 mg
Perna Canaliculus
(GlycOmega™ brand Green Lipped Mussel) . . . . . .600 mg
N,N-Dimethylglycine HCl (DMG) . . . . . . . . . . .100 mg
Vitamin E (dl-alpha Tocopheryl Acetate). . . . . . .50 IU
Calcium Ascorbate (a source of Vitamin C) Tablet . .30 mg
Ascorbic Acid (Stay-C®) Soft Chew. . . . . . . . . .24 mg
Manganese (as Manganese Amino Acid Chelate) Tablet. 10 mg
Manganese (as Mn Proteinate) Soft Chew . . . . . . .10 mg
Grape Seed Extract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 mg
L-Glutathione . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 mg
Selenium (as Sodium Selenite) . . . . . . . . . .0.002 mg

Tablet Inactive Ingredients: brewers yeast, cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, natural imitation roast chicken flavor, silicon dioxide, stearic acid.

Soft Chew Inactive Ingredients: brewers yeast, canola oil, chicken liver flavor, glycerin, natural mixed tocopherols, propionic acid, soy lecithin, Sursweet™ (maltodextrin, sodium alginate and calcium sulfate), whey.

The manufacturer's website:

http://www.vetriscience.com/glyco-flex-III.php

I'm mainly starting this thread to remind me to do a review on the results after we complete the loading dose. All the reviews I've read about the product have been really favourable, and I've had a few breeders of large-breed working dogs recommend it to me. We'll see what happens.

I'm really interested to know what the savants think. I do not have much idea on ingredients, looks good to me. Thanks for posting. It sure is way cheaper by far.

Well, in the very short term, I can say that the taste must be good...she's only been on it for a few days now, one chewy with each meal, and she gets all concerned and hovering and pestery if we don't give it like IMMEDIATELY after her meal. I think this is a new routine she really enjoys, she definitely looks forward to her new "treats". They really STINK so they must be nummy:D

Thanks bendyfoot, I would be interested to know in a month from now if you are noticing any difference :thumbs up

If you see any difference in movement I would like to know also. Since Lukka had her acl surgery in Jan. she still limps and I know there must be pain in that darn knee of hers. Also she does have mild HD. Look forward to your reviews.
What about the Glyco-Flex I, II are they not as good?

Thanks for sharing this - also interested to see what results you get. My in-laws dog is getting quite sore these days and we have to start thinking about a good supplement for them to give her. I never would have thought of trying to find something cheaper on e-bay!

Well, I guess it's been roughly a month since we started Jaida on the Glyco-flex...I missed the other postings on this thread, sorry guys!

To answer one question, there's nothing wrong with Glyco-flex 1 or 2, they just have lower doses of the supplements, and different ingredients to some extent. The III version is meant for dogs that need significant joint support, whereas I is used more as a preventative than anything else.

So, what's the verdict after 4 weeks? So far, I'm happy with them. They're very palatable and easy to give. I decided to double her loading dose after the first two weeks from 2 tabs to 4 a day since her weight was right at the edge between the two doses (and since she's missing a leg, she probably would be closer to the higher dose anyways), once I knew her tummy could handle it. No stomach upset at all.

As for the stiffness/limping? I think that it has improved. I find she is not as stiff-legged nor does she swing out her bad leg as much after a good walk, and I haven't seen any significant stiffness in the morning anymore, nor have I seen her uncomfortable at bedtime. No hesitation to go up stairs, which we had been starting to see. She does still limp, but then the joint is still not repaired, so...

I'm going to keep her on this high dose for another month and see how it goes. Overall, I do find that this is improving her range of motion and recovery from activity. She had a big walk in muddy trails yesterday, and chased frisbees and balls for about an hour as well, and she is fine today. We'll keep this up for sure.

Glad to hear it's going well! :thumbs up It's awesome to hear that your dog can enjoy so much fun stuff without suffering for it the next day :D

So I guess my next question is going to be where do you purchase them, online or in a store?

I bought them on ebay, I don't think you can buy them in Canada otherwise...here's the link to the ebay store of the company I used.

http://stores.ebay.com/Entirely-Pets-Med-Store

the seller was professional, fast, and sent a free container of treats along with my order, bonus!!!

Thanks Bendyfoot, Cocoa who is 14 in a couple of months is getting stiff in her back end, she is on Glucosomine so I think I will try her on these. I am just opening a thread in Pet Health regarding a friend of my daughter's who has a tri-pod with her other weight bearing hip deteriorating, I'm going to give this information to her :thumbs up

Bendyfoot - have you noticed any significant improvement in Jaida now that she has been on this supplement for a couple of months?

Bendyfoot, is Jaida still doing well on these? Also, do you have to pay duty on them or just the shipping and exchange rate? And how long does it take to get here? :)

I have no complaints...as per Jaida's recent specialist appointment, it turns out we're not dealing with bad joints so much as bad/painful musculature, but we still give the joint supplements. She hasn't done any balking at the steps at all since she's been on them, and that was my big worry...so they are helping and we'll continue to use them. It was just shipping and exchange and I think we had them within a week or two at most. :)

Thanks for the update Bendyfoot. :)

One thing I noticed in the ingredients is that there is no chondriton? Did I read correctly?

When Hazel had her surgery, the ortho vet said that she would need a g/c supplement and said that Gyco-Flex and Cosequin are the only supplements that have consistently passed tests to make sure that what the label says is in the supplement is actually in the supplement - but I thought that Gyco-Flex was the human form?

After Hazel had been on the cosequin for a while, I saw that a new formula was being made available (called Dasuquin) that had the MSM and also ASU's (avocado-soybean unsaponifables). I read a research study that concluded the addition of the ASU's & the MSM were much more effective than g/c by themselves. Hazel does not limp at all, but since she didn't limp once she had healed from her surgery, I cannot truly claim that this is due to the supplement or the surgery itself. She will stay on the supplement for the rest of her life, so as she ages, I would imagine that I'll know whether the supplement has done its job. I do know that while the ortho vet warned us that her other knee is extremely likely to blow the ACL, that normally happens fairly quickly after one knee goes - and it's been over a year since her surgery, and over 2 years since she first blew out her knee with no indications of any trouble in the other leg.