The Flexadin Advanced Joint Care Chews for Dogs is a month's supply of soft, chicken-flavoured chews from Vetoquinol, built around undenatured type II collagen with Boswellia serrata, omega-3 and vitamin E, given as one chew a day whatever the dog weighs.

Key Features

• Undenatured type II collagen, which Vetoquinol brands Col2v and UC-II. Undenatured means the collagen has not been broken down by heat or acid, so it reaches the gut intact — that structure is what the research is built on, and it is why the dose is measured in milligrams rather than grams
• Boswellia serrata extract standardised to 85% boswellic acids, at 190 mg a chew. Boswellia is the ingredient Vetoquinol credits with the faster-acting part of the effect
• Omega-3 at 73 mg from flaxseed oil plus 16 mg from fish oil per chew
• Vitamin E at 23 mg (23 IU) a chew, as an antioxidant
• Chicken cartilage at 40 mg a chew, providing 10 mg of collagen including the undenatured type II fraction
• One chew a day whatever the animal weighs. There is no loading dose and no weight chart to work out
• 3 g soft chews, chicken flavoured. Vetoquinol's palatability testing reports 95% acceptance in dogs
• Made by Vetoquinol, a French veterinary pharmaceutical company founded in 1933 that sells through vets in more than 100 countries

Composition

• Chicken liver powder, oat flour, rye flour, brewer's yeast, glycerin, flaxseed oil, chicken cartilage powder, fish oil, pectin, sucrose, maltodextrin and calcium sulfate dihydrate
• Analytical constituents: moisture 20%, crude protein 15%, crude fat 11%, crude ash 3%, crude fibre 1.5%
• Contains chicken and fish. Not suitable for a dog on a poultry or fish exclusion diet

Giving It

• One chew a day whatever the animal weighs. There is no loading dose and no weight chart to work out
• Vetoquinol states it is for dogs over 2 years old
• Give it during or just after a meal. Supplements of this kind sit better on a full stomach
• It can be handed over as a treat or dropped into the bowl — most dogs take it as a treat
• Supplements of this kind are judged over weeks, not days. Give it a couple of months and keep notes on what the animal can actually do, because day-to-day change is easy to imagine either way
• Always leave fresh, clean drinking water available
• Store in a cool, dry place with the bag resealed. These are soft chews and they dry out once air gets to them

Good To Know

• A pet that is limping, stiff after rest, reluctant on stairs or slower on walks needs a vet to look at it first. Joint pain has several causes, and a supplement is not a diagnosis
• This is a complementary feed, not a licensed medicine. It does not replace anti-inflammatory pain relief prescribed by a vet, and it should not be used to put off a consultation
• Published trials in dogs report improvements in mobility and lameness scores with undenatured type II collagen, including one comparing it against an NSAID over 30 days. The evidence is more encouraging than for most joint supplements, but these are small studies and results vary between individual dogs
• Keeping a pet lean does more for sore joints than any supplement on the market. If your dog or cat is carrying extra weight, that is the first thing to deal with
• The pack's 95% figure is Vetoquinol's own palatability testing. It describes how many dogs ate the chew, not how many improved
• Tell your vet what you are giving. Vetoquinol states it can be used alongside glucosamine and chondroitin, but your vet should have the full picture, particularly if the animal is on medication
• Boswellia can cause loose stools in some dogs. If that happens, stop and speak to your vet
• Not intended for puppies or growing dogs. Vetoquinol's guidance is over 2 years