My Review: Phycox Canine Joint Support – The Truth Revealed
It’s time to review the Phycox Canine Joint Support, a product for dogs that looks really good at first sight. There’s no surprise it’s really popular, because it has lots of good points.
However, it’s a bit more expensive than the average, so I wanted to see if this high price is for good reason. After digging deep into Phycox’s product, I found out that it’s not as perfect as it seems. I still consider it a good product, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best choice you can make.
So let me give you both the good and the bad points about Phycox’s product.
Note: This review is only based on my opinion about it. I am not praising/ criticizing the product or its company, I am simply trying to give an honest view about all of its aspects, both the good and the bad. So I try to give a fair review.
So Let’s Get To The Review
Full Name: Canine Joint Support Soft Chews from Phycox
Quantity : 120 soft chews
Best Actual Price: $49.49
Best Place To Buy It: 1-800 PetMeds, because they have 20% off
Designed For: Dogs suffering of joint pain and arthritis. There’s only one version for every types of dogs, but the number of chews depends of their weight
My Rating: 8 out of 10
Worth Buying?: If you afford it, yes. It has great ingredients and it really works, but I think it costs way too much for a joint pain product. It has some other downsides, but they’re pretty minor compared to the price.
I personally would not buy it, because I have another recommendation that works just as well but it costs a lot less. But if you afford this price, Phycox is a pretty good choice.
What I Liked About It
- Great ingredients. I haven’t seen any joint pain product with 12 different substances as active ingredients
- One bottle lasts for a long time, at least 1-2 months
- Your dog has to take a pretty small number of chews per day, compared to other products
- You can find it in lots of online shops
- There are many positive reviews about it, so it really works for joint pain and arthritis
What I Didn’t Like About It
- It’s extremely expensive (about $1 per chew)
- There’s no chondroitin, which increases the power of glucosamine (it’s an essential ingredient for me)
- There’s an inactive ingredient called propylene glycol, which is potentially dangerous. At this point it’s considered dangerous only for cats, so for dogs it’s safe, but I personally don’t think it’s a good substance
PRO #1 – Really Good Ingredients
If you read some of my previous reviews, you probably know that ingredients are the most important factor in any supplement. It’t them that make it effective or not.
Well, I was really impressed by Phycox’s ingredient list and I mean that in the best way. It contains lots of substances (12 to be exact) and most of them are classic ingredients, so they have several studies behind.
So to be honest, a product with such an ingredient list couldn’t really be ineffective. But let me mention the most important ones briefly.
– MSM (1000 mg) – it’s great for joint flexibility. I personally think there’s no need of such a high dose (I would have preferred glucosamine instead), but it’s definitely not bad at all
– Flaxseed Oil (500 mg) – from what I know, it’s an anti-inflammatory for swollen joints
– Glucosamine HCl (500 mg) – the most important ingredient, in my opinion. It rebuilds damaged cartilages and strengthens the joints
– Proprietary Blend (319 mg) – it contains several minerals and antioxidants, so it fights inflammation
– Creatine Monohyrate (300 mg) – it’s the first time I see this ingredient, but I couldn’t find too much about it. I learned that it’s used by bodybuilders, but there are not many proofs that it can have any benefits for the joints. In fact, I even read that it can produce it itself, but there was no official information
– Turmeric (50 mg) – it’s the best natural anti-inflammatory, which I totally recommend for humans. 50 mg is pretty low, though, so I’m not sure how much it could do
There are also phycocianin, EPA, DHA, boron, selenium and vitamin E, but they all have lower doses so I don’t see them as major ingredients.
But overall, Phycox’s ingredient list looks really really well, at least on paper. Compared to other supplements, I say it’s pretty high.
PRO #2 – Lasts A Lot
Compared to human supplements, the ones for dogs tend to come in higher quantities and last for a longer time. But Phycox’s product is even better than most, from this point of view.
So one bottle has 120 chews. It costs almost $50, which is a lot, but that’s not what I want to talk about right now.
The point is that your dog has to take a pretty small quantity of chews per day. At least compared to other products. According to the label, an average-sized dog would need about 1-2 chews per day, in the first 6 weeks. The you would have to decrease the dose to half, which means that he would need 1/2-1 chews per day.
So that is really little and it’s great. It means that one bottle with 120 chews should be enough for at least 2 months, in the worst case. If you have a small dog, it could even last 4 months, if I didn’t calculate wrong.
Compared to other products, that is a really long period.
Obviously, if your dog is larger, one bottle will run out much faster. But it would still be enough for at least one month, so things aren’t bad anyway.
So from this point of view, Phycox’s product looks really good. One bottle can last for a very long while. There’s only one possible downside, the fact that you would have to store it in a great place to avoid chews’ contamination. But things should be fine, normally.
PRO #3 – It Really Works
As I said before, a product with such an ingredient list couldn’t really be ineffective. It’s practically impossible. So obviously, that wasn’t the case of Phycox’s soft chews.
And it’s not me saying that, it’s the hundreds of positive opinions and customer reviews that I found about it.
So according to them, these chews make a difference pretty soon, after about 3-4 weeks. In some cases, the results were visible even faster, but that was pretty much the average.
But that’s only what I found out from customer’s reviews. What I didn’t like is that I haven’t seen official info about this thing. I know most supplements offer this value just to help people get an idea about how fast they should see an effect in their dogs. But well, that’s not a major problem, in my opinion.
So overall, Phycox’s product isn’t a scam or anything of this kind. It works really well, it improves limping, decreases the pain and it also strengthens the joints. I don’t know how effective it is on the long term, but normally there shouldn’t be any problem.
CON #1 – No Chondroitin
As we got to the part, I”m going to be very honest and say everything I personally don’t like about this product. And the first things that caught my eye is that there’s no chondroitin among the ingredients.
Yes, I know I praised its ingredient list a lot before, and I really think it’s a very good one. But in my opinion, chondroitin should be there too. From what I know, it increases the power of glucosamine considerably, so they work much better together. That’s why I always recommend products that have both of these substances.
I know there’s a lot of MSM and Flaxseed oil, but they don’t really do what glucosamine + chondroitin do. So that’s why the lack of chondroitin is a pretty big downside for me. It’s probably the first thing I would change about Phycox’s product.
So I don’t think the high quantities of MSM and Flexseed oil can compensate for chondroitin. They do work. but they would have worked much better if they also had this substances along. That’s what I think and what I prefer to choose.
So from this point of view, I’m not into Phycox’s product.
CON #2 – Propylene Glycol Can Be Dangerous
I don’t usually care much about the inactive ingredients, because they are merely to make the chews more tasty or easier to eat. So they don’t really have any health benefits that would be worth mentioning.
But there was one ingredient that caught my eye on Phycox’s list, and not in a positive way. I’m talking about propylene glycol. This is an anti-freeze agent that is used to make the chews softer.
That doesn’t sound too good, but so far, there’s no problem.
But from what I know, it’s a dangerous substance for cats so it’s not allowed in any cat product, including food, chews or tablets. You can read more on this topic here. But what about dogs? If it can harm cats, I doubt it’s good for dogs either.
From what I found out, it’s FDA approved and there are no proofs that it could harm a dog at these doses. However, it’s still potentially dangerous, because there weren’t so many studies conducted on it. I really apologize if I’m behind with anything, but from what I know, that’s how things are this point.
So I can’t really say that the propylene glycol inside these chews is dangerous, because that would be wrong. But it’s potentially dangerous, because some people say it could produce cancer. Obviously, the doses inside these chews are very small, but even so, they’re not very good. So I would personally prefer to stay away from this ingredient, both in dogs and in humans.
You may have a different opinion on this, but I only wanted to point out these things about propylene glycol. I think it’s fair that you know everything.
CON #3 – Quite Expensive
I know I just said that you’re getting a great quantity of chews, compared to other products. And I still believe that. But I still think that almost $1 per chew is quite a lot, and I don’t think I’m the only one who says that.
In fact, things could be even worse, as there’s a 20% off discount on PetMeds. Normally, this product costs about $70, which is really a lot.
So I have to be subjective here, and I wouldn’t be willing to pay that much for a human supplements, even if it made miracles. That’s why I think it’s way too much for a dog product, even if it lasts so much.
Obviously, you are free to judge for yourself, but the price is a very big downside for Phycox’s product. At least that’s what I believe.
The #1 product I recommend for dog joint pain costs about $34 for 120 chews and in my opinion, it’s the best product for joint pain. It has great ingredients too, maybe they’re not as good as the ones from Phycox, but at least it combines glucosamine with chondroitin. So in my opinion, that’s a better combination for a better price.
But coming back to Phycox, my conclusion is that it’s really expensive and you can’t find a better price anywhere. I searched a lot, so if you think you’re luckier, you can try and see for yourself.
My Final Verdict – Is It Worth Buying?
Short answer: Phycox’s product is a very good one in terms of ingredients and relieving the pain, but it’s also really expensive. If you afford to buy it, I pretty much recommend it. But if you’re not, I have a #1 recommendation that costs much lower and it also works great. So it’s up to you.
I personally wouldn’t buy this supplement, but my main reasons are its high price and the lack of chondroitin. I’m a fan of that ingredient, together with glucosamine. So that’s why it means a lot for me to find a product that has both.
But anyway I’m not saying Phycox’s chews are bad, because that’s by no means true. Those hundreds of positive reviews could argue with me anytime, if I said that.
I am simply saying that it costs a lot and I have another choice I like better instead.
But if you’re curious about Phycox’s Joint Support, I really advise you to go for it. If your budget affords it, you’re surely not be disappointed.
