Dinovite

We have a 7 year old white lab. Very healthy as a rule and I have given her cod liver oil capsules for the last few years for extreme itching. It helped somewhat but she still rubbed up against the chainlink fence until she had grey all over her. And of course, all the other scratching of ears, etc. We had her at the vet several times and bought the steroid/antibiotic method and it would help for a few days but not worth the side affects of the steroids. We spent a lot of money on this.

I heard about Dinovite on the Christian station I listen to and thought many times about calling. Finally, I Googled them and almost backed out because of the price. However, I went ahead and ordered it for large dogs and I can honestly say that she is 80% better.

She still scratches a little but no more open sores and her coat is much better. She is about half way through the first box and I plan to keep her on this, especially during the hot, sweaty months, but probably all year and I will just look for coupons.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Sorry to say, I was hopeful but Dinovite did not stop my labrador from licking nor shedding hair. It merely softened his coat. I used an entire box for three months and avoided other treats. Poor dog's problem actually got worse! He licked hair off and groin area turned tough and blackened. I should have simply gone to the vet. That said, I tried steroid shot and do NOT recommend. It did not help my labrador either. Best bet is to avoid common food allergens to Labs such as poultry, grain and corn. Antibiotics helped.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

My 3 year old Pomeranian had an anaphylactic reaction to Dinovite. That is to say his trachea closed off and he had to struggle to breathe. It was very serious and had I not administered Benadryl, it may have been deadly. I am sure this is an isolated incident, but let this be a warning to anyone considering Dinovite as a supplement to their dogs food regimen. I believe it would be prudent to give a little bit to your pet and closely monitor him/her for any signs of breathing difficulties. Also keep Benadryl or some other antihistamine handy.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I've used Dinovite for my little Maltese for about 4 years now. He is 10 years old and a fairly picky eater who wouldn't eat dry food ever. I bought hundreds of dollars of different foods and tubes of vitamin supplements to keep him healthy. He developed a tummy rash about five years ago and I was putting things like diaper rash cream, wound cleaner, etc. and it worked but I was afraid of him licking things like that. I tried Dinovite and while he is starting to show signs of slowing down for his age, he is smart, clear eyed, hears well, perky smart and alert. He loves the food I make for him but my security blanket is the Dinovite. The article from the man who never used Dinovite is rubbish. He contradicts all who gave testimonials but has nothing but acrimony for those of us who actually see differences in our pets. I signed on to re-order Dinovite and I bought three boxes last Christmas for my family members to use on their aging dogs. I would definitely recommend.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I purchased the Dinovite Cat Formula and Nomo Flea. The Fish Oil Supplement and Lick-O-Chops was thrown in for free along with some of the Nub-O-Nub chicken treats.

First off -- ALL these products were superb. I have two cats, one is 17 and the other not even 2 years old yet. The younger one actually ate the dry Dinovite powder out of the dish before I even had a chance to mix it with the wet food. The 17 year old did not seem to like it at first, but got used to a quarter dose in her food each day or two. Now her coat is now nicer, her skin clearer with fewer lingering bites and scans from fleas, she seems more healthy, she seems happier, more active and mobile than she has in years.

The flea treatment did not seem to work initially. The directions are a bit vague. But when I used it as recommended, pushed her fur forward and then applied it to key areas like around the neck and at the base of her tail, I noticed when flea combing her that the fleas and eggs were virtually ALL gone with 3-4 days.

My cats love these treats which are competitively priced, and they got used to the liquid supplements too over the following week or so.

So why would people have complaints at all if these products work so well? Here is what I think. What are companies in business to do? Make money, obviously. And how do they make it? By selling their product in greater volume. So I noticed when upping the dosage to one full scoop, my elderly cat's stool began to soften. Whether or not this was due to the supplement or her licking off the natural flea treatment I cannot say. BUT the bottom line is, for my cats at least, LESS of the product that the manufacturer recommends works better that the recommended dose.

Part of the reason cats get fleas is due to low vitamin levels. With the combination of the Dinovite supplement and their natural flea spray, my cats are both definitely more happy, healthy, and flea-free than ever before. This is Southern Texas, and down here the fleas can get BAD any time of year, but ESPECIALLY in summer when my shipment arrived.

That is my experience -- "less is more" with this stuff. The manufacturer may be recommending higher doses partly for the sake of moving more product. The price is not cheap for the supplements or the flea spray, but both definitely are outstanding products that perform better than any I have tried lately.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I have never used Dinovite but I have attempted more than once over the years to contact Mr. Ed Lukacevic (developer and president of Dinovite). Each time, I was assured by the representative that he would get back to me but he never did so.

I suspect he made a decision not to respond based on what I told his representative I wanted to discuss. I first meant to ask whether there had been any properly designed independent studies of Dinovite that demonstrated a benefit for dogs (I see nothing of that sort on the website). Other questions I have had about the product’s claims follow.

The testimonials one hears on national radio ads and those published on various comment/rating websites are of little value largely because people make unsupported assumptions as to the benefits of Dinovite. For example, someone will say “I have kept my dogs healthy with Dinovite all their lives” or “my dog’s itching and scratching resolved after using Dinovite.”

Few people realize that testimonials are of little value when it comes to evaluating health claims. This is amply explained in this article titled “Why Bogus Therapies Often Seem to Work” by Barry Beyerstein. (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/altbelief.html)

Now, this is not to say that Dinovite might contain some nutrients that could help a dog that has a deficiency but, apart from deficiency symptoms that are well-documented in the veterinarian literature, it doesn’t make much sense to be providing supplements that cost way more than what one can get at a pet store. Additionally, supplements might do more harm than good in the same way this has been of recent shown for humans.

One of the most irritating things that I have been hearing over and over in Dinovite’s radio advertising is a statement from one of the “testifiers” (the radio ads mostly feature what may be snippets of recorded telephone calls to Dinovite’s customer line as opposed to anything remotely resembling hard science): “Dinovite has the digestive enzymes that are cooked out of regular dog food.” The need for digestive enzyme supplementation in humans is a common misconception that marketers use to sell tens of millions of dollars worth of such supplements. However, according to the below link, digestive enzyme deficiency is very rare. Additionally, vegetable enzymes (these are what are usually sold) are of no value since they are digested as protein.

One would presume that digestive enzyme deficiency is as rare in dogs as it is in humans but a vet would have to weigh in on that to be certain since I am a layman and there is not an animal version of “quackwatch.com” to which one may easily refer.

I suspect Mr. Lukacevic and his wife Cindy may be: 1) lacking in critical thinking skills, 2) willfully blinded by their financial success, or 3) perhaps not really very honest people. Something that makes any of the three options especially repulsive to me is that there is a large sign over the door of their headquarters building in Crittendon, KY inscribed with “Glory to God” (http://www.dinovite.com/contacts). I see this inscription as an advertisement to the world that these folks are evangelical Christians and would seem to have the effect of saying to the public “look, we are good Christians who will provide to you a product with proven value that is well worth the price you pay.”

In light of the above, I would very much welcome Mr. Lukacevic’s response to this comment after so many years of avoiding confrontation (I will also post this to their contact page). I have reason to believe that others, even veterinarians, have attempted to contact him (someone who worked at Dinovite actually told me that vets have called to complain about Dinovite’s claims). Veterinarians of course would have a much better handle on this subject than I, a simple layman in the engineering field.

One last comment. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, having an A rating with the BBB says nothing about the value of a business’s product. The rating speaks only to the way a company handles customer complaints such as billing, guarantees, advertising, etc. If, for example, a product has nebulous claims with a money-back guarantee and they follow their stated policies, there is little chance they will lose their BBB rating even if the product has absolutely no value.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend