Why “Joint Support” Broths Don’t Actually Help Giant Breed Dogs

Walk down the pet aisle (or scroll long enough online) and you’ll see it everywhere:

Supports joint health.
With glucosamine.
Functional broth for mobility.

It sounds reassuring — especially if you’re doing your best to care for a big dog whose joints carry a lot of weight every single day.

But here’s the hard truth most brands don’t talk about:

Having a joint-support ingredient on the label doesn’t mean it will actually do anything — especially for giant breeds.

Why Ingredients Alone Don’t Work Without the Right Dose

Many broths, toppers, and “functional” foods include joint-friendly ingredients like glucosamine, collagen, turmeric, or MSM.

On paper, that sounds great.

In reality, these ingredients are often included in very small, symbolic amounts — just enough to justify a marketing claim, but nowhere near enough to create a measurable impact.

This is what we call the sprinkle effect:

• A pinch of glucosamine

• A trace of collagen

• A nod to turmeric

It checks a box. It looks good on the label. But functionally? It falls short.

Why Giant Breed Dogs Need Different Joint Support

Joint support is not one-size-fits-all.

A dose that might help a 40-pound dog barely moves the needle for a 120-pound dog. Giant breeds simply require more — more daily milligrams, more thoughtful formulation, and more intention behind how ingredients work together.

This is where many products miss the mark.

They’re designed to appeal to all dogs, which usually means they’re optimized for smaller bodies and more market share. When those same formulas are given to giant breeds, the result is often disappointing.

Not because joint support doesn’t work — but because the dog was never given enough of the right ingredients to begin with.

The Problem With “Functional” Dog Food Buzzwords

The pet industry loves trends.

Right now, broths and toppers are everywhere — and hydration-focused products absolutely have a place. But hydration alone doesn’t equal joint support, and sprinkling in a joint ingredient doesn’t suddenly make a product effective for big dogs.

When companies rely on buzzwords instead of biology, dog parents are left thinking:

We tried joint support and it didn’t help.

That’s frustrating — and unfair — because the problem usually isn’t joint care itself. It’s the way it was delivered.

What Actually Makes Joint Support Work for Giant Breeds

For joint care to matter — especially in giant breeds — a few things need to be true:

• Clinically relevant dosing based on a dog’s size

• Ingredients chosen to work together, not just sound good individually

• Formulation designed specifically for big dogs, not adapted from small-dog products

• Consistency over time, with realistic expectations in months, not days

When those pieces are in place, joint support stops being a buzzword and starts being a strategy.

Why We Question the Status Quo

This company was built because what existed wasn’t good enough for big dogs.

We learned early on that doing right by giant breeds often means asking uncomfortable questions, pushing past trends, and building solutions that prioritize function over flash.

That mindset hasn’t changed.

We’re still questioning the status quo. Still listening closely to what isn’t working. Still focused on building joint support that actually makes sense for dogs over 100 pounds.

And yes — we’ve been quietly working on something new that addresses this exact gap.

More on that VERY soon.

Because big dogs don’t need sprinkled promises. They need support that actually shows up.