Hyaluronic acid has an excellent safety profile and is widely used in both human and veterinary medicine. Since it’s a naturally occurring molecule in the joints, skin, and connective tissues, the body already recognises it and oral supplementation is generally very well tolerated even over long periods.
Clinical research and real-world use have shown minimal side effects and adverse reactions are extremely rare. When they do occur, they’re usually mild and temporary, such as slight digestive upset during the adjustment phase. Overall, hyaluronic acid is considered a gentle and safe option for supporting joint health in dogs.
At the start, a small proportion of dogs (1:500) struggle with the full amount of HA straight away and require a more gradual increase over 2 weeks in order to acclimatise their tummy to digesting HA. In this group, incomplete digestion of HA leaves raw hyaluronic acid in the gut where it retains lots of water. These highly dilute gut contents then exit as diarrhoea or sickness. Even if your dog isn’t sick or doesn’t have diarrhoea, this excess gut volume can induce a nausea. Stopping Zooomy should bring about a rapid improvement in your dog’s demeanour.
We understand how worrying and frustrating it can be to see your dog have an upset stomach or diarrhoea—especially when you hoped they would feel better. If this has happened, please be reassured, your dog’s digestive system may take a little more time to adjust to this new supplement and it's likely to be a temporary blip—nothing more. With a little patience and care, they usually settle quickly and your dog can go on to benefit from the joint and mobility support hyaluronic acid can provide.
Once Zooomy is stopped, digestive side effects resolve quickly without treatment and visits to the vet are not required. The HA is rapidly removed from the gut and has a short half life in the body. Once you stop Zooomy signs of illness should resolve rapidly and within 2 days.
The following programme is a recommendation on how to gradually increase how much you give to allow your dog to adjust to Zooomy:
- Initially stop Zooomy until your dog has recovered.
- Restart Zooomy at a half label amount once a day in the morning only
- Repeat for 5 days, assuming all is well progress to the next stage
- Add in a half amount in the evening as well as the morning
- Repeat for 5 days, assuming all is well progress to the next stage
- Increase the morning feed to a full amount but keep the evening at a half
- Repeat for 5 days, assuming all is well progress to the next stage
- Give the full amount morning and evening
At any stage, if signs of sickness return please drop back and repeat the previous stage before progressing. Owners may wish to take an even more gradual approach to introducing Zooomy or even start at a lower amount (quarter amount) if their dog has particularly strong adverse results after starting Zooomy.
If you want to talk this through or would benefit from further advice please email info@zooomydog.com or call on 01494 919567