Zesty Paws Hip & Joint Chews: Review
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Zesty Paws Hip & Joint Chews are a daily soft chew for dogs from four months old, and the listing's main selling point is that dogs find them tasty enough to eat without being hidden in food. That makes them a candidate for dogs that refuse tablets. It also means they come with the usual caveat for chews: they are food, with calories, and they contain ingredients that will not suit every dog.
What the label lists
The composition on the listing runs as follows: turkey meal (16%), pea flakes, potato flakes, vegetable glycerine, glucosamine (9%), green lipped mussel (4.5%), eggshell membrane (4.5%), tapioca starch, chondroitin (3%), algae meal and sunflower oil. Vitamins C and E are added. The analytical constituents are 20.5% crude protein, 3.5% crude fat, 1.5% crude fibre, 10% crude ash and 22% moisture, with an energy value of 284 kcal per 100g.
Two things stand out. First, the joint ingredients are all given as percentages of the chew, which is easy to read but different from products that quote milligrams per tablet, so direct comparison with a tablet takes some care. Second, the base of the chew is turkey meal, pea and potato, which is a reason to check the label if your dog has a food sensitivity. The Amazon listing also says "rich in turkey".
Feeding amounts and how long a pack lasts
The directions are once daily, by weight, and the pack holds 90 chews.
| Dog weight | Chews per day | Days in a pack of 90 |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 15kg | 1 | 90 |
| 15 to 30kg | 2 | 45 |
| Over 30kg | 3 | 30 |
For cost per day, divide the pack price by the number of days in the last column. Check the current price on Amazon first. The point to take from the table is that the larger the dog, the less economical this format becomes. A big dog going through a pack a month is a different proposition to a terrier getting three months from one.
The calorie question
A soft chew is closer to a treat than a tablet is. The listing gives 284 kcal per 100g but does not state the weight of a single chew, so we cannot work out the calories per chew from it. The practical advice is to count the chews towards your dog's daily food allowance, especially if weight is already an issue, because extra weight puts more load on joints. If your dog is on a measured diet, ask your vet to help fit the chews in.
Claims to read with care
The listing says the ingredients are "clinically proven" and that the chews are "recommended by 9 out of 10 vets". It cites no study and does not say who the vets were. We would treat both as marketing. The listing also says the chews "can help soothe stiff joints" and support flexibility and cartilage. Read these as the maker's description of what the ingredients are for, not as results. Our piece on whether joint supplements work explains why the evidence is more modest than the packaging suggests.
The listing shows 4.4 out of 5 from 8,356 ratings at the time of writing, which is a large number of owners though a shade below the 4.6 shown for YuMOVE Essential.
How to use them
The listing says to feed once daily, as part of a balanced diet, for a minimum of four weeks for best results. That gives you a defined trial window, which is useful: put the date in your diary, then decide with your vet whether to carry on. They are not suitable for puppies under four months.
Who should choose something else
- Dogs with turkey, pea or potato sensitivities. Those are the main ingredients.
- Large dogs. Three chews a day means a 90-count pack lasts a month.
- Dogs on a strict calorie budget. Without a per-chew weight you are working with incomplete information.
- Dogs that are clearly in pain. A supplement is not a substitute for a vet appointment. If your dog is limping or struggling to get up, our guide to arthritis signs explains what to look for.
If you are choosing between a chew and a tablet, our direct comparison of YuMOVE and Zesty Paws lays out the practical differences, and the standard versus senior Zesty Paws page covers the sister product.
Our recommendation
For a small or medium dog that will not take tablets, has no turkey, pea or potato problem, and whose vet is happy for it to have a joint supplement, the Zesty Paws chews are worth a four-week trial. For a large dog, a dog watching its weight, or one with a food sensitivity, a different format will probably suit better.
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