From heartbreaking to ‘heart-warming’: Brothers take Dog Years off beloved pet
The ailing health of a beloved family dog led to two brothers finding a natural cure – and the results were so staggering, they put it on the market.
Dog Years supplement founders Gus and Jack Silvester grew up with dogs, from irish terriers to Bob the boxer and Billie the rescue boxer, and more recently Mac the german wirehaired pointer.
Five years ago, it was as if the then 9-year-old Mac was giving up on life, the brothers said.
Mac’s mobility was degrading before the family’s eyes. His back legs would “lock up, and you could see he was losing a lot of weight around his rear legs and hips”, Gus said.
He’d “just fall over ... at 9 years, it’s not that old”.
Mac would really struggle during winter in particular, taking a while to get out of bed. It prompted family members to put hot water bottles on his hips, Gus said. Older brother Jack said he saw Mac visibly distressed and vomiting.
“You can see it in their eyes and see their pain.”
The brothers didn’t have to look far for Mac’s natural remedy – not only did they grow up with dogs, they grew up on a deer farm. Deer velvet for humans was “lying around the house” and, knowing its health-promoting qualities, they tried the antler product on Mac after consulting their vet, Gus said.
“We saw pretty good results.”
After more discussions with the vet, a supplement was custom-made to target Mac’s health. It included four natural key ingredients: deer velvet, green-lipped mussel, venison liver and sulphur (MSM).
“Those four have proven to be really effective and typically really safe.”
The Canterbury-made supplement has been available to the public online for nearly two years, and has recently been launched in Asia, where the people of Taiwan loved their dogs even more than Kiwis did, Gus said.
People typically had small dogs in Taiwan, he said, and the owners had “a high disposable income with less children – which is a perfect storm for us”.
Jack said overseas consumers “looked to New Zealand as a beacon of hope” and as an exporter that could be trusted.
Back at home, Mac was like a new dog on the supplement, the pair said.
“You’d think he’s a different dog,” Gus said. “He’s always wagging his tail, getting in your grill, full of energy. He goes on runs – he’s just like a 6- to 7-year-old in a 14-year-old’s body.”
Jack said the turnaround in the old dog had gone from “heartbreaking” to “heart-warming”.
The Silvesters say Mac has bounced back from acting like an old dog at 9 years old, to being like a puppy again after taking Dog Years.
“Seeing him go from old, and likely not far off being put down to turn around quite dramatically [is something we’re proud of],” he said. “And getting that same level of feedback from other people seeing the same result … it’s quite humbling – it’s just cool. “People love their pets, and to be able to help them out ... it’s hard to beat.“
Unable to stop at a joint mobility supplement, their other family german wirehaired pointer, Camo, was developing skin issues due to being allergic to “pretty much anything”, Gus said.
“Because of that, we’re working on a skin and coat product with the vets by our side. We’ll hopefully have that ready by the end of the year.”