Innovet Animal Health

11/09/2026

Muscle loss is not the same as weight loss, and for dogs the difference changes what you should do next.

A dog can hold its weight on the scales while quietly losing muscle and gaining fat. Ideal body condition sits at 4 to 5 out of 9: ribs easy to feel under a thin covering, a waist when you look down from above, and a tuck from the side. Muscle is judged separately, by hand, over the spine, shoulder blades, skull and hindquarters.

Three things worth knowing:

1. Protein alone does not build muscle. Protein plus the movement that asks the muscle to exist does. Extra food without extra activity mostly adds fat.

2. Lean tissue rebuilds over months, not a fortnight. Weigh and body-condition score fortnightly, change one thing at a time, and give it three months before you judge.

3. If your dog is losing condition and you cannot explain why, that is a veterinary appointment first. Kidney disease, dental pain, intestinal parasites and endocrine conditions can all present this way.

A note on human protein powders: they are formulated for people and can contain ingredients that are not suitable for dogs. Use a product made for dogs instead.

At Innovet we make Health Boost+ for the cases where concentrated support genuinely helps, a small serve mixed into moist food with every active listed per serve by weight. Human-grade and Australian-made.

Written by our founder and veterinary scientist, Fabian Barcelo.

Read the full guide: https://www.innovet.com.au/blogs/news/dog-supplements-for-muscle-and-condition?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dog-supplements-for-muscle-and-condition

Health Boost+: https://www.innovet.com.au/products/health-boost-plus?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dog-supplements-for-muscle-and-condition

08/09/2026

08/09/2026

Arthritis in dogs: there is no single fix.

Owners almost always ask what to give a dog that has just been diagnosed. The honest answer is that canine osteoarthritis is managed on five fronts at once, and no single one of them does the whole job.

Body weight. Every extra kilogram goes through a sore joint on every single step. Getting weight off an overweight dog is one of the most effective things an owner can do, and it costs nothing.
Movement. Regular, moderate and consistent, rather than one long walk after five quiet days.
Veterinary care. Diagnosis and pain relief are decisions for your vet.
Home set up. Non slip runners on tiles, a supportive bed, a ramp instead of a jump into the car, nails kept short.
Nutrition. Joint actives and long chain omega 3 as an adjunct alongside the rest.

At Innovet we make joint pet supplements, so we will be clear about where they fit. Nutritional support sits beside veterinary management, weight control and sensible exercise. It does not replace pain relief in a dog that is in pain. A fair trial is six to eight weeks with everything else held steady, and dose matters more than the presence of an ingredient.

Please never give a dog human painkillers. Paracetamol, ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin are all linked to serious harm in dogs.

Read the full guide, written by our founder and veterinary scientist, Fabian Barcelo:
https://www.innovet.com.au/blogs/news/dog-arthritis-treatment-options-australia?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dog-arthritis-treatment-options-australia

General information only, not veterinary advice. If your dog is limping, stiff, or has changed how it moves, book an appointment.

06/09/2026

He learned her food. Her walks. The exact noise she makes before she is sick.

Nobody asked him to become that person. He just did.

Happy Father's Day from all of us at Innovet. Tag the one who still claims the dog is not his 🐾

04/09/2026

Medication only works when the full dose is actually taken.

For vets and pet owners, that sounds obvious. In practice, medication refusal, partial dosing, and tablets being spat out can quietly undermine treatment without anyone realising until the expected outcome simply isn’t there.

This weekend, Innovet Founder Fabian Barcelo joins Lara Shannon on Channel 10’s Pooches at Play to introduce MEDITREAT - our Australian-developed platform created to make medication administration easier, more reliable and less stressful for pets and their owners.

Developed and manufactured right here in Sydney, MEDITREAT was designed to address a very real problem in everyday animal health.

📺 Saturday at 1pm on Channel 10
📺 Repeated Sunday at 4pm on 10 Drama

A big thank you to Lara and the entire Pooches at Play team for giving us the opportunity to share MEDITREAT with pet owners across Australia.

04/09/2026

Puppy bone and joint development: what growing dogs actually need 🐾

A puppy builds its entire adult skeleton in under two years, and a giant breed can still be growing at eighteen months. Wanting to help that along is completely understandable. It is also the one area of puppy nutrition where adding something extra can do more harm than good.

On a complete and balanced puppy food, the calcium and the calcium to phosphorus ratio are already sorted. Very young puppies absorb a share of dietary calcium passively rather than regulating it the way adult dogs do, so extra calcium, bone meal or a mineral top-up is not a harmless bonus.

What genuinely protects a growing skeleton is unglamorous:

✔️ Measured meals rather than free-feeding
✔️ Keeping the puppy lean throughout growth
✔️ Self-paced play on grass rather than long forced runs on hard ground
✔️ A chat with your vet about screening and desexing timing in large breeds

Where do pet supplements fit in puppyhood? Mostly not in bone. Omega-3 for the skin barrier through coat changes, and probiotic support around the many diet changes of the first year. Joint actives are a question for later, once growth is finished.

Limping, a bunny-hopping gait, reluctance on stairs or soreness after ordinary play is a vet appointment, not a supplement decision.

Written by our founder and veterinary scientist, Fabian Barcelo. Read the full guide 👉 https://www.innovet.com.au/blogs/news/puppy-bone-and-joint-development?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=puppy-bone-and-joint-development

02/09/2026

📺 We’re hitting the big screen this weekend!

Keep an eye out for Innovet Animal Health on Channel 10, appearing on Pooches at Play and sharing what we’re all about - helping Aussie pets live happier, healthier and more active lives. 🐶💚

We’re incredibly excited to be part of the show and can’t wait for you to see us in action.

Don’t miss it this weekend on Channel 10!

02/09/2026

Does your dog actually need a supplement?

Honestly, often not. A dog on a complete and balanced diet, at a healthy weight, moving well with good skin and coat, has no nutritional hole to plug. Where dog supplements earn their place is when there is a specific reason: a large breed carrying more load through its joints, an older dog slowing on the stairs, a dull flaky coat through a change of season, a dog in recovery, a working dog with genuinely higher demands.

At Innovet we would rather you understood the category than simply bought from it, so our founder and veterinary scientist, Fabian Barcelo, has written the complete Australian guide. Swipe through for the short version: the five categories, how long to give a product before you judge it, the one number on a label that matters, and four red flags.

Read it here: https://www.innovet.com.au/blogs/news/dog-supplements-australia-guide?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dog-supplements-australia-guide

Our daily pick if you want the general purpose starting point is Health Boost+: https://www.innovet.com.au/products/health-boost-plus?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dog-supplements-australia-guide

Nutritional support only. Persistent lameness, ongoing itch, weight loss or vomiting needs a diagnosis from your vet first.

28/08/2026

Your dog spits out the tablet. Again. 🙃

Bitter tastes, strong smells and hard-to-hide pills mean a lot of pets simply refuse their medication - and missing even part of a prescribed dose can genuinely set back their recovery.

This weekend on Pooches at Play, our Founder Fabian Barcelo introduces MEDITREAT - an Australian-developed platform reimagining how pets take their medicine, and making the whole thing far less stressful for everyone involved.

📺 Saturday 1pm - Channel 10
📺 Sunday 4pm - 10 Drama
▶️ Stream Series 11 on 10.com.au

Tag someone whose dog has mastered the art of hiding a tablet in their cheek. 🐶

17/07/2026

One serve a day. Everyday wellness, covered. 🐾

Our latest guide covered how to build a daily routine that sticks. Health Boost+ is the product we built to that exact standard: a single daily serve for dogs and cats that supports immunity, gut health, skin and vitality.

Every active listed per serve by weight. Human-grade ingredients. Made in Australia. No proprietary blends, no fairy dust, no guesswork.

New to supplements? Start with your vet, then keep it simple. Written by our founder and veterinary scientist, Fabian Barcelo.

Shop Health Boost+: https://www.innovet.com.au/products/health-boost-plus?utm_source=social&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=health-boost-plus-followup