Formula & Sourcing
Every ingredient in Furava had to earn its place. Below is what is in the formula, why each one is there, and — just as importantly — what we chose to leave out.
Individual doses will be published in full once production is finalized and certificates of analysis are in hand. We would rather publish numbers we can stand behind than numbers we might have to revise.
Joint & mobility
Green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) — our lead joint ingredient. It has the strongest canine-specific evidence base of anything in this category, which is why it carries the most weight in the formula rather than sitting at a token dose.
Curcumin — in an enhanced-bioavailability form rather than a standard extract. Plain curcumin absorbs poorly. We are deliberately not using piperine (black pepper extract) to boost absorption, because it interferes with drug-metabolizing enzymes — a real concern for older dogs on medication.
MSM — well-tolerated adjunct support for joint comfort.
Glucosamine HCl and chondroitin sulfate — at supporting doses. They work through overlapping but not identical pathways to green-lipped mussel. Included as reinforcement, not as the headline.
Heart
Taurine — one of the most clinically relevant amino acids in canine cardiac health, and one of the most conspicuously absent ingredients across daily dog supplements. Its relationship to canine heart function is well documented in veterinary literature.
L-carnitine — paired with taurine deliberately. The two work through complementary mechanisms in heart muscle: taurine in calcium handling and contractility, carnitine in fatty-acid energy metabolism.
Cardiac support is not a checkbox for us. It is one of the reasons this formula exists in the shape it does.
Gut, brain, skin, and cellular health
Inulin (prebiotic fiber) and a postbiotic blend — deliberately no live probiotic cultures. Live cultures are difficult to keep viable in a dry, shelf-stable format; many products list them on the label regardless. Postbiotics give us a gut-support mechanism that survives to the bowl.
MCT powder — cognitive support. MCTs provide an alternative brain fuel pathway, which matters increasingly as dogs age.
Algae-derived EPA and DHA — chosen over fish oil. Fish oil oxidizes quickly in a dry format, degrading the product and producing off odours that cause dogs to refuse food. Algae is more stable and keeps the sourcing cleaner.
CoQ10 and vitamin E — antioxidant support. Vitamin E also protects the omega-3 fraction from oxidation, so it is doing structural work in the formula, not just occupying a line on the label.
Sodium hexametaphosphate — dental support. It binds calcium in saliva to reduce tartar mineralization. One of the few dental actives that works chemically rather than mechanically, which is what allows it to function in a powder instead of requiring a chew.
Ingredients we considered and cut
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Boswellia serrata
Real anti-inflammatory evidence, but redundant against curcumin and green-lipped mussel in the same pathway. Stacking a third anti-inflammatory would have consumed budget better spent on omega-3s.
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Quercetin
Poor oral bioavailability in dogs. At a dose we could realistically include, it would have been a label ingredient rather than a functional one.
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Hyaluronic acid
Thin evidence for oral — as opposed to injected — hyaluronic acid in dogs. Low cost, but low payoff, and not something we could defend under scrutiny.
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Alpha-lipoic acid
Cut primarily for safety. ALA has a narrower margin of safety in dogs than most of our other ingredients, and in a weight-tiered product the risk sits with the smallest dogs.
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L-theanine
A genuinely difficult cut. Decent emerging evidence for canine stress, but calm support is a different purchase occasion than longevity. Better as its own product than as a diluted inclusion here.
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Astragalus and similar trend ingredients
Popular in longevity marketing right now. The canine-specific evidence does not support the claims being made around it. We would rather have a shorter list we can defend than a longer one we cannot.
Why we publish all of this
Most supplement brands treat their formula as proprietary. We think that logic runs backwards for a product you are meant to give a dog every day for years.
A proprietary blend allows a brand to list an impressive ingredient without disclosing how little of it is present. Once you know that, it is difficult to read the practice as anything other than deliberate.
Furava will publish every ingredient at its individual dose. No blends, no hiding behind formulation confidentiality.