Reviews (1)

I have never used Dinovite but I have attempted more than once over the years to contact Mr. Ed Lukacevic (developer and president of Dinovite). Each time, I was assured by the representative that he would get back to me but he never did so.

I suspect he made a decision not to respond based on what I told his representative I wanted to discuss. I first meant to ask whether there had been any properly designed independent studies of Dinovite that demonstrated a benefit for dogs (I see nothing of that sort on the website). Other questions I have had about the product’s claims follow.

The testimonials one hears on national radio ads and those published on various comment/rating websites are of little value largely because people make unsupported assumptions as to the benefits of Dinovite. For example, someone will say “I have kept my dogs healthy with Dinovite all their lives” or “my dog’s itching and scratching resolved after using Dinovite.”

Few people realize that testimonials are of little value when it comes to evaluating health claims. This is amply explained in this article titled “Why Bogus Therapies Often Seem to Work” by Barry Beyerstein. (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/altbelief.html)

Now, this is not to say that Dinovite might contain some nutrients that could help a dog that has a deficiency but, apart from deficiency symptoms that are well-documented in the veterinarian literature, it doesn’t make much sense to be providing supplements that cost way more than what one can get at a pet store. Additionally, supplements might do more harm than good in the same way this has been of recent shown for humans.

One of the most irritating things that I have been hearing over and over in Dinovite’s radio advertising is a statement from one of the “testifiers” (the radio ads mostly feature what may be snippets of recorded telephone calls to Dinovite’s customer line as opposed to anything remotely resembling hard science): “Dinovite has the digestive enzymes that are cooked out of regular dog food.” The need for digestive enzyme supplementation in humans is a common misconception that marketers use to sell tens of millions of dollars worth of such supplements. However, according to the below link, digestive enzyme deficiency is very rare. Additionally, vegetable enzymes (these are what are usually sold) are of no value since they are digested as protein.

One would presume that digestive enzyme deficiency is as rare in dogs as it is in humans but a vet would have to weigh in on that to be certain since I am a layman and there is not an animal version of “quackwatch.com” to which one may easily refer.

I suspect Mr. Lukacevic and his wife Cindy may be: 1) lacking in critical thinking skills, 2) willfully blinded by their financial success, or 3) perhaps not really very honest people. Something that makes any of the three options especially repulsive to me is that there is a large sign over the door of their headquarters building in Crittendon, KY inscribed with “Glory to God” (http://www.dinovite.com/contacts). I see this inscription as an advertisement to the world that these folks are evangelical Christians and would seem to have the effect of saying to the public “look, we are good Christians who will provide to you a product with proven value that is well worth the price you pay.”

In light of the above, I would very much welcome Mr. Lukacevic’s response to this comment after so many years of avoiding confrontation (I will also post this to their contact page). I have reason to believe that others, even veterinarians, have attempted to contact him (someone who worked at Dinovite actually told me that vets have called to complain about Dinovite’s claims). Veterinarians of course would have a much better handle on this subject than I, a simple layman in the engineering field.

One last comment. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, having an A rating with the BBB says nothing about the value of a business’s product. The rating speaks only to the way a company handles customer complaints such as billing, guarantees, advertising, etc. If, for example, a product has nebulous claims with a money-back guarantee and they follow their stated policies, there is little chance they will lose their BBB rating even if the product has absolutely no value.