Dermagic Europe stocks the full Mendota Pet natural supplement range for dogs — six products covering joints, mobility, digestion, skin and coat, ear hygiene and destructive chewing. This guide covers what each one contains, who it is for, and exactly how much to give by body weight.
Dermagic has always been a topical business. Sulphur, aloe, shea butter — things you put on a dog. But skin is fed from the inside as well as treated from the outside, and a dog that cannot digest its food properly will keep producing a poor coat no matter what you bathe it in.
That is the gap the Mendota range fills.
Who Mendota Pet are
Mendota Pet manufactures natural pet health products in the United States under the Retrieve Health name, founded by Tim Fisher. The formulations follow a consistent philosophy that is worth understanding before you pick one:
- Single-purpose formulas. Each product does one job. There is no everything-in-one multi-supplement in the range.
- Named actives at stated inclusion rates. You can read exactly what is in the bottle and how much.
- The processing matters as much as the ingredient. Mendota’s own published argument for its glucosamine is not that it contains glucosamine — everyone’s does — but that it is micronised finely enough to actually be absorbed. More on that below.
- Made in the USA, and imported into the EU by Dermagic Europe.
Browse the full line on the store: Mendota Supplements at Dermagic Europe.
The whole range at a glance
| Product | Format | What it is for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retrieve Skin & Coat | 14 oz. | Omega 3, 6 & 9 — shedding, flaking, dull coat | €35.99 |
| Retrieve Glucosamine 2X | 60 chewable tablets | Cartilage, joint lubrication, mobility | €24.99 |
| Retrieve Aches & Discomfort | 60 chewable tablets | Aspirin-free relief for stiffness and everyday aches | €26.99 |
| Retrieve Enzymes, Food & Allergy Relief | 4 oz. | Digestion, stool consistency, “food allergy” symptoms | €32.99 |
| Retrieve Chew Stopper | 8 oz. spray | Stops chewing of furniture, paws, bandages | €18.99 |
| Natural Ear Wash | 4 oz. | Wax, debris, post-swim and post-bath ear hygiene | €18.99 |
Four of these go in the dog, two go on the dog. All six are formulated for dogs, not cats — see the safety section at the end.
Which one does my dog need?
| What you are seeing | Start with |
|---|---|
| Heavy shedding, dandruff flakes, dry dull coat | Retrieve Skin & Coat |
| Slow to rise, stiff after rest, avoiding stairs or the car | Retrieve Glucosamine 2X |
| Visible discomfort, post-surgical recovery, arthritic older dog | Retrieve Aches & Discomfort |
| Loose or inconsistent stools, wind, diet change, “food allergy” diagnosis | Retrieve Enzymes |
| Waxy or dirty ears, a dog that swims, after every bath | Natural Ear Wash |
| Chewed furniture, chewed paws, bandages pulled off | Retrieve Chew Stopper |
Retrieve Skin & Coat — Omega 3, 6 and 9
Skin is your dog’s largest organ. It is the barrier against injury and infection, it regulates internal temperature, and it acts as a reservoir for certain nutrients. It is also the first thing to look poor when the diet is short of essential fatty acids.
Retrieve Skin & Coat is an Omega 3, 6 and 9 dietary supplement built to address that directly. Mendota’s stated effects are:
- Decreased shedding
- Removal of dry skin flakes
- Reduced excessive scratching
- Improved overall wellness
This is the Mendota product that pairs most naturally with Dermagic’s own work. If you are running a topical protocol on a dog with chronic skin allergies or a dull winter coat, the omega oils are what the body uses to rebuild the skin barrier underneath the treatment.
Give it time. Coat quality is a function of the hair growth cycle, and you are typically looking at six to eight weeks before the difference is obvious in the brush.
Feed the coat
Retrieve Skin & Coat — 14 oz.
View on Dermagic →Retrieve Glucosamine 2X — joints and cartilage
The most technically interesting product in the range, because Mendota makes an argument most joint supplements do not.
Active ingredients: Glucosamine HCL 99% (shellfish source), Yucca Schidigera, Chondroitin Sulfate, Calcium Ascorbate (from Ester-C), d-Alpha Tocopheryl (Vitamin E), Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
What it is claimed to do: relieve swelling and inflammation in the joints, support repair of connective tissue such as cartilage and ligaments, help lubricate hips and joints, and protect against cellular damage through its antioxidants.
Why particle size is the whole argument
Glucosamine trials are notoriously inconsistent — some show a clear benefit, others show almost none. Mendota’s explanation is that the trials rarely record how the glucosamine was prepared, and that this is the variable that decides whether the dog can use it at all.
There are three ways to reduce glucosamine to a usable particle:
- Crushing and cutting — hammer-type impact and blades. Cheap, and it leaves particles so large that the dog’s ability to break them down into a usable amino sugar is very poor. It still allows “contains glucosamine” on the label.
- Traditional micronisation — milling and grinding in rotating drums with steel spheres. Better.
- Supercritical fluid micronisation — the modern pharmaceutical method, dissolving the solid under high pressure and temperature. Particles come out a few hundred nanometres across. Mendota cites absorption rates thousands of times better than crushing and hundreds of times better than grinding.
Retrieve Glucosamine 2X is built on the third method. Whether or not you accept the multipliers, the underlying point is sound and rarely made: with glucosamine, the number on the label tells you very little on its own.
The chondroitin is sourced from bovine trachea, and is included because chondroitin keeps cartilage healthy by absorbing fluid — which is the mechanism behind glucosamine’s shock-absorbing effect as the joint loads and unloads with every step.
Dosing — Retrieve Glucosamine 2X
Chewable tablets, 60 per bottle. Note the three-week loading phase, then a lower maintenance dose.
| Dog weight | First 3 weeks | Maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 40 lb (18 kg) | 1 tablet | ½ tablet |
| 41–80 lb (18–36 kg) | 2 tablets | 1 tablet |
| 81 lb+ (37 kg+) | 4 tablets | 2 tablets |
For use in dogs only. Contains shellfish-derived glucosamine, plus fish oil, non-fat dry milk and whey among the inactive ingredients — avoid if your dog reacts to shellfish or dairy.
If you have read our older post on GlycanAid, Retrieve Glucosamine 2X is the joint supplement currently stocked in Europe.
Support the joints
Retrieve Glucosamine 2X — 60 Tablets
View on Dermagic →Retrieve Aches & Discomfort — aspirin-free relief
Where Glucosamine 2X works on the structure of the joint over weeks, this one addresses the comfort side.
Active ingredients: White Willow Bark Extract, MSM, Yucca Schidigera.
White willow is the original source of salicin — the compound that Bayer synthesised into acetylsalicylic acid and sold as aspirin in the 1800s. Its use as an anti-inflammatory goes back to Hippocrates, who advised patients to chew the bark for fever and inflammation.
Mendota’s case for the herb over the drug is that willow bark retains active compounds that were left behind when aspirin was isolated. Research at Cairo University found a willow bark extract as effective as acetylsalicylic acid at reducing inflammation despite a lower salicin content, and other work has identified antioxidant, fever-reducing, antiseptic and immune-supporting components in the bark. The practical trade-off is that willow tends to take longer to take effect than aspirin, but the effect lasts longer.
The formula is rounded out with Yucca, a herb used for inflammation and pain control that blocks the release of toxins from the intestines, and pharmaceutical-grade MSM, added to improve connective tissue, help cells retain elasticity, reduce swelling and speed recovery.
Mendota positions it as an option where owners are uneasy about aspirin: it does not cause the stomach irritation aspirin is known for, does not thin the blood, and is stated not to affect the liver or kidneys. That last point is why it is often used post-surgically.
Dosing — Retrieve Aches & Discomfort
Chewable tablets, 60 per bottle. Twice daily.
| Dog weight | Dose, twice daily |
|---|---|
| Up to 26 lb (12 kg) | ½ tablet |
| 27–50 lb (12–23 kg) | 1 tablet |
| 51–99 lb (23–45 kg) | 2 tablets |
| 100 lb+ (45 kg+) | 3 tablets |
For dogs only — do not feed to cats. Mendota states white willow bark can safely be given long-term at the recommended dose; higher-than-recommended doses may cause stomach upset or nausea.
Talk to your vet first. This is a pharmacologically active herb, not an inert supplement. That is precisely why it works — and why it needs a conversation with your vet if your dog is already on an NSAID such as carprofen, is pregnant, has a bleeding disorder, or is booked for surgery.
Ease the aches
Retrieve Aches & Discomfort — 60 Tablets
View on Dermagic →Retrieve Enzymes, Food & Allergy Relief
This is the product most likely to surprise you, because it challenges a diagnosis a lot of owners have already accepted.
Active ingredients: Alpha-Amylase (Aspergillus oryzae var.), Lipase (Aspergillus niger var.), Cellulase (Trichoderma longibrachiatum), Protease (Ananas comosus), and Probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus) — a concentrated enzyme blend from vegetable sources with live, viable microorganisms.
The food allergy argument
There are four main digestive enzymes, and each acts on one thing only — one cannot substitute for another:
| Enzyme | Breaks down | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Amylase | Carbohydrates | Quick energy |
| Protease | Protein | Muscle building |
| Cellulase | Fibre | Consistent stools |
| Lipase | Fats | Long-term energy |
Dogs produce these themselves — but, Mendota argues, not in the quantities needed for modern commercial food, which has been pushed to ever-higher protein, fat and fibre levels. Historically some enzymes came from the food itself. They no longer do: live digestive enzymes are destroyed above roughly 118–170°F, so they cannot survive commercial pet food manufacturing.
The consequence is a dog eating a nutritionally complete diet that it cannot fully break down. The nutrients needed for healthy skin, organs and coat pass through undigested — and the resulting symptoms look very much like food allergy.
There is a second effect. The body appears to hold a finite reservoir of enzymes; if organs and glands are continually raided to supply digestion, the system eventually breaks down. Supplementing spares that reserve and reduces overall stress on the body, and the enzymes work alongside coenzymes, vitamins and minerals to improve their utilisation too.
Practically, it is a powder you top-feed over your dog’s normal food — no diet change, no elimination trial. Mendota also recommend it during diet transitions and stressful events, when digestion is most likely to be disrupted.
None of which means genuine allergies do not exist. If you are working through whether it is really an allergy or one of the three most common dog allergies, enzymes are a cheap and reversible thing to rule in or out before committing to a months-long elimination diet.
Dosing — Retrieve Enzymes
4 oz. per bottle, top-fed over the normal meal.
| Dog weight | Daily amount |
|---|---|
| Up to 20 lb (9 kg) | ¼ teaspoon |
| 21–39 lb (9–18 kg) | ½ teaspoon |
| 40–79 lb (18–36 kg) | ¾ teaspoon |
| 80–99 lb (36–45 kg) | 1 teaspoon |
| 100 lb+ (45 kg+) | 1¼ teaspoons |
Support digestion
Retrieve Enzymes, Food & Allergy Relief — 4 oz.
View on Dermagic →Retrieve Chew Stopper
Not a supplement, but part of the range, and genuinely useful if your dog is undoing your skin treatment as fast as you apply it.
Active ingredient: Rosemary (0.5%). Inactive: water and sodium bicarbonate. That is the entire formula.
Two design decisions matter here:
- No alcohol. Most bitter sprays are alcohol-based, which stings on broken skin — exactly where you most need it. This one is water-based, so it can go onto a raw paw, a lick granuloma or a hot spot without hurting. Water-based also means it will not stain furniture.
- No cayenne pepper. Cayenne is the usual bittering agent and it can burn. Rosemary does the job without that risk.
It can be sprayed over medication and over bandages, used indoors and outdoors, and is safe on plants. It tastes terrible. That is the point.
Where this earns its place in a skin protocol: the single most common reason a topical treatment underperforms is that the dog licks it off. A t-shirt or recovery suit handles the body; Chew Stopper handles paws, tails and dressings where fabric cannot reach.
Stop the chewing
Retrieve Chew Stopper — 8 oz. spray
View on Dermagic →Natural Ear Wash
Ingredients: Witch Hazel, deionised water, glycerine, boric acid, tea tree oil, polysorbate 80, echinacea extract and natural colouring.
A gentle formula designed to dissolve ear wax and flush out foreign debris. Like everything else Dermagic stocks, it is defined as much by what it leaves out:
- No alcohol, which dries the ear canal and causes flaking and stinging. Natural tea tree oil is used instead.
- No peroxide, which strips the ear’s natural oils and can damage the canal. Witch hazel does the cleaning instead.
- Leaves the internal ear hairs intact, which matters for your dog’s balance — aggressive cleaners strip them.
Use as often as needed, and especially after bathing or swimming. Trapped water is the origin of a large proportion of ear infections, and thirty seconds of routine after a swim prevents a great deal of trouble later.
Clean the ears
DERMagic Natural Ear Wash — 4 oz.
View on Dermagic →How supplements fit with the Dermagic System
They are not alternatives to each other, and the strongest results come from running both.
The Dermagic System is a topical protocol — cleanse, treat, target, restore. It clears the yeast, fungal and bacterial overgrowth living on the skin surface, which is what drives most chronic skin disease in dogs. It works from the outside in.
The Mendota supplements work from the inside out. Omega 3, 6 and 9 are the raw material the body uses to build the skin barrier and the coat that grows through it. Digestive enzymes decide how much of the nutrition in the bowl actually reaches that skin. Neither of those things can be applied topically.
A dog recovering from a serious skin condition — alopecia, chronic yeast, long-running allergic dermatitis — is regrowing a whole coat over three to six months. That is a genuine nutritional demand. Treating the skin topically while ignoring what is arriving through the gut is doing half the job.
| Layer | What it does | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Topical | Clears the overgrowth on the skin | The Dermagic System |
| Nutritional | Supplies the fatty acids that rebuild the barrier | Retrieve Skin & Coat |
| Digestive | Determines what the dog actually absorbs | Retrieve Enzymes |
| Structural | Keeps an older dog moving while it heals | Retrieve Glucosamine 2X |
Safety and common sense
A short, honest list.
- This range is for dogs. Aches & Discomfort carries an explicit warning not to feed it to cats. Glucosamine 2X is labelled for dogs only. For cats, use the Dermagic feline range topically and speak to your vet before giving anything orally.
- Check with your vet before combining with prescribed medication — especially Aches & Discomfort alongside an existing NSAID.
- Dose by current weight, not by how big your dog looks. Weigh at the vet if you are unsure; the bands are narrow at the small end.
- Introduce one product at a time, a few days apart, so you can tell what is helping.
- Give it long enough. Glucosamine has a deliberate three-week loading phase before maintenance. Coat change follows the hair growth cycle. Judging any of these at two weeks will tell you nothing.
- Read the label on the bottle you receive. Manufacturers reformulate. The label is always the authority; this guide reflects the product information published at the time of writing.
- Supplements are not a diagnosis. A dog that is suddenly lame, in obvious pain, or losing coat rapidly needs a vet, not a supplement.
Where to start
If your dog has a skin or coat problem, start with Retrieve Skin & Coat and add Retrieve Enzymes — those two together address both the supply of essential fatty acids and your dog’s ability to absorb them, and they sit underneath any topical work you are already doing.
If your dog is slowing down, start with Retrieve Glucosamine 2X and run the full three-week loading dose before you judge it. Add Retrieve Aches & Discomfort if there is visible discomfort to manage alongside the structural support, once your vet has cleared it.
The Ear Wash and Chew Stopper are inexpensive and belong in the cupboard of any dog that swims, or any dog under treatment that will not leave itself alone.
Browse the whole range: Mendota Supplements at Dermagic Europe.
Questions about which product suits your dog? Email customerservice@dermagic.eu or call +44 7425 388643 — we would rather point you at the right one than sell you the wrong one.