The basics

Dog peptides glossary: the jargon, translated

Plain-English definitions of the terms you will meet when reading about peptides for dogs, from BPC-157 to the cascade.

By The Puptides Desk. Updated 2026-11-13.

A quick reference for the words that keep coming up.

The compounds

  • Peptide. A short chain of amino acids.
  • BPC-157. A synthetic peptide of fifteen amino acids. See our guide.
  • TB-500. A synthetic peptide related to thymosin beta-4. See TB-500 for dogs.
  • GHK-Cu. A copper-binding peptide sold by some brands.

The product words

  • Lyophilised. Freeze-dried. How vials of peptide are usually supplied.
  • Vial. A small sealed glass bottle.
  • Stack. A marketing word for two or more compounds sold together.
  • Research use only. Sold as a laboratory compound, not for use in people or animals.

The paperwork

  • Certificate of analysis (CoA). A lab report on one batch.
  • HPLC. A test that measures purity.
  • Mass spectrometry. A test that confirms identity.
  • Batch or lot number. The code linking a product to its certificate.

The rules

  • VMD. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate, which regulates animal medicines in the UK.
  • Marketing authorisation. The licence a medicine needs before it can be sold for a use.
  • The cascade. The framework that lets vets prescribe outside standard authorisations in some cases.
  • WADA. The World Anti-Doping Agency.

Next: Dog peptides, explained

Read next

The people who run Puptides are personally connected to Peps for Pups, one of the brands reviewed here. Every brand is scored on the same four published checks, and we link our sources so you can verify them.