Why I Made a Better Mushroom Extract for Pets
I’m Angela Ardolino, I’m a certified cannabis and fungi formulator, practitioner and educator and graduate of the UVM inaugural class of Medical Cannabis for Therapeutic Use.
My education and experience with fungi began in 2016 when I started using them as medicine, mostly on my rescue farm where I rescued dogs and farm animals. I helped them holistically using food, cannabis, fungi and other herbs to heal them from everything from anxiety and allergies to seizures to cancer.
At the time I got my knowledge from books on holistic medicine, as well as some of my favorite holistics like Ihor Basko, and Barbara Fougere. At the time I was using the best mushroom product for pets on the market, which was Real Mushroom powdered extracts.
But then my own dog Nina was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, and I needed to start giving her a therapeutic dose of mushrooms from Real Mushrooms. I quickly realized I had to use 5-6 capsules, or up to a third of a bag of powdered mushroom extracts in her food. All that powder in her food every day just turned her meal into mud, and oftentimes she refused it. I couldn’t afford to have my sick dog refusing her food because of her mushroom supplement.
The more I investigated, the more I knew I could make a better mushroom extract for my dogs. So I did.
What I wanted in a Mushroom Extract for Dogs:
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NO POWDERS – Mushrooms are 85% water and that a liquid tonic would be much more bioavailable than the powder.
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SOURCING – I wanted mushrooms grown in the U.S., instead of overseas. I wanted them to be grown and sourced in nature, and wild harvested at their peak time.
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MANUFACTURING – I wanted to work with a myco-alchemist who understands botany and ancient extraction methods to create the most powerful, pure, synergistic formulas.
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INGREDIENTS – I wanted NO fillers, flavors, or any ingredients that could cause harm to animals.
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SYNERGY – I knew that combining several medicinal mushrooms and adaptogens make it more powerful and synergistic.
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DOSING – I wanted to be able to deliver a therapeutic dose that was found to work in research, in a manageable dropper dosage.
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PRESERVATION – Powders can begin to clump or oxidize the moment you open them. Oftentimes my powders and capsules would turn into hard blocks in the Florida humidity. We preserve our extracts in organic vegetable glycerin.
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SUBSTRATE – Most importantly I wanted fungi grown in their natural environment, grown on the natural wood, logs, and decaying matter they’re found on in nature.
SO that’s what I did! I created MycoDog Mushroom Extract & Adaptogen blends.
And now we have the most potent fungi tonics on the market! What I didn’t realize is that when you make it your mission to make the very best natural medicine on the market, you’re going to also make a lot of enemies. I never thought I’d receive the push back I have, but that’s what happens when you create mushroom products for dogs, and not for profit.
About Angela Ardolino
Angela Ardolino is a holistic pet expert and educator who has been caring for animals for over 20 years. Angela is the founder and formulator of CBD Dog Health, which offers high quality, all-natural cannabis health and wellness products for pets; and MycoDog, which creates and produces high-quality medicinal mushroom and adaptogen tinctures specifically for pets.
Accordingly, she has used CBD Dog Health’s CBD for Dogs, and now MycoDog mushrooms for dogs, on all her pets at her rescue farm every day since 2016. Angela’s pack includes rescues Jolene, Maza and Rhemi. She is a member of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians and the Veterinary Cannabis Association. In fact, Angela has educated hundreds of medical doctors and veterinarians on the therapeutic uses of medical cannabis on animals.