Laura Pye Clinical Canine Massage

11/01/2025

Brilliant 👏🏻 🤣

09/01/2025

Interesting reading

🍄 The Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms for Dogs: A Guide for Dog Guardians

Interest in holistic and natural approaches to dog health has surged in recent years, and medicinal mushrooms have become a popular addition to canine diets due to their extensive health benefits. From boosting immune function to reducing inflammation, these mushrooms can play a key role in supporting your dog’s overall well-being. Here’s a closer look at some commonly used medicinal mushrooms, their benefits, and tips for safely incorporating them into your dog’s routine.

Why Consider Medicinal Mushrooms for Dogs?

Medicinal mushrooms are packed with bioactive compounds such as beta-glucans, polysaccharides, antioxidants, and vitamins that can improve overall health.
In dogs, these mushrooms are primarily used to:

•Support immune health: Certain mushrooms can boost a dog’s immune system, helping it fight off infections and illnesses.

•Reduce inflammation: Anti-inflammatory properties can be beneficial for joint health, especially in older dogs or those with arthritis.

•Improve digestive health: Mushrooms contain prebiotics that promote healthy gut bacteria, aiding digestion.

•Enhance liver function: Some mushrooms contain compounds that can support detoxification and improve liver health.

•Provide cancer support: While not a cure, medicinal mushrooms may help slow the growth of tumours, offering support in cancer treatments.

Top 5 Medicinal Mushrooms for Dogs

1. Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)

•Benefits: Known as the “mushroom of immortality”, reishi is popular for its immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be particularly helpful for dogs with allergies or joint pain, and its mild calming effects may aid anxious dogs.

•How it works: Reishi mushrooms contain beta-glucans, which stimulate immune cell activity and regulate the immune system.

2. Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)

•Benefits: Known for its powerful immune-support properties, turkey tail is widely studied for its anti-cancer effects. It is especially useful for dogs undergoing cancer treatment, as it can help slow tumour progression and improve quality of life.

•How it works: Turkey tail is rich in polysaccharide-K (PSK), which has been shown to boost immune function and inhibit cancer cell growth.

3. Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris)

•Benefits: Cordyceps is known to support energy levels and endurance, which can benefit older dogs or those with respiratory issues. It also supports heart health, kidney function, and helps regulate blood sugar. If your dog is highly active or ageing, this could be a beneficial addition to their diet.

•How it works: Cordyceps boosts energy production at the cellular level by increasing ATP (adenosine triphosphate) levels, enhancing physical endurance.

4. Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)

•Benefits: Known for its cognitive health benefits, lion’s mane is great for older dogs as it may help prevent cognitive decline and improve mental sharpness. It is also known to support gut health and reduce inflammation. Given cognitive health is a growing concern for ageing dogs, lion’s mane is an excellent preventative addition to their diet.

•How it works: Lion’s mane stimulates the production of nerve growth factor (NGF), which supports brain health and mental acuity.

5. Maitake (Grifola frondosa)

•Benefits: Maitake mushrooms are beneficial for immune support and may help manage blood sugar levels, making them a great choice for diabetic dogs. They also support liver health and have mild anti-tumour effects.

•How it works: Maitake contains beta-glucans that activate immune cells and help regulate glucose metabolism.

Key Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms for Dogs

1. Immune System Support
Many medicinal mushrooms boost immune function by activating white blood cells, helping the body combat infections and ward off diseases.

2. Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects
The antioxidants in these mushrooms fight free radicals, reducing cellular damage. This can help alleviate pain and inflammation associated with arthritis or other inflammatory conditions.

3. Cancer Support
While medicinal mushrooms are not a replacement for cancer treatment, they can provide complementary support. Their immune-boosting and anti-tumour effects may improve quality of life and potentially slow the progression of certain cancers.

4. Digestive Health
Certain mushrooms, like reishi and lion’s mane, support gut health by acting as prebiotics. This encourages the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, improving digestion and nutrient absorption.

5. Enhanced Energy and Vitality
Mushrooms like cordyceps are known to boost energy and improve oxygen usage, which can benefit active dogs or those recovering from illness.

Mushroom Dosages

When using mushroom extracts or supplements, always follow the recommended dosage guidelines, as beta-glucan levels vary between mushroom varieties.

For fresh mushrooms, start with a small amount and monitor your dog for any signs of digestive upset.

Safety and Considerations

When giving your dog mushrooms, follow the below guidelines and remember, any mushrooms safe for humans, are also safe for dogs!

•Start Slowly: Introduce mushrooms gradually and monitor for any signs of adverse reactions, like digestive upset.

•Avoid Wild Mushrooms: While mushrooms provide many health benefits, some found in the wild can be toxic to dogs, so it’s best to use those from a trusted source that are labelled if you are unsure.

•Preparing Fresh Mushrooms: If giving your dog fresh mushrooms, cook them thoroughly for 15–30 minutes to help break down the cell walls, making them safer and easier for dogs to digest. Raw mushrooms can be difficult for dogs to digest which mitigates the benefits they could provide and more importantly, they may be toxic when raw.

•Mushroom Extracts/Powders: Choose products with over 30% beta-glucans, made from the whole fruiting body of the mushroom, and double-extracted to enhance bioavailability.

While not all mushrooms are classified as medicinal, many edible varieties have powerful health-supporting properties, making mushrooms a beneficial addition to most dogs’ diets!

If you’d like to explore the benefits of mushrooms further, check out There’s a Mushroom for That! by Dr Robert Silver.

For those considering a natural mushroom supplement, check out the brand Antioxi, which we have a group discount code for 20% off purchases over at NO BULL Just Natural Health For Dogs.

© Written by Kayleigh Adams for NO BULL Just Natural Health for Dogs. Please seek written permission to share this article outside of the group.

07/01/2025

This is a repost but it is so important that it's well worth the repeat. It's such an easy way to reduce stress for dogs in the home.

Lets talk floors.

Often the first thing I notice when I go into people's homes is their flooring. I see many homes now with beautiful, shiny, wooden, laminate or tiled floors. I understand how easy these are to keep clean when you have children and/or pets but have you ever thought of the impact this has on your dog and they way that they move around the house?

Whether you have a young, excitable pup, a gangly adolescent or a middle aged/elderly dog, walking on these floors can cause long term difficulties. Often once a dog has skidded or slipped a few times they can become fearful and start to tense as they move around which in turn becomes habit and can lead to a point of long term, chronic pain. There are often, so called 'funny' videos online ,of dogs skidding and sliding into walls and doors, but this can really do some damage to joints, muscle and soft tissues.

Some clients have made great observations of their dogs:

'We've noticed that Daisy always hesitates when going from the hall into the kitchen' (hall carpeted & kitchen is laminate).

'Frank never walks straight to the back door he always moves to the left to walk along the edge of the dining room rug' (rest of room wooden floors)

'I always have to pick Teddy off the sofa as he won't jump down' (laminate flooring throughout).

Carpet runners and rubber backed mats are great for creating safe pathways around the home. Have mats around any furniture that your dog jumps up and down from, allowing them to gain traction as they take off and land and be especially mindful if the bottom of your stairs leads straight onto an uncarpeted floor.

24/12/2024

Happy Christmas to you and all your beautiful dogs 🎄

27/11/2024

We recently went on CPD on indirect myofascial release techniques, we are working on the fascial lines concept that Thomas Myers developed for humans which have also been mapped out on dogs and horses. I already use some indirect techniques but this course developed new skills and I can think of so many dogs that will benefit. I’ve already used on a few of your dogs and the way they responded is real wow stuff!

This is an extremely gentle relaxing technique, absolutely incredible for dogs who are not comfortable with touch either because of discomfort (your senior dogs) or anxious dogs.

These techniques can have a profound impact on longstanding restrictions and scar tissue caused by surgery, injury, orthopaedic conditions and habitual posture.

27/11/2024

I’ve been seeing this lovely senior for a while he tends to pace in the evenings and at night but always has a much more relaxed time after treatment

26/10/2024

Sports massage and some fascia release techniques for the coolest girlie

23/10/2024

😄

06/10/2024

Hiro ❤️ recently had surgery for a ruptured cruciate ligament, after one session he’s definitely more comfortable and finding it easy to go up the ramp into the car.

Massage is very therapeutic after an operation because we can address tightness and trigger points in muscles which have compensated as a result, reduce dysfunctional fascia and help scar tissue reducing discomfort and stiffness. Massage helps blood and lymph flow which assists with healing.

03/09/2024

Best of luck to the Phillips and Blythe family who are competing or supporting at IMCA for GB in Portugal this week ❤️ inc. my favourite super smalls! you’ve done amazing to get there, enjoy 🌟

01/09/2024

Sim had her first session and was an absolute dream, she’s a very busy girl although brilliant with people so we were super surprised to see her quite so calm on her first session!

It did show the importance of seeing a therapist with a young dog as there were a few areas to work through which would likely become chronic and impact movement over time.

01/09/2024

Feeling super behind with updates this summer. Blaming the naughtiness puppy that ever lived!

Saw this gorgeous golden boy for lameness after a ball incident, I really could have kept him ❤️

30/08/2024

Feel we have the same expression 🤣

14/08/2024

Muscles pull on bones to create movement, and when arthritis is present, the joint has to recruit extra support of muscles which leads to your dog offloading, overcompensating on other limbs, primary as well as secondary areas of muscular and myofascial pain, and habitual patterns of tension throughout the whole body

So it's not just the joint thats affected.
It's your dog's whole body.
We can help.
Locate your local therapist on the official Canine Massage Guild Therapist Register Today
www.k9massageguild.co.uk

23/05/2024

One of my faves 🥰

30/04/2024

Nice to see River looking more confident with being touched. She’s had a tricky past but her amazing new owners are super dedicated to help her move onwards and upwards 💪🏻

05/04/2024

Nice to see some different breeds yesterday, one rare breed in the UK a Silken Windhound ❤️