Bella is my other Papillon. She is a happy little dog of 13 years (born May 17, 2012), weighs 2.8 kg and has a very mild and faithful personality. Bella and Ditte Dot Com are not related, but they come from the same breeder.
Bella was sterilized when she was 5 years old and also gets extracts of medicinal mushrooms in an attempt to maintain a healthy and strong immune system and to keep her vital and happy – like Ditte Dot Com.
Dorthe Øfeldt
Denmark
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As with Ditte Dot Com, daily records in an Excel sheet are kept of Bella’s dose of medicinal mushrooms, etc. and general condition.
Bella started getting Coriolus Versicolor on January 1, 2020, Reishi on April 11, 2021, and Antrodia Camphorata on March 20, 2023:
As Bella has grown older, I have supplemented with plant-based supplements and vitamins and minerals (not yet listed on the website) in order to contribute to her good health.
Since Bella’s case is about prevention, her dose of medicinal mushrooms is significantly smaller than Ditte Dot Com’s. Similarly, I only give Bella the contents of the capsules and thus not the capsules themselves.
Bella (like Ditte Dot Com) receives the mushroom extracts outside of meals/treats – at least 30 min. before food/treats or at least 60 min. after.
The reason why I give Bella most of the mushroom extract away from meals is because of the biological explanation referred to under Method where it says that mushrooms’ beta-glucans, due to their size, do not pass the intestinal wall easily. In order to increase the chances of beta-glucans entering the blood-stream, it is preferable to have as little “competition” as possible present.
Since September 8, 2020 I have added a little vitamin C to the mushroom extract, as research suggests that the absorption/therapeutic effect of mushrooms’ beta-glucans is improved when beta-glucans are combined with vitamin C – Read more about the rationale for using vitamin C under Method including, that elderly dogs become less proficient at producing their own supply of vitamin C and therefore more in need of antioxidants. As explained by Dr. Ardigò the active ingredients present in medicinal mushrooms are absorbed more completely in the intestine, when combined with vitamin C. In particular, vitamin C breaks up the long molecules present in mushrooms into shorter sequences, increasing their absorption.
Bella is given the medicinal mushrooms 4 times a day (morning, noon, afternoon and at night before dinner) in order to continuously strengthen her immune system. Her dose of Vitamin C is currently 20 mg per mushroom serving.
The mushroom extract and vitamin C are mixed with a little water (equivalent to a pinch of water) so that it binds together. I put the mixed lump into a small amount of liver pâté – I only do this because Bella won’t accept getting the extracts in a mouth syringe.
If Bella doesn’t want to eat the Coriolus extract for a while, I give her some other mushroom extracts instead, including Maitake and Shiitake. Bella gets Reishi and Lion’s Mane every night – the latter in an attempt to keep her brain sharp.
The dosage of the mushroom extracts varies from time to time (daily noted in an Excel sheet) based on how much I can get her to eat. I try to give her as much as possible.
Bella gets only one meal per day (in the evening) consisting of clean meat (without fat): Turkey, beef or pork cooked or roasted with a little salt and occasionally some liver. To her meal is added grated carrot as well as blueberries, Goji berries, cucumber and about 5 pieces of Broccoli sprouts, etc. This is all cut into little pieces and mixed into her food. Furthermore, she gets the content of a 1000 mg Omega 3 capsule drizzled over her meal.
To her meal is also added:
