The Real Dogs Behind Every Formula

Every product I've ever made started with an animal I loved and a problem no one else was solving. This is the who, the what, and the why behind each one. And here's something people don't always realize: every dog you see on one of our labels is a dog that formula was created for.

I'm Angela Ardolino, a certified cannabis and fungi formulator, practitioner, and educator, and a graduate of the University of Vermont's inaugural class of Medical Cannabis for Therapeutic Use. But long before any of those titles, I was just someone with a farm full of animals who were suffering, and a refusal to accept that there wasn't a better way to help them.

Here's how I work, and it has never changed. I start with a problem where there's no natural, therapeutic option available. Then I go looking, first in the traditions that have used plants as medicine for thousands of years: Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and Western herbalism. Then I go to the research, the studies done on animals and humans that show what these natural compounds do in their whole form.

I then look to see what I can source in the US from an organic, biodynamic, regenerative farm. And only then do I formulate. I gravitate toward adaptogens, because adaptogens adapt to whoever takes them. They meet the body where it is and help bring it back to homeostasis. That's the whole philosophy in one word. Balance.

By the time I finished the UVM program, I had already traveled the world learning about strains, biodynamic farming, and CO2 extraction. I was ready to start formulating for the animals in my care. Every formula that followed has a name attached to it, usually a dog, sometimes a whole farm of them. And every one of those dogs earned their place on the label. Let me introduce you.

The Dog Behind Our Logo: Caesar 

First is the logo. The logo is a Frenchie named Caesar, who was a beloved frequent client at my shop, and his parents lost him after a stressful event because he couldn't self regulate or breathe. They couldn't even get a tube down his throat to help him, it was so small.

That's the part people miss about flat-faced dogs. It wasn't the airway alone that took him. It was the stress. A dog like Caesar can't bring himself back down once he winds up, so the panic feeds the panting, the panting closes an airway that was already too small, and by the time anyone realizes what's happening, there's nothing left to do. The emergency isn't where it starts. It starts with a dog who cannot self regulate.

So the answer had to come before the emergency. Frenchies became the breed that needed help the most, and who benefitted the most from holistic care, because there aren't any meds that fix bad breeding habits. In Caesar's honor I made him our logo, and I created my CALM formula to help others like him. That's why his face is on the CALM label. He is the reason it exists.

The Dog Behind EASE: Odie

EASE was my very first formula, and I made it for the two of us, me and my soul dog, Odie, a 9lb miniature schnauzer.

It was 2016, and I had just learned how to source strains, grow, harvest, extract, and formulate with cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. Odie and I were both dealing with the same thing, major inflammation and immune dysfunction, and I couldn't find anything that worked with the body instead of just overriding it. So I built my own.

This is the formula I created. EASE is a blend of whole extracts of hemp, turmeric, frankincense, hemp seed oil, in organic MCT oil. The three anti-inflammatory powerhouses at the heart of it are the hemp, the turmeric, and the frankincense.

Hemp extract works through the endocannabinoid system, the body's own network for keeping inflammation, comfort, and mood in balance. Turmeric has been used for centuries, and its active compound curcumin is one of the most studied natural ingredients there is for supporting a healthy inflammatory response. Frankincense, or Boswellia, comes from tree resin and has a long track record in both traditional use and modern research for supporting joint comfort and easing inflammation in the body.

And it did exactly what I hoped. Both of us came back to homeostasis, no advanced anything. That was the moment I knew this was the rest of my life.

The Dogs Behind CALM: Nina and Odie

I was living in the lightning capital of the world, running a rescue, a grooming shop, and a boarding facility in Florida, where thunder and fireworks were a way of life. My dogs Nina and Odie were both petrified of storms, and I was watching countless other dogs go through the same terror.

I refused to rely on heavy synthetic sedatives at my facility. I spent years watching what those drugs actually looked like in practice:

Trazodone often left dogs with a "walking drunk" loss of coordination, lethargy, digestive upset, or paradoxical agitation where they became more impulsive instead of calmer.

Gabapentin frequently caused heavy sedation, wobbliness, and GI distress—and many liquid human versions contain xylitol, which is toxic to dogs.

Fluoxetine (Prozac) could cause appetite loss, irritability, and restlessness, taking weeks to build up in the system.

I wanted something that helped a dog feel safe without stealing who they were.

This is the formula I used. CALM is an extract of hemp, lavender, hemp seed oil, in MCT oil. CBD has been studied in people for situational stress, and those results are some of the strongest evidence we have anywhere in natural medicine. It works through the endocannabinoid system, which is tied directly to how the body handles stress. Lavender has been used for generations for its calming properties, and it's a natural partner in exactly these moments, storms, travel, grooming, being left alone.

And it did what I needed it to do, and taught me that dosage isn't dependent on how much your dog weighs but instead on the individual animal. Nina, who was a 60lb Doberman, only needed a quarter of a dropper to settle right down. Odie needed two dropper fulls, and twenty minutes later, the storm stopped being the end of the world to him.

The Dogs Behind HEAL: Gracie, Daisy & Potato

HEAL was born at my rescue, out of the senior dogs who came to me carrying every diagnosis you can name, and featured is Gracie, a 13 year old poodle who needed extra support for her immune system after a scary diagnosis.

There was Daisy the chihuahua, facing serious neurological episodes and cognitive decline. Potato the shih tzu dealing with aggressive immune challenges and a hormonal condition that complicated everything else. And so many others with lumps, with bumps, with things I'd never seen before. There honestly wasn't anything I didn't encounter. On top of the dogs, I was rehabbing wildlife, birds, raccoons, opossums, and squirrels, and farm animals too.

What I wanted more than anything was one thing I could give any animal that would support comfort, ease a stressed nervous system, and help the immune system do what it already knows how to do.

This is the formula I used. HEAL is an extract of hemp that uses specific strains to target what older dogs suffer from the most, with hemp seed oil and MCT oil, and it's the most concentrated of my oils, built for seniors and high-needs animals who need real support in a small, gentle dose. The hemp extract works through the endocannabinoid system to support comfort, a calm nervous system, and healthy immune and inflammatory balance, and the hemp seed and MCT oils carry it in gently while nourishing the body along the way.

HEAL became Nina's daily companion after her life-changing diagnosis, and it's what carried Odie through his geriatric years.

The Dogs Behind The Salves: Princess, Kyro, & Norman

In my grooming shop on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I'd see an average of 300 dogs, and 85% of them were suffering from skin issues, lumps and bumps, and relentless itching. The biggest shock of my life was seeing dogs with their noses crumbling off, and dogs with flea allergies who had no hair left on their back ends.

So I formulated all three of my salves to answer exactly what I was seeing most, in practice, at my rescue, and above all in that grooming shop. What amazed me wasn't only getting rid of the discomfort. It was watching the skin barrier and the microbiome come back. 

These are the formulas I used.

REMEDY features Princess, the 9 year old shih tzu, and is made for lumps, bumps, and stubborn spots. Hemp extract, coconut oil, hemp seed oil, and eucalyptus, peppermint, and arnica essential oils, in a natural candelilla and carnauba wax base. The hemp extract works with the skin's own endocannabinoid receptors, arnica has long been used to support the body's normal recovery around a tender spot, and peppermint and eucalyptus bring a cooling feel to skin that looks angry or warm. Because it has peppermint, I tell people to keep Remedy off broken skin or open wounds.

SOOTHE features Kyro, a 7 year old Jack Russell Terrier who seemed to break out if he touched anything, and is made for itchy, irritated, sensitive skin. Hemp extract, hemp seed oil, coconut oil, ginger, manuka honey, and arnica. This is my gentler salve, with no peppermint, so it's the one I reach for on delicate, allergy-prone skin and hot spots. Manuka honey is a beautiful natural humectant that supports clean, hydrated, recovering skin, ginger brings calming and antioxidant support, and the hemp and oils help rebuild the skin barrier.

NOURISH originally featured Norman, an 11 year old Dachshund with a nose that was crumbling, and is for dry noses, paws, and elbows. Organic MCT and coconut oils, organic hemp, a dual extract of Reishi mushroom, vanilla oil, and arnica. This one is special to me, because it was the first balm stick to pair hemp with dual-extracted Reishi. Reishi's antioxidants help skin stay resilient, and the rich oils lock moisture into cracked noses, rough paw pads, and dry elbows. It's a year-round protector, summer pavement or winter salt.

The Dog Behind Blanche’s Edibles: Blanche

We wanted a treat that was actually clean. Vegan, no fillers, no additives, no isolates, and made with real CBD. The kind of thing you could feel good about handing your dog all day long.

Blanche’s Edibles are of course named for Blanche, a six-pound Shih Tzu who stole the heart of everyone who ever met her. Blanche experienced severe stress anytime she was left alone, so she got her CALM every morning and inspired the creation of our treats, so she could get the extra calming support she needed throughout the day.

This is the formula I used. Blanche's Edibles are organic buckwheat flour, coconut, coconut nectar, pumpkin, ginger, organic CBD, and organic MCT oil, made in collaboration with CocoTherapy using organic coconut from their family farm. They're vegan, grain-free, and gluten-free, which matters for dogs with sensitive stomachs. The buckwheat and coconut make a gentle, hypoallergenic base, pumpkin and ginger settle digestion, and the hemp extract brings the same calm, balanced support as our oils in a form you can hand over all day long.

And they did just what they were meant to do. They gave Blanche her little moments of steadiness, all day long.

The Dog Behind Vitality: Nina

Beyond CBD Dog Health, Nina is the reason Vitality, and MycoDog as a whole, exists.

When she faced a severe, life-altering cellular health hurdle, I needed to get a concentrated, potent dose of functional mushrooms into her, and I couldn't find a single dual extract that met my standards. The options on the market weren't at a high enough potency, they weren't domestic, and they were powders.

At the time I was using the best mushroom product on the market for pets, powdered extracts from a very popular brand that has been around for 40 years. But to reach a therapeutic dose for Nina, I was using five or six capsules, or up to a third of a bag of powder, in her food every single day. All that powder turned her meals into mud, and she'd refuse them. I could not afford to have my sick dog turning away from her food when she needed nourishment the most. Something had to change.

So I went down the rabbit hole. I researched what I didn’t want, until I found exactly what I did want. I wanted a liquid tonic made from U.S.-grown, wild-harvested functional mushrooms, dual-extracted on real wood substrates with no starchy grain fillers.

This is the formula I used. Vitality is a dual extract of Turkey Tail, Reishi, Shiitake, Maitake, Chaga, and Artist Conk, combined with Astragalus root and Ashwagandha. Here's how each piece pulls its weight.

Turkey Tail is the immune backbone, and it carries some of the highest levels of beta-glucans of any mushroom, the compounds researchers keep coming back to for a balanced, resilient immune system. Reishi is the calming adaptogen, the one traditionally called the mushroom of immortality, studied for how it helps the body manage stress and stay in balance. Shiitake and Maitake bring liver, metabolic, and immune support. Chaga adds powerful antioxidant defense. Artist Conk rounds out the immune and respiratory support. Astragalus root, a cornerstone of Traditional Chinese Medicine, is used to build resilience, and Ashwagandha, the Ayurvedic adaptogen, helps steady the stress response.

That last idea is really the whole thread of my work: the body has its own system for finding balance, and the right adaptogens help it get there.
Nina thrived beyond anyone's expectations, and Vitality became a permanent part of her routine, right alongside her hemp extract.

The Dog Behind Clarity: Miss Daisie 

Miss Daisie came to me with a severe growth and lameness in her back end, and I supported her body through both. But she was an 18-year-old senior, and over time her mind started to slow down as age-related cognitive changes set in, the confusion, the pacing, the nights that got harder, the way an old dog can start to feel a little lost in a house they've always known. I had supported her body; now I wanted to support her mind.

This is the formula I used. Clarity is a dual extract of Lion's Mane, Reishi, and Cordyceps, with Bacopa Monnieri and Ashwagandha. Lion's Mane is sometimes called nature's nutrient for the neurons, and it's studied for the way it supports the body's own production of nerve growth factors, the proteins tied to memory and learning. Bacopa Monnieri has been used in Ayurveda for centuries to support memory and focus. Reishi and Ashwagandha are the calming adaptogens that help an anxious old mind stay settled, and Cordyceps supports the energy and circulation that keep a senior engaged with the world.

It's also the only formula I've put through a clinical trial. Our Senior Dog Study followed family dogs taking Clarity over several months under veterinary direction. Roughly 81% of dogs improved or stabilized in their cognitive scores, helping senior dogs sleep better, recognize their families easily, and pace less at night.

The Dog Behind Breathe: Odie

I made Breathe for Odie, too. He experienced severe airway strain and that awful, persistent hacking cough that comes with it, the discomfort, the way it would take the wind out of him, and leave him struggling to catch a full breath in his own living room.

And by then I had already watched what a compromised airway can do. Caesar was the reason I understood how fast it turns. CALM was how I helped their stress. Breathe was how I went after the airway itself.

This is the formula I used. Breathe is a dual extract of Cordyceps, Reishi, Artist Conk, and Chaga, with Ashwagandha. I built it around the airways and the heart that has to keep up with them. Cordyceps is the mushroom most studied for stamina and for how the body uses oxygen, which is exactly the kind of support a dog who gets winded easily needs. Reishi is a calming adaptogen with a long traditional history in respiratory and cardiovascular wellness, and Artist Conk, its close cousin, has been used for generations to support strong, comfortable breathing. Chaga brings powerful antioxidant support, and Ashwagandha helps the whole system stay steady under stress, which matters more than people think, because stress and breathing are the same conversation in a dog like this.

It gave Odie real relief: the hacking quieted, his breathing evened out, and it gave me my happy dog back.

The Dogs Behind Digest: All of Them

Digest wasn't made for one dog. It was made for all of them.
So many of my rescues arrived on a highly processed diet and stacked on multiple medications, with guts that were a mess because of it. And when you run a rescue with a lot of dogs, diarrhea is not an option. I needed a clean, natural way to settle GI upset and nourish the gut barrier from the inside out.

So much of a dog's health starts there anyway. The immune system, the mood, the coat, the comfort, so much of it traces back to whether the gut is in balance. 

This is the formula I used. Digest is a dual extract of Lion's Mane, Shiitake, Turkey Tail, and Chaga, and the adaptogens Astragalus root, Ashwagandha, and Rhodiola. Mushrooms and Rhodiola are so powerful for this, and every piece is aimed at the gut. Turkey Tail and Chaga are studied for supporting a healthy gut lining and a calm inflammatory response right in the digestive tract, and their beta-glucans act as prebiotics that feed a diverse, balanced microbiome. Shiitake and Astragalus encourage healthy gut bacteria and steady metabolic function, Lion's Mane supports the gut-brain connection, and Rhodiola and Ashwagandha are the adaptogens that help the whole system recover and stay balanced under stress. 

It's what I reach for with a dog who has a delicate stomach, or one whose system has taken a beating and needs to be rebuilt.

The Dog Behind Replenish: Jolene

My Jolene has very sensitive skin, and she is very allergic to fleas. Anyone who has loved a flea-allergic dog knows exactly what that looks like. The raw patches, the hair gone from her back end, the scratching that doesn't stop, the way a dog can dig at herself until she bleeds. I had seen it a thousand times in my groom shop, and now it was living in my own house.

And here's the cruel irony I kept running into. People think they're helping when they bathe an itchy dog. Meanwhile most of what's on the shelf is stripping the coat of its natural oils and leaving the skin drier and angrier than before, and the scented, synthetic ingredients in those bottles are the very irritants the dog is reacting to. 

I also knew that a bath was never going to be the whole answer, because itchy skin is almost always a symptom of something deeper, the diet, the gut, the environment, an underlying issue. But Jolene still needed relief while we worked on the rest, and she needed a bath that helped instead of hurt.

This is the formula I used. Replenish is organic lemongrass essential oil, organic aloe vera, rosemary essential oil, organic olive oil, organic coconut oil, organic jojoba oil, organic hemp CBD, and vegetable glycerin. It's hypoallergenic and free of sulfates, parabens, and synthetic fragrance. 

Skin carries a particularly high density of cannabinoid receptors, which is exactly why hemp works so well applied right where the trouble is, working with the endocannabinoid system to support a healthy skin barrier and bring the skin back toward balance. Organic lemongrass naturally deters pests and keeps her smelling fresh without synthetic fragrance. Organic aloe vera cools and soothes dry, reactive skin on contact, while olive and coconut oils deliver essential fatty acids that hydrate and rebuild the barrier rather than stripping it. Jojoba oil closely mimics the skin's natural sebum to moisturize without clogging pores, while rosemary supports coat health and vegetable glycerin locks moisture in.

And it gave her real relief. A strong, hydrated skin barrier does more than stop the itch, it lets the immune system settle down and quit fighting a war on the surface.

The Dog Behind Restore: Rhemi

While bathing your dog is necessary and beneficial, every time we bathe a dog, we wash away some of the oils that belong in their coat. So the answer to an itchy dog is never more baths. Over-bathing wrecks the skin's microbiome, the same microbiome we're trying to protect. When my Rhemi was itching between baths, I knew he needed more support between baths, not to be bathed more often.

This is the formula I used. Restore is a lightweight, water-based, no-rinse spray built around Tremella, organic CBD, lemongrass, rosehip seed oil, hemp seed oil, olive oil, purified water, and vegetable glycerin. 

Tremella, the snow mushroom, is the star here, it acts as a natural water-binder that pulls deep moisture into the skin and coat, conditioning without ever feeling heavy or greasy. Hemp extract works through the skin's cannabinoid receptors for ongoing comfort and balance, while lemongrass naturally deodorizes and deters pests outdoors. Rosehip seed oil delivers natural vitamins that support skin elasticity and barrier resilience, while hemp seed and olive oils provide essential fatty acids to protect against daily environmental irritants without clogging pores.

And it did the job for Rhemi. Fresh, soft, and comfortable, without another bath he didn't need. Together, Replenish and Restore are our natural grooming duo, helping dogs get clean and stay comfortable without paying for it afterward.

Inspired by My Dogs, Made for All Dogs

Every single one of these formulas represents a real animal who needed help when standard options fell short. I have many more formulas I’ve created over the years that I hope to share with you when the time is right, but in the meantime, these core products address what so many of our pets are missing: pure, whole-plant balance.

Thank you for trusting my formulations, and for letting my dogs help yours.

This blog shares my personal experience caring for the animals in my life and is not veterinary medical advice.

 

 

 

Angela Ardolino

Angela Ardolino, a certified cannabis and fungi clinician, brings over 20 years of expertise to the field of holistic pet wellness. As a graduate of the inaugural Medical Cannabis for Therapeutic Use program at the University of Vermont School of Medicine, she is a passionate advocate for safe, natural, and ethically-grown whole plant and fungi medicine tailored for pets.

Angela is the founder and formulator behind CBD Dog Health and MycoDog, two pioneering brands that prioritize pet health through carefully crafted Full Spectrum Hemp Extract CBD for dogs, cats, and horses, as well as wild-harvested, dual-extracted mushrooms and adaptogens.

Committed to the highest standards, Angela continues to educate and inspire pet parents through her popular podcast, Your Natural Dog, where she hosts experts to discuss holistic pet care, natural remedies, nutrition, and training. Follow Angela Ardolino on her website, Facebook,