Exploring the Use of Adaptogens for Canine Health | Shorts

Hi, this is Rita Hogan and welcome to the Dogs are Individuals podcast. I'm a clinical canine herbalist and I've.

Been practicing for over 20 years.

This podcast is all about your dog through an herbal lens. So let's get to it and dive right in.

Welcome to another edition of Shorts, Rita's Shorts. So we are welcoming a new sponsor to our podcast this week and I'm super excited about this relationship. So Earth Buddy had to take a break. They are putting their energy towards something spectacular and needed all resources on board and we love them, we will continue to love them and thank you, thank you, thank you Earth Buddy for sponsoring my podcast for the last six, seven months. Could be longer. I'm not really great with timelines, just so everyone knows that I'm not. I have people in my life that are great at timelines. I myself working towards being better at timelines, but not my specialty. So welcome Green Juju. Super excited to welcome Green Juju to being the sole sponsor of these short editions of the Dogs are Individuals podcast. So if you don't know who Green juju is. Green juju.com Kelly Marin, she is the owner of Green Juju. She works with Billy Hokum. Love Billy. And they have a couple other cool people on their staff. It's such a wonderful company because Kelly really developed this company out of her love for dogs and trying to improve a dog's bowl as far as nutrition is concerned. And you can read her story@green juju.com for sure. But I want to tell you a little bit about what they carry, who they are and really they are so concentrated on sourcing and being good stewards of the land, being good stewards to the animals that give their lives up so that our dogs can have better lives. The foods that they like, food sources, beef, bison, goat, salmon. They're very mindful of this and I love seeing this. And this is what we need to see more of. They care about regenerative farming. They care about people making a living off of providing us the sources for good food and treats for our dogs. And it we have to look at every facet of that. And I really truly believe that Green Juju does this. What do they carry? So the products that they carry, let's just go like run down. They carry a freeze dried raw diet. They also carry some frozen and freeze dried like veggie blends. Okay. They have like adjust greens, a Bailey's blend that's after her lovely little Kelly's little Frenchie. No, I think that's her lab, her lab, Bailey, and then who had, who has since passed. And then the golden's blend. So these are frozen and freeze dried blends that you can add to your dog's meal. Like, you know, the Bailey's blends has like organic cucumber, cabbage, broccoli, organic turkey bone broth, organic cilantro, organic chard. You know, they're, they're very into organic agriculture, which we have got to appreciate there. You wanna make sure your veggies are organic. I see a lot of people that are giving their dogs more veggies and more greens, but we want them organically grown. So I mean it doesn't need to be certified organic, but it definitely needs to be organically grown. They have a freeze dried, just greens blend with one of my favorite herbs in it, nettles. And then they carry raw goat's milk, bone broths, whole food bites. They have like little trainers, they call them. I think one of my dog's favorite is the salmon trainers, but the bison liver trainers, rabbit trainers, salmon trainers, and then they have things like beets and golden paste. I love their golden paste. For dogs that are definitely on the cooler side, they do a really great fermented golden paste. And then they also do fermented beets. Check them out greenjuju.com and as these weeks go by, I'm going to introduce you to different types of things and talk about them more. My experience of them, how they can help your dog. And then if it resonates with you, check them out@greenjuju.com all right, so we are doing a new episode of the podcast and I had some ideas about the episode of the podcast, but I was writing a lesson for my level one course that's coming out March 1st. Canine herbalism level one, holistic canine herbalism level one coming out. You can, you can check it out@canineherbalism.com, but I was writing a lesson for that and it reminded me about Adaptogens. So adaptogens are all the rage right now. You'll see them in everything. And Adaptogens, you know, as popular as they are, they need caution. And I just want to talk about that shortly in a small minute doses for you. I want to talk about them right now. So, so what do they do? What do they do? They help the body deal with stress. Okay. And they use, I would say, a systemic approach. They affect the whole body, especially our nervous systems and our adrenal glands. And your dogs, Whenever I say our, I really do mean your dog. Because, you know, obviously we all are one and adaptogens really help your body deal with those everyday stressors. So dogs deal with a lot of unknown stress. They have their own world stress, right? They have the stress that's going on and you don't even understand it. Like when my dog Gertie, her ball gets stuck under the couch and I don't know it, and I think she's just kind of laying there on the ground, but really she's been staring at it for like two hours intently. And I finally, you know, catch up with the game and give her her ball. And then they have the stress that we have. We share our stress with our dogs intimately. And when you're looking at adaptogens, you want to make sure that you're not getting stuck in the allopathic, what I call the allopathic trap, you know, like the, the American marketing machine. If you're listening to this in a different country, you know, I don't know how your marketing is, you know, nationwide, but here in the United States, marketing is everything. It's an obsession. And a lot of times we're marketing these things very allopathically. We're putting wide blanket statements on them. They can do all of this and a bag of tricks and rainbows and unicorns and rainbow poop and the whole thing. And we have to take a step back and we have to breathe and use our common sense. I think that we need to think critically. I think we need to think critically about a lot of things that are happening in the world. I know going with the flow is a lot easier, but it can come at a detriment. So I think that you need to know your dog energetically before starting to throw adaptogens at them. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out my energetics course@k nineherbalism.com you'll love it. If you don't love it, I'll give you all your money back. Using herbs allopathically can cause like an unneeded imbalance in your dog or yourself. And the endocrine system is responsible for hormones in your body along with a lot of other hormone producing glands. But the endocrine system is, is not just your adrenals. It's found throughout the entire body and it interacts with everything. And adaptogens are not as safe as everyone thinks they are. They need to be looked at as individuals. Your dog needs to be looked at as an individual. You need to look at yourself as a rockin Individual. Okay, but what I said about blanket statements, I mean, our plants don't work in a blanket. They, again, they have their own energetics, just like your dog. We're all unique and that includes our plants and the body. What's cool about the body is the body is constantly seeking to balance itself out. You know, and plants have this thing, this checks and balance system, and they have hundreds and even thousands of constituents. And adaptogens have a lot of constituents that help the body, again, deal with stress, but they also have some checks and balances and they don't necessarily agree with everyone. And you're looking at the effect of hormones on not just the adrenals, but the pancreas, the nervous system, the liver, the immune system. And how all of these things work and come together in the ecosystem, or the dog's ecosystem does, doesn't necessarily coincide with what science is saying, because science doesn't necessarily understand what is happening. So again, we need to use our common sense. And so adaptogens, right now, they're used for autoimmune disease, cancer, insomnia, lethargy, definitely long term stress, nervous disorders, sympathetic excess, where the, the fight or flight system is in overdrive all the time. And then adrenal disorders, thyroid disorders, lady part disorders, dogs that are intact, dogs that are spayed and neutered. These, they're all affected by the dog's hormonal system. Okay. And one of the things about adaptogens is that they can cause harm if they're not well indicated, especially when given long term. Because a lot of these plants are given long term and they can mess with cortisol levels. Cortisol levels are very important in the body, especially as they relate to stress or adrenaline levels. And it's definitely, you know, it's good to use caution with herbs that are marked as adaptogenic. And that's regardless of what's printed on the label. So you gotta look at the whole plant, the ecosystem of the plant, and you might be like, well, Rita, I have no clue. I need people like you or I need a book to tell me about this plant. And that is true. You need something, someone to tell you about this plant, what it is and what it is not. Because you need to know more than what a plant is. You need to know what a plant isn't. And then you need to know why you're using it. What specific reasons are you using it. What's your, what do you think the root cause of the reason is that you're using it? You know, do you need to adjust your dog's lifestyle? Do you need to adjust your lifestyle? Do you need to change the food? Is the gut doing okay? How about the nervous system? And is the liver stagnant? How about the kidneys? You know, everything is connected and the kidneys are highly connected to the reproductive system. And when we spare our pets, things can go south for quite a long time. So maybe your dog might need some hormonal support, some glandular support. There's lots of questions to be answered before we just start throwing adaptogens at things and, you know, we just don't want to like throw it, throw it at them and, you know, cross our fingers and hope that it might stick. We want to get out of that mindset. Okay, so Rita, what kind of things are adaptogens? Like, what kind of plants are you talking about? Well, I'm glad you asked. So one of the adaptogens that I can think of is cordyceps mushroom. I love cordyceps mushroom, Cordyceps sinensis or Cordyceps militarius. Usually it's the militarius because the sinensis is hard to get. It's very warming. It's like borderline on hot and it's drying, it's stimulating. The main thing about cordyceps is it's stimulating. It gives energy to the body. And for dogs it is not well indicated for. It can cause male dogs to hump, it can cause overexcitability, hyper anxiety. If the body doesn't need that type of stimulation, you're going to most likely get side effects, especially when using it all by itself. You'll see cordyceps mixed with a lot of other mushrooms and it's going to have less an effect because the other mushrooms are going to work in synergy and it will help calm some of those more hyper stimulating effects of Cordyceps mushroom. Cordyceps mushroom is great for some. A dog that is very lethargic or a working dog that needs a lot of support as far as energy production is concerned. And then there's herbs like ashwagandha, which I have covered in detail in another podcast. You can go to where your podcasts are found, find my podcast and then search the episode or you can find it at canineherbalism.com Rhodiola Astragalus, American ginseng, licorice, reishi mushroom, even nettles can be an adaptogen. There's lots of adaptions, but those are like some of the popular ones. And you know, many folks don't know this, but I learned it from a medical herbalist named Paul Bergner. He's a wonderful mind and he talks about how adaptogens were really termed adaptogen in World War II when scientists wanted to help soldiers kind of deal with the, deal with how they dealt with the stress of war. And they were labeled adaptogens during that time, but they weren't studied for their long term effects. Okay. And that's one of the biggest things, we still need to know more about the long term effects of some of these plants. And I know that you can't just try to use an adaptogen to help deal with your stress. You gotta look at your lifestyle, you gotta look at your dog's environment, your environment and what stressors you guys are dealing with. And dogs are extremely empathetic to you. They take on your energy. And I know I repeat myself, but I it I have a means to my plan. When you look at allopathic herbalism, you're going to note that adaptogens are promoted as safe and they are now through the marketing machine, you know the answer to our stressed out society without changing any of the activity that our stressed out society is doing to make themselves stressed out. And that is not the answer. The plants are not the answer to this. They can help, yes, but they need to be well indicated. So you need to study that plant and if you're looking it up on Google, make sure you use the word monograph and don't use like WebMD or Health.com to get your information about these plants because it is the wrong source. Adaptogens are used for more of deficiency in dogs a lacking and not when dogs have an excess of something. Think lethargy, think completely wired, stressed out. And each adaptogen has an indication for what it means to be on that plant and take that plant into the body and under what circumstances you take that plant into the body. So you know, we want to just use some caution. So there's a few things to have caution for. Let's just take a few adaptogens that I mentioned. Licorice, love licorice. Use the deglycerized version of licorice for your pup. It can cause some heart issues, if that's another story. But it can affect the heart if it's used long term. So you can use deglycerized licorice. And licorice is, I would say better in a formula than using it all by itself. It's okay in small amounts, but it can put pressure on the endocrine system. That is the same thing you're trying to use it for. And you never use it in high dosages unless you're using it under a vet's supervision or a highly skilled herbalist. I definitely prefer the extract over the powder for dogs. And it can increase cortisol levels when used for a long period of time. And it can also decrease testosterone levels in the body. And I learned that from the medical mind of Paul Bergner. There's ashwagandha. Ashwagandha's mild. It's not too stimulating. It definitely can help with general stress. But it's not for everyone. And you really want to see if it's well indicated for your dog. It is warming. It's good for that stressed out dog that can't sleep that is just kind of on, but also not too hyper. If it's not well indicated, it will send. Sometimes it can have the opposite effect. It can make a dog wired. So you want to look at that. And if your dog has too much dampness, check out my energetics course. If you don't know what I'm talking about. Too much moisture in the body, it's not indicated for that. Then we have rhodiola. Rhodiola is stimulating and it can cause insomnia when you take too much of it. It's also very astringent, which means it tightens and it's very drying. Okay, so it's not gonna work for a dog that's already dry. That you'd need a nervous system herb for that. It can increase anxiety and it can bring down levels of saliva and it also can cause heart palpitations, especially with people and dogs. But people will notice it and you want to use it in very small dosages and just work your way up. And I would get some coaching around using rhodiola if you are unsure if it's well indicated. Astragalus. So it's a very well known herb and it's very mild like ashwagandha. It's warming. It's very good for deficient conditions like chronic deficiency, chronic lethargy, dogs who are much more cool. It can be stimulating, but it's not stimulating in low dosages. So that's just a little bit about adaptogens. But what my, what this episode is really concerning is if you are taking an adaptogen. If someone recommends an adaptogen to you, find out if it's well indicated. Look it up on Google. Make sure you put the word monograph and herbalism or herbalist into the search words. It's going to bring up a resume of that plant somewhere on the Internet and make sure it's written by an herbalist and take a look at the indications of there of that plant. I also have a little like kind. Of course it's $12 a month, it's a subscription and it's monthly monographs and I go over a lot of plants and give you those answers. I also talk about individual plants here on the podcast. We'll be doing one for our next session. I am going to pick one of these lovely remedies. I will pick licorice. We will talk all about licorice. I have talked about Reishi mushroom, which is a slightly warming, drying adaptogen. I have talked about stinging nettle on the pod so you can check out those episodes. And then I have talked about Ashwagandha. And then I'll talk about angelica and rhodiola and licorice. I'll try to deal with those next so you can kind of follow along and learn about those plants again. Want to thank Green Juju for this short episode? It's been a little. This one's a little longer, but don't get used to it because this one was all about introducing you to our new sponsor, Green Juju. Can't thank them enough.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Dogs Are Individuals. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave.

A review in your podcast app.

And don't forget, sharing is caring. So if you love Dogs Are Individuals podcast, share it with your friends and.

Family who love dogs.

This will help me so much. And remember, as a listener, I appreciate you much. Thanks to Resonant Media, my podcast production team. This podcast is produced by Drake Peterson and edited by Mike Fry. Any questions, email the show, go to k9herbalist.com, click podcast contact in the menu and then fill out that form and I'll answer any questions here online. Okay, so thank you so much for listening to this episode of Dogs Are Individuals Podcast and I'm gonna talk to.

You in our next episode.

The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for veterinary care. This podcast doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor, veterinarian or healthcare provider first before starting anything new. And that includes herbs. I'm not a doctor and I don't treat disease or prescribe anything. I'm a traditional herbalist providing herbal support education only. Regarding any products I may suggest the statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here on the podcast is not meant as a substitute or alternative to information from your vet. Please consult your veterinary professional about potential interactions with or other possible complications before using any product.