How does Cannabidiol (CBD) affect your dog? Cannabidiol’s (CBD) effects on and benefits for human health has to lead to an increase in research over the last few years, leading to greater understanding. What has only just started to be looked at, is what CBD does for dogs, or if they can even take it. To add to the confusion, the information available on the internet about dogs and CBD can vary depending on where you look, making it difficult to know what’s right.
Of course, as dogs are man’s best friend, you want the best for your dear pet. Here at Panacea Life, we understand that and are doing our best to research how CBD may be able to help dogs. We even conducted a study looking at CBD’s effect on improving movement and mobility.
The goal of this article is to look further into questions and clear up possible misconceptions surrounding CBD and dogs so that you can fully understand it before trying it out on your dog. It would be best if you came away from it feeling confident in your knowledge of CBD so you can be comfortable enough to give it to your dog.
Tell Me More About What CBD Is
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of many different compounds that are found in plants from the Cannabis family. This family includes marijuana and hemp. CBD is considered to be the more medicinal side of Cannabis.
CBD, when taken by humans, comes in many different forms. They can be anything from lotions to candy to drinks to pills. Dog products range from treats, soft gels, or oils to be mixed in with food or rubbed onto your dog’s skin.
I’m Concerned CBD Will Get My Dog High
Many dog owners may hesitate to give their pet CBD because they worry that it will have a psychoactive effect on their dog. However, they don’t have to fret. CBD, unlike it’s more famous cousin Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), does not have any psychoactive effects on people or dogs. That is to say, THC gets you high, but CBD does not.
How Legal is CBD?
As of December 2018, the Farm Bill made CBD extracted from hemp with less than 0.3% THC legal to buy and sell in most states. However, marijuana and anything extracted from it (including CBD) is still a controlled substance and is therefore federally still illegal.
Hemp with THC Being Given to Animals
Unfortunately, there are many stories and videos out there of dogs that were accidentally given large doses of THC. It makes them confused or even frenzied. It is something that you should avoid for your dog. Veterinarians say that your dog should not consume any THC.
While the consensus on how THC affects your dog is pretty clear cut, researchers are still trying to understand all of the benefits of CBD for canine health. There has been an increase in studies looking at CBD in dogs, but these studies are still preliminary and need more time. However, many veterinarians report that CBD appears to have mainly positive effects.
As this research is still in progress, it is essential to be careful in giving your dog CBD. Dogs may experience some side effects from CBD that are not severe, mainly causing fatigue and gastrointestinal upset. Starting your dog’s CBD doses small may help avoid this.
How might CBD help my dog?
Humans often use CBD to help with things like joint support, promote calm feelings, and even sense of restfulness. For dogs, it may have similar benefits. Using CBD to help calm down a dog with stress caused by noise or separation anxiety has become increasingly popular. This is not surprising as many human CBD users report a feeling of calm caused by CBD.
Other dog owners use CBD to help their dogs with poor joint health. As discussed above, at Panacea Life, we conducted a study that utilized CBD with a focus group of dogs with osteoarthritis. The owners of our test group observed an improvement in mobility for their pets. Please feel free to look over the study in further detail for more!
How do I give my dog CBD?
CBD for animals is found in many different forms, including gummies, powders, and treats. It may be possible even to find a CBD chew toy. However, the easiest way may be to use CBD oils or tinctures. It tends to be the purest form of CBD, and soft gels are often made using these.
CBD may taste slightly bitter when it is extracted from Cannabis. As a result, it is likely your dog won’t be very keen to open wide. So, you’ll probably have to get a little creative. At Panacea Life, our dog products all use fish oil to make the taste more enjoyable to animals. But if you still need a suggestion or two on good ways to administer any CBD product of y our choice, here are a few suggestions:
- Could you put it on a treat? Yes! Drop a few drops onto your dog’s favorite treat. They likely won’t tell the difference, especially if it is a more robust flavored kind of treat.
• Find some pet CBD products that your dog likes. If sticking some CBD on a treat doesn’t work, many places sell dog treats infused with CBD. There is often plenty of other flavors in those treats, so your dog won’t notice.
• Mix the CBD in with your dog’s food. Many dogs aren’t picky eaters. There are a lot of dogs that will eat whatever you put in front of them. If this is your dog, the easiest way is to mix a couple of drops of CBD in with your dog’s food at dinnertime.
• Apply it directly. One of the best ways to get the CBD into your dog’s bloodstream is by applying a drop or two onto the inside of your dog’s jowls. Or you can apply the CBD to the pads of the paws and let the CBD absorb from there. Panacea Life offers this option at our store here.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you can contact a member of the Panacea team either on our website or by emailing [email protected].
