Benefits of CBD Oil for Dogs
Should I Give My Dog CBD Oil?
What are the benefits of using CBD oil for dogs with canine Separation Anxiety, Arthritis or even Cancer?
It may come as a surprise to some pet owners that dogs can be prescribed antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs just like people. Many human prescriptions, like barbiturates, are prescribed every day for pets with chronic health conditions.
However, there is a recent trend afoot that indicates more people are opting for a more natural form of therapy with far less side-effects.
Hemp CBD Oil for Dogs
Using CBD oil instead of veterinarian prescribed medications is not just a growing fad but a legitimate remedy for dogs with behavioral disorders like ‘separation anxiety’, or joint inflammatory conditions like osteoarthritis and degenerative symptoms of canine old age.
Below is a short list of numerous health issues CBD derived hemp oil has been found to help in humans, laboratory animals and anecdotally for our canine friends:
1. CBD for Epilepsy & Seizures
2. CBD for Appetite improvement
3. CBD for Nausea and Vomiting
4. CBD for Cancer
5. CBD for Cancer Pain
6. CBD for Anxiety & Phobias
7. CBD for Sleep Disorders
8. CBD for Pain & Inflammation (due to injury, illness or age)
9. CBD for Arthritic pain
10. CBD for Chemotherapy/radiation side effects
11. CBD for Behavior Problems
12. CBD for Allergies
Many pet owners are turning to all-natural, non-psychoactive CBD over traditional veterinary medicines possibly because it is proving to be more clinically effective than prescription drugs.
Countless numbers of pet parents are also using a form of cannabis, Cannabidiol (CBD) from hemp in the final months of their animal’s life to bring relief of chronic pain and help their dog eat and sleep better.
But CBD is as much an “everyday use” food supplement as it is an end-of-life comfort product. Pet parents are using CBD as a daily dose for skin problems, digestive tract health and overall wellness for their canine companions.
I’ve been using CBD on a daily basis for our Collie’s separation anxiety & when we take our Dachshund to the vet or groomer–they’re always much calmer and more relaxed but still happy and totally aware – Colin B.
Open-minded pet owners are turning to Cannabidiol and pet-specific CBD products to help their dogs find relief from cancer, epilepsy, anxiety, hip dysplasia and pain associated with old age.
Yet, available research on medical cannabis pertains only to humans and laboratory animals used as human models.
Thus far, veterinarian research is almost nonexistent. Even with a lack of animal-specific evidence, pet parents with sick animals are seeing benefits from cannabis therapy and intend to keep using it. Their endorsement comes not from clinical double-blind studies but from actual real-life improvements in their dog’s behavior or alleviating a chronic condition.
For dog owners who give cannabis compounds to their beloved dog as a daily therapy–seeing is believing!
Sometimes, when it comes to your favorite pooch, all you really need is personal empirical evidence observing your dog being more active, eating better, sleeping more soundly at night and being more comfortably throughout the day is all the proof you need.
CBD Oil Benefits for Dogs
If you’re searching for a natural path towards your dog living a healthy life, then CBD Oil from hemp has definitely become the next big thing in the medical world. CBD as an off-label medication has the benefit of helping dogs live a happier, healthier, and more pain-free lives.
CBD oil for dogs comes in different forms, such as CBD capsules, CBD oil in liquid tinctures or hard treats and edible dog biscuits. CBD (Cannabidiol) is one of the natural cannabinoids found in the Cannabis Sativa plant.
Unlike THC, which is known to produce a psychoactive effect, CBD does not cause a high and has, therefore, become classed as a medical compound that can treat a variety of diseases.
Let’s take a closer look at how the synergistic terpenoids, cannabinoids, essential oils and other compounds found within CBD can benefit your dog’s health and well-being.
CBD Oil for Dogs with Arthritis
You’re almost certainly familiar with the names of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like Rimadyl, Metacam, Deramaxx and Previcox.
These drugs are frequently prescribed by veterinarians to manage inflammation and pain–not only for long term disease like arthritis, but also for injuries and other acute conditions.
However, many dog owners across the country are praising CBD as a viable therapy option for symptoms of pain & inflammation.
They maintain that the potent anti-inflammatory compounds found in hemp, largely in the form of CBD, can provide significant relief from pain in arthritic dogs and enable them to have fuller, more enjoyable lives.
And there’s plenty of research out there, admittedly mostly conducted on rats and mice, that supports their claims.
A study published in 2000 in the journal PNAS used a concentrated form of CBD (which you’ll recall is found in high concentrations in hemp, and to a lesser extent marijuana) to treat two different forms of arthritis in mice.
They found that “in both models, the treatment effectively blocked progression of the disease.”
Another study, this time published in 2004, examined the therapeutic effect that CBD exhibited on rats that had been injected with inflammation-causing and arthritis-inducing carrageenan.
Researchers concluded that the CBD had significant beneficial effects on many different markers of both inflammation and arthritis.
Science Behind Anti Arthritic Effects of CBD
Researchers published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) showing promising results of CBD therapy of painful joint conditions through its combined ‘immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory actions,’.
Unfortunately, because it’s an emerging field, there’s not as much scientific evidence to directly correlate CBD as a proven Arthritis remedy for dogs as one would like. But what studies have been completed show a lot of promise. And there are the thousands of anecdotal case studies from pet owners all over the world that can validate the effectiveness of CBD for pain and inflammation.
For this reason, using a high-quality CBD from hemp can provide acceptable levels of relief for your pet, especially dogs.
Combining CBD oil with other holistic remedies like massage, acupuncture (yup, acupuncture for dogs is a real thing!) and fish oil, can increase the chance of alleviating your dog’s pain & discomfort to give them a better Quality of Life.
CBD Oil for Dogs with Anxiety
An overwhelming 50 percent of dogs reportedly suffer from some form of anxiety or noise sensitivity. Anyone who’s spent time with an anxious or fearful dog knows it’s no walk in the park.
Watching a loved one panting, pacing, whining, crying, excessively barking, and even defecating or urinating, and being unable to calm him is distressful for both dogs and owners.
Fireworks reportedly top the list of noises dogs fear, followed closely by thunder and gunshots. Not all episodes of anxiety match the classic picture of scrambling for safety during a storm. Some form of anxiety may exist as subtle nuanced behaviors that are repeated ad infinitum like tail-chasing or licking incessantly.
Traditional methods of relieving anxiety in dogs usually involves over the counter or prescription pharmaceutical medications. Sedatives such as Acepromazine, Diazepam, and its cousin Alprazolam, as well as Fluoxetine, the antidepressants Clomipramine, Trazodone (trazadone), and an oral gel containing a medication called dexmedetomidine can all be prescribed.
Like all pharmaceutical drugs, side effects can occur following administration.
Many veterinarians often recommend using medication in conjunction with behavior modification, ideally with the assistance of a qualified animal behaviorist, to maximize the potential benefits of the prescribed medication.
However, administering CBD Oil to alleviate canine noise or separation anxiety has proven, in some instances, to be a healthier, longer lasting natural remedy for most dogs.
CBD Oil for dog anxiety has properties that can simultaneously stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain (the stimulus for your dog’s repetitive behavior) and calm their anxious mind (separation from you).
Specific cannabinoids in CBD work to activate certain receptors throughout the body to produce beneficial effects, particularly in the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the immune system. New research indicates these cannabinoids work to balance the ‘stress-response’ and thereby eliminate the perpetual cycle of anxious behaviors.
Researchers recently found that CBD worked on multiple areas of the brain to reduce the impairment associated with post-traumatic stress and speeding patients’ emotional recovery. Since most dog parents would agree their furry friends are full of feelings and emotions, using a natural substance to balance their dogs emotional reactionary state has merit in treating their anxiety.
CBD Oil for Dogs with Seizures
Therapeutic applications for CBD oil for problems that involve the nervous system include its use for head trauma, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), anxiety, behavior problems, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Cannabinoids and terpenes are fat soluble, which means they pass through the blood-brain barrier easily and get into the nervous system where they can do their work. This is why we see so many uses for CBD that involve the nervous system or behavior. For this reason, we also find that CBD can help with epilepsy and seizures, as well as with closed head trauma and neurodegenerative conditions like Multiple Sclerosis and possibly for canine degenerative myelopathy.
In humans, as in dogs, there are a number of different types of epilepsy which can cause seizures for many reasons and under different biological circumstances. This makes it hard to say with any degree of accuracy that CBD is a cure-all for epilepsy. Although more research is forthcoming, there is not enough evidence that CBD can, in fact, address each and every type of epileptic seizure.
However, there is a growing body of anecdotal evidence that CBD (with THC) can help modulate but not totally alleviate many neurological disorders.
Certainly, medical applications of CBD for canine neurologic conditions may prove to be worth considering.
One of the treatment modalities that still needs to be defined are the effective doses of CBD for specific conditions. Once there are randomized, placebo-controlled studies we can better apply the healing power of CBD.
Until then, it is wise to start with a more cautious lower dose of CBD and gradually work up to a regimented dosage amount that seems to work for your dog’s given symptoms and general health. CBD Hemp Oil has definitely become the next big thing in the medical world–stay tuned for more updates on this once-considered treatment of the ancients!
Authors Update: as of this published date, there has been a recent study that indicates CBD may interact with known epilepsy drugs. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham report evidence of interactions between CBD Oil (Cannabidiol) with several commonly used anti-epileptic drugs.
The findings published Aug. 7, 2017, in Epilepsia, a Journal of the International League Against Epilepsy, provide the first indications of potential drug interactions with CBD oil, a substance drawing great interest as a treatment for epilepsy.
Curtis has been passionate about the health and welfare of animals since his first dog rescue.
After studying Sports Medicine & Biology at the University of Oregon, Curtis went on to excel in a career of Clinical Nutrition, later owning a health care supplement company serving private-practice physicians.
Known for his expansive knowledge of natural health and alternative medicine, Curtis believes that natural plant-based therapies can be applied to veterinary animal care which led him to study the science of Cannabinoid Medicine. His expertise in Functional Medicine led him to formulate a unique hemp-based canine care product, Canine Support Formula, fulfilling a dream to combine natural pet-care strategies with the new therapeutic potential of medical cannabis.
In reverence for his own dog, Parker, Curtis has dedicated his company–K9 Medibles–to improving the health and longevity of all dogs.
To learn more about Curtis and how K9 Medibles can help your dog, click HERE.