How to Use CBD for Pets

If you’ve been researching the medicinal properties of hemp and cannabidiol (CBD), you’ve probably run into info about the endocannabinoid system (ECS).  The ECS is a series of receptors found in the human body that regulates many of the bodies most important functions.  These functions include the immune system, sleep schedule, appetite, and how our bodies regulate pain.  The endocannabinoid receptors are found throughout our entire body, in our brains, and all major organs.  The endocannabinoid system works is regulated via cannabinoid ligands, both endogenous and exogenous.  This means that our body produces cannabinoids naturally or can utilize external sources of cannabinoids, like those found in the hemp plant.

Scientists believe that the endocannabinoid system is one of the first systems that evolved in humans.  The evidence that supports this hypothesis is that most animals have endocannabinoid systems like humans.  And it isn’t just mammals and primates that have this system, but even invertebrate like sea cucumbers!

This means that our pets can benefit from hemp is many of the same ways we can.

Dogs and cats suffer from many of the same problems as people do.  They get anxiety, they get arthritis, they even get epilepsy.  When looking at our genomes, humans and dogs aren’t that different.  We have about the same number of chromosomes, they are just arranged differently.  There are enough similarities, however, that researchers use dogs to study cancer, blindness, and many other illnesses that affect people.

CBD Pet products have recently hit the market with great success. Old pets get arthritis like people.  Just as in humans, the exact dosage required to help pets is largely unknown, however, it is fair to assume that they need less due to their typically lower body weights when compared to people.  An eight-pound Maltese doesn’t need the same amount of hemp extract as a 180 pound man.  On the other hand, a 1200-pound horse will need significantly more CBD because of his larger size.

Another question that needs to be answered when giving your pet CBD is how to administer it.  It would be difficult to teach your dog how to inhale from a cartridge, so vaping is probably not an option.  The fastest, easiest, and least invasive way to give your dog or cat CBD is by using a tincture.

Most high-quality tinctures don’t have any taste.  If they do have a taste, it is probably a little sweet.  Either way, most pets don’t mind the flavor and will happily eat it directly.  This is true with dogs.  Cats can be a little pickier about what and how they eat.  When giving CBD tincture to a pickier pet, you can add it to their favorite food.  Because most tinctures are a fatty oil and CBD has no taste, most pets will eat it with their dinner and not even realize that they ate it.

There are not a lot of published papers on the efficacy of CBD in dogs and cats, but anecdotal and recent studies show that they respond just as well to hemp as do humans.  Our customers have been using Halcyon products on their pets for several years and tell us that it has helped their pets with both arthritis and anxiety.  When choosing a CBD product for your pet, you need to look for the same quality products as you would take for yourself.  You want to make sure you purchase the product from a reputable manufacturer so that you know that the product contains CBD in the amount stated on the label.  You also want to make sure that the product doesn’t contain other chemicals that may make your pet sick.  Prior to giving your pet CBD, it is important to consult your veterinarian and make sure that it won’t interact with other medications that your pet may be taking.

So, the next time your dog or cat is going to freak out because of fire works or thunder, consider giving them some CBD instead of Benadryl or diazepam.  It won’t dope them up, but it may provide them the relief they need to weather the storm.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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