CBD for dogs is one of the biggest trends in the pet industry right now - you can find oils, treats and more on the market. We are always asked how to know if a product is a good one and we are ALWAYS asked questions asking if we use CBD, why we use CBD and how we use it.
We do use CBD oil in the bean household and we use it for a variety of different reasons. We include the Bean’s dosages in their food. For Ella, we use it because she’s a little older and we want to be sure she’s not hiding any arthritis from us. Cokie had some knee surgeries a while back and we want to help prevent any aches. For FiFi, we use it for anxiety. We tried a ton of products before finding Dr. Hempdog and when we saw pretty amazing results, we decided to chat with the founder of Dr. Hempdog, Marc.
If you are interested in checking out Dr. Hempdog products, you can use code BEAN10 to get a discount on your order! We don’t make any money on this, we just genuinely believe in and love this product and want to share it with you.
Important note: we are NOT vets and you should always speak with a vet before trying any supplements, especially if your pet has serious medical issues.
Important note #2: CBD on its own is not properly effective. It needs the supporting other cannabinoids to be properly effective. In the industry this is called full-spectrum. It is easily identified on a company’s lab work aka “certificate of analysis”.
What is CBD?
Dr. Hempdog: CBD is an abbreviation for one cannabinoid called cannabidiol. It’s one of over 100 cannabinoids that occur in the cannabis plant, which includes hemp.
What does CBD do?
Dr. Hempdog: CBD is known to be one of the more powerful cannabinoids. People and pets are successfully using CBD to help with pain, anxiety, seizures and more. All the benefits are still being studied. CBD doesn’t work alone, it actually needs the other cannabinoids in order for pets to reap the benefits. This is why it’s imperative that any product you use is labeled ‘full spectrum.’
How much CBD should you give?
Dr. Hempdog: Correct dosing is one of the most important success factors of using CBD. Under dosing doesn’t help the dog and it’s very prevalent. Over dosing has diminishing returns - you are essentially wasting the product. Dr. Hempdog does phone consults to help you determine the proper dosage for your pet. If the dose isn’t working, you should speak to the brand you are using and get more information on dosing. We don’t recommend more than 20% of a dog’s body weight in milligrams when dosing. This assumes you are using a high quality product - products of varying qualities may need to be dosed in different ways.
Can your dog take TOO much CBD?
Dr. Hempdog: The only side effect they’ve seen with too much CBD is lethargy - once a small dog got into a full bag of treats and ate 30 times his recommended dosage. The only side effect they saw was extreme lethargy for about 8 hours.
What should a customer look for when buying CBD?
Dr. Hempdog: Customers should be able to see the lab test ‘certificate of analysis’, which should show multiple cannabinoids (full spectrum). This certificate should also show the product has no contaminants or solvents. The best products also include Terpenes and are organic, non-GMO and grown without pesticides. Terpenes are another vital component of quality CBD. Not only do they enhance effectiveness, you can learn a lot about the quality of the extraction by the Terpenes, which are what give quality CBD a piney taste. A burnt flavor or no flavor could mean poor extraction.
CBD actually requires the presence of other naturally occurring cannabinoids from the hemp plant supporting it in order to work. A lot of products advertised ONLY have CBD, which won’t provide as much support as a full spectrum product.
You also must ensure the THC level is below the legal limit (under .3% THC) to ensure there’s zero possibility of it causing psychoactivity. THC overdosing IS a serious issue and can land your pup in the emergency room.
Note from the Beans: We personally do not use CBD flavored treats or edibles for the above reasons, we want to know exactly what we’re putting in our bodies!
How does CBD make dogs feel and are there any side effects?
Dr. Hempdog: We’ve worked with severely ill animals on a lot of conventional medicines and never seen bloodwork affected negatively, nor have we seen any negative impacts on healthy dogs. CBD should not get dogs high, nor should it make them tired. Poor quality products can result in lethargy, so keep an eye out!
Let’s talk about canine separation anxiety and anxiety in general - this is one of the number one q’s we get asked!
Dr. Hempdog: The endocannabinoid system is a neurological system in humans and dogs. Research is showing that our brains actually manufacture endocannabinoids and they can be found in food & soil all throughout nature. Since our modern diets are devoid of cannabinoids, replacing them via high quality Cannabinoids can help balance our system. Due to depleted soils cannabinoids are missing from our diets and as scientists study this, they are identifying cannabinoid imbalances. CBD that is supported by full spectrum cannabinoids can help replace what’s missing from our systems and for mammals with anxiety, cannabinoids can help restore balance to the system. This can have a positive impact on anxiety and pain - it’s not a drug - but can provide balancing effects.
What about very serious issues like seizures, Cushing’s Disease or cancer - how can CBD help?
Dr Hempdog: We have successfully helped animals using our product to manage serious medical issues. We recommend taking the time to talk to one of our team members and ALWAYS speak to a vet before giving a dog with a serious illness any supplements!
What about healthy dogs? Would they get any benefit from CBD?
Dr. Hempdog: If you are on a budget, then spending money on this supplement for a healthy dog may not be worthwhile. That said, there are new studies coming out that show CBD can be generally beneficial. A specific example is arthritis. Our pets hide pain from us, so we may not know when they begin to feel the aches of aging. Using CBD may proactively help keep them comfortable and slow any onset of more extreme pain.
Leave any other CBD related questions in the comments and we’ll do our best to get them answered!
Disclaimer: we do receive Dr. Hempdog products from the company at no cost, but we chose to test the product on our own and had amazing results, which is how we struck up a friendship!