Has someone recommended that you give your pet hemp products or cannabinoids? If that’s the case, you probably want to know more than just the name.
Cannabinoids are a compound variety within the cannabis/hemp plant, which have a multitude of effects that can be beneficial to humans, and even your pets.
In this article, we will cover what you need to know before you give your pet anything that has to do with hemp or cannabis.
Keep reading to learn more.
Table of Contents
An Important Note
Dogs, and to a not so definitive degree cats, have a potentiated sensitivity to hemp products that might contain the psychoactive cannabinoid THC. Thus, you, as a pet owner should not give your pet products that have any more than a trace quantity of THC.
In the US where medical cannabis is legalized, there has been an evident increase of toxicosis in pets due to the animals ingesting products that had THC in dosages meant for humans.
A mild case of toxicosis is possible, alongside with anxiety and lethargy in cats and dogs. In a more severe scenario, it can result in bradycardia, ataxia, urinary incontinence, and much more. In rare occurrences, marijuana toxicosis can result in death or a coma.
CBD Is Pet-Friendly
While you should avoid giving THC by itself to pets, a cannabinoid by the name of cannabidiol (CBD) is pet-friendly and has no psychotropic profile. Most commercial pet cannabidiol products come from industrialized hemp, which is by its nature extremely low in THC.
Some of the conditions pet owners give CBG oil for dogs are:
- Anxiety
- Epilepsy
- Psoriasis
- Diabetes
- Chronic pain
- Inflammation
- Arthritis
- Ischemia
- Cancer
So on and so forth, the list keeps going. While there is plenty of anecdotal evidence in terms of CBD/CBG usage for conditional treatment, there must be more actual research for the results to be true. Most of the research concludes on mice and rats, and that’s in relation to human application.
However, there is some good news. Pet-oriented trials have finally begun. For instance, the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Colorado has conducted an efficacy trial of cannabidiol on epilepsy in dogs.
But that’s not all. There are plenty of other trails that you can read through entirely, and make your own assertions. Visit the National Library of Medicine online, known as PubMed, and search the terms that appeal to you.
What Is the Correct Dosage?
Another area of influence in which advice varies greatly is the correct dosage, again primarily because of lack of research.
For instance, an anticonvulsive property has been noticed in rats that had a pentylenetetrazole-induced condition of epilepsy, which were consequently treated with 30 mg/kg/d of CBD. However, this rate of dosage does not constitute the same results for a dog with epilepsy.
In general, if CBD is being used for the first time, you should start slow and low. Keep a close eye on your pet, and see if they react oddly. 2 drops per kilo of body weight, once in the morning and once in the evening is plenty for a first-timer pet.
Now, there is a problem with that advice: it does not account for the potency of the product into consideration. For this reason alone, the administration of the oil should not be employed without specialized recommendation, and the correct dosage should be determined on the calculated potency of the manufacturer.
If you still cannot come up with an appropriate dosage, contact the manufacturer and ask them about preferred/recommend dosages for pets of various sizes.
How to Buy CBD Hemp Products for Pets?
Before you get to actually buying these hemp products, you need to note that they cannot be marketed as medicines, but as dietary supplements or nutraceuticals. This is because federal agencies, such as the FDA, prohibit a vendor from directly mentioning medical conditions that can potentially be treated without the product being registered as a drug.
The majority of cannabis-based therapy for pets is the situation in and from the USA because there are no minimum standards for products that are designed for animals. Thus, you have to be especially careful, because some vendors truly have no interest in the wellbeing of your pets, but only in the money that you will be spending.
When buying a CBD/CBG product for your pet, ensure that it has been formulated specifically for pets and not for humans. However, you should always ensure that you are buying from a reputable brand. To do this, you can visit a subreddit by searching “CBD reddit” on google.
When visiting one of these subs, you can ask questions and people will respond with their recommendations. However, considering that CBD is not illegal, the reputable vendors will probably be pinned on the side-bar on the right.
Much like human cannabidiol products, there’s a large variety of cannabis-based supplements for your pets, starting with treats, biscuits, tinctures, and oils, and going as far as bath soaps and much more.
Your Pet Pleased
Now that you know about cannabis and hemp products, and how you can help your pet with their application, you are well on your way to doing more research to figure what exactly your pet needs.
Now that’s just a start, but you should also consider what your pet wants. If you’re going to force-feed them something they have no idea exists, you might as well treat them while you do it. Chews and biscuits are the easiest products for healing your pet while making them happy.
If you’re interested in other health-related topics, check out the rest of our categorical page for a host of interesting articles.
