Benefits of CBD Oil for Dogs
Like most pet parents, you treat your dogs like regular members of your household, right? It then follows that when they get sick, you want to give them the best possible remedies to relieve them of whatever discomfort they are currently experiencing – fast.
If you’ve been taking care of pets for a long time, you probably have heard about the new potent medicine that many dog lovers have been raving about: CBD.
This post will try to answer all questions you may have in your mind about CBD, including what it is, and what benefits your pet can enjoy, among others.
Understanding CBD
Before diving into the meat of this article, let us first discuss the basics of CBD to give you a good grasp of what to expect from the substance.
In the proceeding sections, you’ll find some important information about CBD, its origins, and its interactions with the body.
What Is CBD?
Short for cannabidiol, CBD is an extract from cannabis, which is the same plant commonly associated with marijuana. CBD is only one of more than a hundred cannabinoids in the plant, a lot of which are currently being studied for their health potentials.
Now, if you’re worried that CBD will get you beloved pooch “high,” it won’t, but we’ll get to that later.
CBD is not like THC, marijuana’s main psychoactive compound. CBD is 100% non-psychoactive and completely safe for your pet’s use. Also, CBD doesn’t have any known toxicity level. Thus, it won’t cause an alarming overdose.
Fact is, the CBD compound contained in most cannabis supplements for pets is often extracted from hemp, a cannabis variety that, by nature, has extremely low THC content.
How CBD Interacts with the Body
The ECS or endocannabinoid system makes it possible for CBD to interact with the body. Let’s first learn some basic information on how ECS works. This way, you can better appreciate its effect on the body.
A biological system present in all mammals, ECS involves managing a wide array of biological processes that include sleep, memory, and immune response, among many others.
It is primarily made up of 2 kinds of cannabinoid receptors. These are CB1 and CB2, which are built for interaction with endocannabinoids (naturally-produced cannabis by the brain.
They can, however, also interact with cannabinoids that are plant-based such as CBD. This, in turn, results to different responses in the body. When talking about CBD, a lot of these responses are quite beneficial.
Basically, the endocannabinoid system is responsible for processing the cannabinoids that are introduced to the body.
In the succeeding sections, we will cover the most important CBD benefits in a bit more detail. Many of the findings are derived from studies done on lab animals (such as rats), as well as clinical trials done on humans.
It is worth mentioning that CBD’s effects are almost similar in humans, cats, dogs, and most other house pets. This is due to the fact that just like people, cats and dogs likewise have an ECS that works almost the same way as it does in humans.
In addition, a lot of the conditions we’ll discuss later such as convulsions, arthritis, anxiety, and pain manifest almost in the same manner in pets like they do in people.
The Most Common CBD Benefits in Canines
Following are the 9 most common benefits of CBD in canines.
- Anti-Inflammatory – The powerful anti-inflammatory properties of CBD are commonly believed to be among the top reasons the compound is effective in providing relief for a wide variety of conditions like epilepsy, stress and anxiety, and chronic inflammatory conditions including cancer, IBD, and arthritis.
- Powerful Painkiller – A lot of pet lovers today are raving about CBD’s painkilling properties. According to recent studies, CBD has the ability to manage pain in your dogs in many different ways.
- Anticonvulsant – CBD is a natural anticonvulsant, and this is probably one of the most popular among CBD’s many medicinal uses. The compound can help manage various conditions in dogs like tremors, seizures, spasms, and tics.
- Improves Appetite – Dogs often go through a phase when they refuse to eat for various reasons. CBD can help stimulate your pet’s appetite, allowing him to get the necessary nutrients to stay strong and healthy.
- Antiemetic – Strong evidence that CBD is a potent antiemetic has been emerging recently. Studies suggest that the compound can help control vomiting and nausea, while at the same time, stimulating your pet’s appetite.
- Anticancer Effects – According to studies, CBD can help slow down malignant tumors from growing and spreading in rats. It provides protection from colon cancer.
- Stress and Anxiety Reliever – According to various studies, CBD can help in managing and treating various mental disorder symptoms including anxiety and stress. Like people, your dogs can also experience stress, anxiety, as well as phobias. The good news is, CBD has been proven to be helpful in these conditions.
- Promotes Homeostasis – Many pet parents today give CBD to their dogs not only as a form of treatment for various ailments, but to promote their furry friend’s overall wellbeing.
- Fights Glaucoma – According to recent studies, CBD can help lower eye pressure in dogs suffering from glaucoma. If your pet’s glaucoma is not addressed, it can lead to blindness.
There are many other health and therapeutic benefits that dogs can enjoy from CBD. Listed above are only the more common ones.
Things to Keep in Mind When Giving CBD to Your Pets
If you notice your furry companion experiencing chronic pain, epilepsy, stress and anxiety, or suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions such as IBD, arthritis, or cancer, giving CBD as a form of treatment may be a good idea.
When looking for high quality CBD products for your dog, Holistapet (Editors Choice) and King Kanine are highly recommended. A lot of pet parents swear by the effectiveness and fast action of these products. You can also ask you vet for recommendations on which CBD products are best to use for your pet.