Is CBD Oil Safe for Your Dog?
It seems that everyone is talking about CBD oil lately, especially about its health benefits for the human mind and body. You have probably already seen at least one person using CBD to fight chronic conditions, such as pain or anxiety, for example. But what you may not have heard so far is that CBD can be helpful for your dog as well, especially for treating pain or epilepsy-based seizures.
What Is CBD?
CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of the two main compounds of cannabis. But unlike THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, it doesn’t possess any psychoactive or mind-altering properties.
That’s the reason why CBD is easier to buy and why it is available for our pets too. Researchers are still trying to figure out how CBD works in the long run for both humans and dogs, but what we know so far is very promising. CBD is not psychoactive but it has almost the same medical benefits as THC. Scientists can’t explain the exact way it affects our or dogs’ brains, but they do know it works. That means we can take advantage of those benefits without being concerned that our dogs might experience any kind of mind-altering effects.
How Can a Dog Benefit from CBD Oil?
When it comes to pain, dogs that use CBD oil seem to be less reactive to low-level pain stimuli, like the ones coming from arthritis. The scientists don’t know if their pain threshold is being affected or if they simply stop caring about the pain – but the effect is almost instant and clearly visible. This makes the dog more energetic and happier, which, in turn, affects the quality of its life — and also yours, for that matter.
It also seems that it helps dogs with epileptic seizures, the same way it does with humans suffering from this medical condition. The biggest problem with epilepsy medicine is that it usually doesn’t work, at least for the bigger part of the patients (both humans and dogs). But when it comes to CBD oil, the studies are showing that it could potentially help control seizures. Even the FDA had to say yes to Epidiolex, a CBD-based medicine for epilepsy.
There are cases when a dog can’t even walk because of arthritis, and after the CBD oil treatment, it runs and jumps around the house, happily waving its tail. There are cases when a dog would experience 5-6 epileptic seizures in a day, and after the CBD oil treatment, the attacks go down to 1-2 in several months or disappear altogether.
This All Sounds Amazing, but Are There Any Risks?
Scientists are honest about what they do not know yet. As of this moment, there is no approved CBD oil for dogs, only the recommendations of veterinarians who had positive feedback after suggesting this alternative medical treatment due to the lack of success with traditional medicine.
That’s why we need to always keep in mind that there might be some risks of reactions. That said, if you decide to treat your dog with CBD oil, try small doses first and monitor it carefully to detect any unusual behavior. If this happens, take your dog to the vet immediately.
So, Is It Worth It?
When it comes to very painful conditions like arthritis or the ones that bring an increased risk of premature death, like epilepsy, and traditional medicine doesn’t work, it seems that CBD oil could potentially be very helpful for the suffering dog. Although there are not enough studies proving the positive or side effects, it still seems like it’s worth it. However, you should always first consult your vet and follow their instructions.
