You’re not the only one who can benefit from consistently using CBD—your furry friends can too! Our pets experience anxiety, nausea, inflammation and chronic pain just like we can. In general, CBD for pets safe to use (namely cats and dogs) because it doesn’t contain THC. THC can actually be very harmful to animals. Dog specifically have many many more cannabinoid receptors, so the effects of the THC are more intense than when we use it.
So how do you know which kind of CBD to use and how much to safely dose your pets? Here’s some things you need to know!
The Benefits of
Pet CBD Dosing
CBD works its wonders by working with our endocannabinoid system, which is in charge of regulating most of our body’s systems. This results in things like better sleep, relief from chronic pain, brain fog, and inflammation. Our pets have an endocannabinoid system too! So depending on how much you give them and what kind, your pets can have all these CBD benefits too!
Dogs can get separation anxiety, stress from the environment (like fireworks), physical pain from arthritis, old age, or cancers—CBD can give them some relief for all those issues, just how it helps us humans! The key is knowing where to even start.
How to start Pet CBD dosing
The biggest tip for dosing dogs and other pets is the same for someone who is just starting their CBD journey: Low and slow. Start with a low dose once or twice a week. Then, after your dog gets accustomed to it, you can bump it up to three or four times a week or try a higher dose.
Something else to consider is why your dog or pet needs CBD. Do they have something severe like nausea, chronic pain, or prone to seizures? Or do they just need it for overall wellbeing and mild anxiety? A more severe issue could mean they need a higher dose.
How much to give your pet
In general, it is recommended to dose 1-5mg per 10lbs of weight. This is a good starting point, but just like dosing with us humans can vary from person to person, different dogs can have a different reaction to CBD. Different CBD brands can also have differing amounts of CBD in their different products, i.e. dog treats, CBD oil, etc. Always follow the instructions and recommendations of the particular brand you’re using for your pets!
Keep an eye on them to see how they respond to different doses (keep a little bullet journal if it helps!) and also use this chart to figure out what amount of CBD might be best for your pet:
| Weight | Low Dose (Overall health) | Medium (Anxiety, light symptoms) | High (Chronic pain, severe symptoms) |
| 5lb | 1mg | 1.5mg | 2.5mg |
| 10lb | 2mg | 3mg | 5mg |
| 20lb | 4mg | 6mg | 10mg |
| 50lb | 10mg | 15mg | 25mg |
| 60lb | 12mg | 18mg | 30mg |
What kind of CBD to use: Full Spectrum or Broad Spectrum
The most important thing when looking for the right CBD for your pup is to make sure it doesn’t contain any THC. THC can be harmful to pets, especially if your pet is smaller. Next, know the difference between the actual kinds of CBD out there.
Full Spectrum
A full spectrum CBD just means that when they extract the CBD oil from the plant, they extract all of the compounds from the plant (essential oils, terpenes, other cannabinoids, etc.) For us humans, this could be a great option, because it gives us the benefits of more cannabinoids and other compounds. For our furry loved ones, it might not be the best option because full spectrum CBD contains trace amounts of THC. If you’re really considering using a full spectrum option for your pet, definitely do as much research as possible to make sure it’s safe for your pet!
Broad Spectrum
Similar, yet different, broad spectrum CBD has all the same properties of full spectrum without THC. THC is the only component from the cannabis plant that is not extracted with broad spectrum. This type of CBD is recommended for pets because they can still get all the great benefits without the risk of ingesting THC, which could harm them.
Now that you’ve got some key info under your belt, try out our broad spectrum, safe and delicious CBD dog treats!
