Cannabidiol (CBD) is the buzzword of modernity; people use it for health and wellness, as a general stress reliever and muscle relaxant, painkiller, and even sleeping pill. There is a sound clinical base behind such diverse uses, as CBD research has been booming in the past years after the compound’s legalization across the USA. Thus, modern users can enjoy the benefits of science-backed, non-addictive, and non-intoxicating cannabinoid use for varied health advantages.
What has spread among humans so quickly is gradually penetrating the pet industry. Pet owners are loving, caring people who want the best for their furry companions. Thus, after feeling the bonuses of regular CBD consumption for their painful conditions or anxiety, they have started considering the same remedy for their small friends. But is CBD a good remedy for animal health issues? Can it boost pets’ wellness and health? And what is the boundary between rewarding a pet with a CBD treat and subjecting it to hazardous, unverified treatment? This article considers all pros and cons of using CBD treats for pets.
How Can CBD Treats Help?
The first and most important issue you should ask yourself when considering the purchase of CBD treats is: does my pet really need it? In reality, many people fall prey to seductive marketing and buy CBD treats to improve their furry friends’ already excellent health. In this case, animals can exhibit adverse reactions to CBD. Here are some situations in which CBD will help:
- Pain. Animals can feel pain for various reasons: trauma, age-related joint deterioration, or arthritis. In any case, pets with chronic pain cannot function properly and often exhibit restlessness and aggression. In other cases, they may look disengaged and lethargic. All these states are a natural cause of worry for their owners, so you can try CBD to relieve pain and bring your pet back to a relaxed state.
- Anxiety. It’s common for animals to overreact to loud noises, like thunder or construction work next door. A wide range of diseases may cause discomfort and also become a cause of permanent anxiety. A trip or a visit to a doctor alone may shake the pet’s emotional balance, and in all these cases, CBD can be of much help.
- Seizures. There’s no safe and efficient remedy for treating seizures in pets – at least in the traditional pharmaceutical industry. All solutions vets recommend have severe side effects and are of limited impact. Therefore, with CBD gaining wide use in human medicine, specifically for seizures, vets have also started exploring CBD treatment regimens for pet seizures.
- Nausea. Animals on chemo often feel nausea and vomit from time to time. CBD can help your favorite pet restore the gastrointestinal tract’s health and reduce nausea symptoms, thus helping them go through this challenging life period.
Toxicity Risks to Consider
Even despite a realm of benefits associated with CBD use in humans and animals, people should understand that CBD acts completely differently on their pets’ bodies, so they should exercise extra caution and monitor their pets’ condition to avoid side effects and toxicity. Here are the key recommendations based on the clinical findings of Greb and Puschner in 2018.
- CBD is not as bioavailable in animals as in humans when consumed orally. Intravenous consumption is much more suitable for achieving tangible health benefits in pets.
- CBD is lipophilic in pets. This means that CBD can accumulate in the animal’s tissues and visceral fat and then cause acute toxicity. Thus, serious counterindications exist for permanent and prolonged CBD use in pets.
- While people may tolerate the trace THC amounts pretty well and not even recognize THC’s presence in full-spectrum CBD; animals can die of THC intoxication. Thus, only CBD isolate products are recommended for administration to pets.
- Interestingly, CBD acts as an immunosuppressant in animals, so it shouldn’t be administered in animals with weak or compromised immunity, for instance, those who underwent chemo recently.
Choosing the Right CBD Treat
Now that you understand that CBD can benefit your pet in many ways, selecting the right product is vital. We recommend starting at https://askgrowers.com/cbd/cbd-products-for-pets/cbd-pet-treats where you’ll find many reputable providers and learn more about quality parameters.
A rule of thumb for pet CBD product selection is as follows:
- Watch out for THC. Your pet will hardly tolerate even the slightest THC dose, so there’s no sense in exposing it to this danger. Use only CBD isolates to protect your furry friend from side effects and health issues.
- Look at the product’s certificate of analysis (CoA). This document will help you verify that the contents indicated on the label coincide with the actual ingredients and concentrations. This step is vital to ensure the product is safe and won’t cause intoxication.
- Buy CBD treats only from legit, proven providers. No need to risk your pet’s health by buying unclear homemade treats from a no-name dispensary.
- Start low and go slow. It’s vital to start CBD administration with a minimal dose and then see how it works for your pet. Thus, we recommend buying products specifically formulated for pets and choosing the concentration optimal for your animal’s breed and weight.
CBD Treats for Pets and Marketing
The CBD market, like any other industry, is full of aggressive marketers who don’t care about the plausibility of their claims in many cases. They aim to sell as many products as possible and achieve commercial success.
Thus, we recommend exercising discretion whenever you see or hear a too-good-to-be-true promise of miraculous recovery for your pet. Weigh that evidence and always double-check the claims to avoid overpaying for CBD treats.
Is a CBD Treat Only a Treat?
Thus, as you can see, CBD treats are much more than a reward for a pet. They come with a wide range of therapeutic uses and help pet owners arrange a safe, non-addictive treatment regimen for various illnesses and conditions. However, it’s vital to remember that findings from human clinical studies don’t apply to pets; animals process CBD differently and quickly develop intoxication if exposed to THC. Thus, it is vital to treat CBD products seriously and apply them only if your pet exhibits any of the symptoms mentioned above, not as simple treats for a wellness boost.