Passionate of medicinal cannabis and a fierce believer that marijuana can help animals in different diseases.
14-09-2018 10:00:52 - Updated: 14 September, 2018
Dogs and Marijuana? Thats a good question. The benefits of the chemical compounds contained in the cannabis have demonstrated in the last years more than enough effectiveness in multitude of ailments in humans. Hundreds of chemical compounds remain in the marijuana plant, among which the so-called CBD (cannabidiol) is related to beneficial effects in many diseases ranging from epilepsy to anxiety through osteoarthritis, cancer or inflammatory bowel diseases.
In this link you can see how at the moment there are almost 6000 scientific studies published in impact journals that endorse everything we have just explained..
How could it be otherwise, the benefits of certain marijuana components, such as CBD, have begun to be tested on companion animals showing results as satisfactory or better than in humans. Before we continue to discuss how you will be able to help your pet with the use of CBD, we need to understand a number of key concepts. Inside the marijuana plant, as we have said, there are thousands of chemical compounds, the best known being THC and CBD.
It is important for you to understand that THC above certain amounts can be toxic and even deadly to your pet. It is not the same with the CBD that we can use within certain doses in our animals obtaining beneficial effects in many circumstances.
This is a very important caveat because we must use CBD products specifically designed for pets and with veterinary formulation; this is the main guarantee that they contain effective and controlled levels of CBD in the perfect combination. Not just any presentation of CBD for dogs will do and that is why our formulation has been specifically designed to work on dogs in the most effective way.
For the CBD to be assimilable by your dog we have to start from presentations in the form of oil for sublingual use; otherwise, if we simply let him ingest it, its effect will be much less because of the so-called first step effect. In our Growshop you will find products for both CBD for dogs and CBD for cats. Make your pet’s life much easier, he deserves it!
? The CBD and the dogs
The CBD molecule is a NON-psychoactive component of the plant Cannabis sativa; in other words, your dog will not experience any psychoactive effect and will benefit from beneficial effects in many organs and systems which will allow us to use it in our dogs to help them in many circumstances and ailments. Luckily, at this time we already have studies that analyze the effects and behavior of CBD in the canine organism.
How certain you are to find yourself in your environment with skeptics or perhaps your vet is not fully familiar with this molecule, here we leave you with a large group of studies on the dynamics of CBD behavior in the canine body (study, study, study, study, study, study, study, study, study). In addition, with the purchase of our product you will have the online advice of our veterinary team
Here are some studies on the subject:
1- Simple and Fast Gas-chromatography Mass Spectrometry Assay to Assess Delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol in Dogs Treated with Medical Cannabis for Canine Epilepsy.
2- Comparative metabolism of cannabidiol in dog, rat and man.
3- Urinary metabolites of cannabidiol in dog, rat and man and their identification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
4- Pharmacokinetics of urinary metabolites of cannabidiol in the dog
5- Identification of urinary metabolites of cannabidiol in the dog.
6- Identification of metabolites of the 1″,1″-dimethylheptyl analogue of cannabidiol in rat and dog in vivo.
7- Identification of glucose conjugates as major urinary metabolites of cannabidiol in the dog
8- Pharmacokinetics of the dimethylheptyl homolog of cannabidiol in dogs
9- Pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol in dogs.
10- Hashish: synthesis and central nervous system activity of some novel analogues of cannabidiol and oxepin derivatives of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol.
What can I give my dog for the pain?
There are many circumstances in which your dog can experience pain: from the most foolish of everyday actions (slips, falls, involuntary stomps….etc) to a multitude of diseases that can cause pain such as osteoarthritis in elderly dogs or injuries in dogs that regularly do sport. In these cases, it is important that we understand that pain is nothing more than a warning sign of our dog’s body. It should be interpreted as an alarm and consult with your vet if the severity, extent, duration or compromise of your welfare is critical. However, in this context, CBD can be a powerful and natural ally to help us in our dog’s pain management.
Pain management in dogs is often limited to the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers from different chemical families. All of them, without exception, will have side effects that can limit their use over time, so having a CBD-based compound specifically formulated for dogs is an excellent idea, both in our first aid kit and to help our dog in diseases such as arthrosis/arthritis.
What dog diseases can CBD oil help us with?
Arthritis and osteoarthritis.
One of the most potent and studied effects of CBD is its anti-inflammatory and analgesic power (study). In dogs, painful mobility problems linked to pathologies such as arthritis and osteoarthritis usually appear with age. These diagnoses mean a loss of quality of life for our dogs with no possibility of cure or improvement. The use of classic anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs or corticosteroids) also has important side effects in the medium to long term, which, together with the fact that we are talking about chronic diseases, makes CBD an ideal molecule to help your dog. In fact, research is already being completed at the University of Colorado, and the results of this research show great promise for pain management in dogs with osteoarthritis.
CBD oil to treat your pet’s cancer
One of the fields of use of CBD in humans is for its anti-cancer properties. In fact, in this link you can see 104 scientific articles from impact journals linking CBD to anti-cancer properties. To date, we have considered CBD to be a palliative substance because of its analgesic and antiemetic (vomiting control) effects, however, a growing number of preclinical studies indicate its anti-cancer properties
CBD cannabinoids act by modulating the pathways of cancer cells, controlling cell proliferation, and controlling the survival of cancer cells. Many in vitro and in vivo experiments have shown that CBDs inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, stimulate autophagy (tumor destruction) and apoptosis (programmed death of cancer cells), and also have the potential to inhibit angiogenesis (development of tumor blood vessels) and metastasis
Therefore, if your dog has cancer, CBD can be an allied molecule in its process as shown by some reference source such as Veterinary Practice News in this article.
Anxiety and nervousness.
CBD interacts with a number of receptors that are found in the central nervous system, the brain and spinal cord. The performance of CBD at this level has been linked in many studies to beneficial effects on stress and anxiety management. In this link you can see a total of 145 scientific articles related to this fact and similarly to what happens in humans, the CBD used in dogs can help in the management of anxiety, stress and nervousness as it has been experienced in several preliminary tests
Seizures and Epilepsy.
One of the first focuses of attention at the CBD was the management of seizures in general and epilepsy in particular. In this respect, there is countless scientific evidence as you can see in this link where 177 articles are listed. There are many cases of canine epilepsies that do not respond to conventional drugs or in which they become excessively toxic when kept over time. And it is precisely in these cases that the use of CBDs in your dog can make a difference in controlling his seizures.
Such is the success that many veterinarians in the USA have begun to obtain that the University of Colorado itself has taken an interest in the matter and Dr. Stephanie McGrath is currently conducting a pioneering study to determine how and when to use CBD in epilepsy in the most optimal way possible..
Control of vomiting and appetite.
We’ve all had our pets vomiting on one occasion or another. They are usually resolved with a proper diet, rest and the use of a drug that blocks vomiting: those known as antiemetics. Sometimes there are other pathologies such as cancer that require the use of drugs that end up producing vomiting as a side effect that cannot be dispensed with. In all these aspects, the use of CBD acts at the level of the nervous system avoiding vomiting and inducing appetite, which is a very positive factor to improve recovery from many diseases that leave our pets inappetence.
Almost 50 studies support this fact, many of them already made in animals and we can benefit from it in our dogs.
Dermatitis and skin problems.
During the last few years, many studies (more than 100 at the moment) have been developed that relate the use of CBD to the control of various inflammatory and immunological mechanisms of dermatological diseases.
Today, changes in air pollutants, dietary effects and a whole series of unknown factors have led to an exponential increase in dermatological diseases in dogs. Whoever has a dog with any of them knows how insidious and difficult to handle they can be, not to mention the loss of our dog’s well-being with constant itching, alopecia, wounds, etc…
Other effects.
The CBD acts at the level of the endocannabinoid system (ES) that all mammals in general and therefore your dog have. The ES is related to regulatory centers of behavior, relaxation, appetite as well as gastrointestinal and anti-inflammatory functions. It is located throughout the entire body of your dog so, since to date no harmful effects or toxicity limits have been found we can use it to improve their overall health and recovery and convalescence from many diseases.
⛳ Conclusions.
CBD is a group of substances naturally present in the marijuana plant but lacking any psychoactive effect and, therefore, correctly used are a safe molecule and highly effective for several pathologies of your dog. Cannabis for dogs opens a wide range of possibilities, with different treatments and dosages. CBD oil for dogs is now the easiest and best option for your dog. I hope this article helped you realise that marijuana for dogs is legit.
The use of CBD in dogs will help to improve many ailments and may become the key to the management of some diseases such as osteoarthritis or seizures.
The effectiveness of CBD will be related to the exact combination of CBDs we use, their presentation and mode of administration, and the dose.
Thanks for this great article – can you help me understand how much THC is allowable in a pet tincture for a dog of only 11lbs?
Hello Vince, Treatments for animals focus primarily on CBD, in fact the consumption of THC in pets is discouraged. The majority of veterinarians who prescribe cannabinoids, choose exclusively the cannabidiol, that in addition can be obtained more easily of the hemp.
As indicated in the post:
“It is important for you to understand that THC above certain amounts can be toxic and even deadly to your pet. It is not the same with the CBD that we can use within certain doses in our animals obtaining beneficial effects in many circumstances.”
Thanks