Our pets are important to us. They quickly become a part of our families, providing joy, companionship, comfort, and support. They can help us maintain a healthy lifestyle, keep us on a consistent schedule, and cheer us up no matter how long our day was. As the people who love and take care of them, we want to provide our animals with the best life we possibly can. We don’t like to see them in pain and want to do whatever’s in our power to improve their quality of life.

As medicines and therapies for animals continue to develop, our pets are living longer. While that’s something to be celebrated, it also means that conditions like arthritis, inflammation, and pain are common challenges that pet owners face. Just as we’ve done for ourselves, pet owners have been turning to at-home remedies and alternative therapies in search of better solutions.

This means that the use of CBD as a pet medication is becoming more popular, especially to help manage symptoms of inflammation, help with anxiety, and reduce pain. As CBD for pets is a hot topic, we think it’s important to consider the science and regulations, especially when it comes to the safety and wellbeing of animals.

Health Canada’s 2022 CBD Review

Since this post was originally written, Health Canada has recently come out with a report reviewing CBD and pets; the science, safety, and their recommendations. Due to how recently this report has been published, the impact it’ll have on the vet and scientific communities is still unclear. However, we think this news is exciting and wanted to keep you updated on the current developments.

According to this report, Health Canada found that there was not enough research to recommend using CBD with farm animals, animals that produce food, cats, or other companion animals. However, they seemed optimistic about the research conducted with CBD and dogs, stating that doses between 0.2-2mgs, twice a day, is considered safe. The report found that there is sufficient evidence to recommend CBD as a treatment for osteoarthritis in dogs, but not for any other treatment uses yet. Veterinary diagnosis and monitoring are, of course, also recommended.

Hopefully, with the release of this report, we’ll begin to see more animal relevant CBD studies being conducted and the development of a clearer veterinary/CBD landscape.

A Vet’s Perspective

The vet landscape when it comes to CBD is complicated, largely due to regulations. While vets are currently allowed to both recommend and prescribe CBD treatments, they’re limited to what’s been made available and approved for animal consumption. Although there’s a wide range of CBD products available in over-the-counter shops, none of these products have been approved for animal usage yet. This means that vets are unable to recommend any of the specific CBD products you could pick up in your local dispensary. On top of this, there aren’t currently any prescription CBD medications available for animal use either. While vets may be able to discuss the use of CBD within the context of your animal’s health, until specific CBD products become approved for animal consumption, it appears as though they’re unable to recommend specific products or treatments.

A recent study in the U.S. surveyed vets in order to assess their comfort levels discussing and recommending CBD to pet owners. Ultimately, the majority were found to feel comfortable discussing the matter with coworkers, while less than half were willing to discuss CBD with their patients. Most of them, however, claimed that more research is needed, and not enough support is given to vets in order to understand how to legally navigate the conversation. As a note however, this study was released in 2019, so it’s possible things have continued to shift since then.

All this is to say, it could be difficult to discuss the use of CBD with your vet. However, especially when considering how CBD might interact with other medications your pet has been taking, it’s important to bring your vet into the conversation. Although they may be unable to prescribe or recommend anything, they’ll be able to provide you with important medical advice and information. 

Current Available Research

For humans, we know that CBD works to support our endocannabinoid system (ECS) and can help mitigate all kinds of symptoms and health challenges. Since this is a big topic, we have another blog post dedicated to it here. To summarize, however, CBD can help us regulate many of our body’s systems.

We know that the ECS isn’t just a system found within humans – animals have it too. This suggests the idea that what CBD can do for us, it can also do for our pets. Unfortunately, despite a large amount of anecdotal evidence, the scientific evidence is limited. That said, what research has been done so far seems promising.

One of the most significant studies conducted with dogs has shown that CBD has potential treatment applications for osteoarthritis, namely through its anti-inflammatory properties. Another study, investigating CBD’s usefulness in treating seizures also found some success. The researchers of this study added that they suspect higher dosages of CBD might be more effective. Additionally, in this study, assessing any risks and side effects associated with CBD usage, Canopy Animal Heath found that over the course of twenty-eight days, CBD was well tolerated by dogs.

Since the initial release of this article, more research continues to be conducted. For example, this study found that CBD may have the potential to lower stress in dogs. This other study investigated not only CBD, but CBDA and CBG as well, to assess its effectiveness at pain management support in horses with chronic osteoarthritis. It found positive results. Additionally, this research review not only highlights all the studies we have so far, but concludes that (while more research is needed), the potential effects cannabis may have on pets is potentially promising and worth investigating further.

Thankfully, more research should be coming our way in the future. One study, proposed by The Canine Health Association, hopes to assess the therapeutic applications of CBD in epileptic dogs. Canopy Animal Health is also currently conducting a series of studies researching the use of CBD to help mitigate symptoms of anxiety, chemotherapy, epilepsy, pain, and inflammation in both cats and dogs.

Dosages

If you have decided to give CBD to your pet, dosage is important. Much the same as for us, there are no specific guidelines for CBD dosages in animals. Because effects can vary widely depending on an individual’s physiology, dosing in humans often comes down to trial and error, something of which we talk about more here.

What we do know is that animals, dogs in particular, have more cannabinoid receptors in their brain, which makes them more sensitive to the effects of THC. Although you can find some guidance on dosage from sources like ProjectCBD, without all the science to back it up, we can’t make any recommendations. What we can say is that it’s important to start low and go slow, assessing how your pet handles each new increment. In terms of delivery method, there’s been some research to suggest that CBD infused oil, given orally, has the most positive impact. Generally, vapourized, smoked cannabis, and edibles should never be used with pets as these are hard to specifically dose.

Side Effects

The vast majority of reported side effects have more to do with pets ingesting larger amounts of THC and have almost nothing to do with CBD consumption. THC toxicity side effects can include becoming wobbly and uncoordinated, disoriented, hyperactive, or extra vocal. Pets might also have dilated pupils, drool, or vomit. Additionally, they might experience elevated heart rate and blood pressure, slowed breathing, and lethargy. However, it’s important to note that THC intoxication is rarely fatal, especially when animals are treated by a vet for toxicity right away.

Another thing to consider is that THC is known to elevate heart rate, which could cause additional complications if your pet has an existing heart condition. There’s also been some research into CBD and the increase of liver enzymes, meaning that CBD usage might inflame or exasperate liver issues. Other reported, short-term effects include things like drowsiness, dizziness, or low blood pressure, but as this research review discusses, long-term effects are less known, and with the variations in studies, dose is hard to pin down.

As we mentioned before, CBD does seem to be fairly well tolerated. This study found that other cannabinoids, such as CBG, also may be safe. Of course, connecting with your vet and discussing CBD, possible drug interactions, dosing, and any other health considerations is important when it comes to keeping your pet healthy and making the right decisions for them.

TL;DR

We don’t have enough science yet to make any recommendations about whether or not you should be giving CBD to your pets. While the initial research seems promising, there’s a lot we still don’t know yet. Hopefully in the next few years, we’ll have a clearer understanding about the effects of CBD on animals. In the meantime, however, if you have decided to give your pets CBD, make sure to speak with your veterinarian, buy your products from a trustworthy source, and be thoughtful about dosing.