Why Use CBD for Dogs?

CBD is often mentioned as a useful therapy for a variety of conditions, including pain management, arthritis, anxious dogs, and cancer. Although the use of CBD in treating each of these conditions is under-researched, there are many levels of scientific evidence for each scenario.

Arthritis

Because CBD shares metabolic pathways with anti-inflammatory drugs, it makes sense that it would help with certain inflammatory conditions (anything that ends with -itis is an inflammatory condition.

Osteoarthritis often abbreviated as arthritis, is one of the most common inflammatory conditions in dogs.

One in four dogs will be diagnosed with arthritis in their lifetime, and by some estimates, as many as 60% of dogs exhibit some degree of the disease. 

Research has shown that CBD can provide substantial pain relief in dogs with arthritis when given twice daily at appropriate doses.

Pain

The anti-inflammatory benefit seen in arthritic dogs could also be seen in dogs with other types of inflammatory pain, especially back pain from intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). 

Some early studies in people have shown that combo products containing both CBD and THC are more beneficial for pain relief than when either drug is given alone. But no such research has been done on dogs, so THC should not be given to them.

Seizures

Seizures are probably the most-studied application of CBD in people, but limited research exists for pets. In dogs, seizures can be caused by a vast number of underlying conditions.

With regards to idiopathic epilepsy specifically, there is some research that suggests that  However, these benefits are only seen with dogs that are given traditional anti-seizure medications at the same time.

Cancer

Like seizures, the term “cancer” is an umbrella term that refers to an extremely diverse set of specific diseases, each with their own set of beneficial treatments.

In people, CBD has been studied for possible use in cancer patients, both to treat the tumor(s) directly, as well as to treat the secondary symptoms of cancer and chemotherapy. Very limited research has been done on the use of CBD for dogs with cancer.

However, the anti-nausea effects of CBD seen in people who undergo chemotherapy have also been documented in rats and ferrets, suggesting that dogs receiving chemotherapy may benefit from CBD treatment.

Anxiety

Perhaps the biggest misconception is that CBD is useful in managing a dog’s anxiety. In theory, it is possible that CBD, by reducing pain and inflammation, could indirectly reduce anxiety caused by pain or inflammation.

But because CBD is not psychoactive, it is unlikely that CBD has the ability to directly treat canine anxiety in the way that Prozac and other medications do. The use of CBD for anxiety in dogs, as with most conditions, requires substantially more research.

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