The market is quite saturated with different types of CBD products, including the ones for our furbabies. However, one of the most popular ones of all is the CBD oil variations.
Way back in 2018, industrial hemp was legalized, which made way for companies to produce various types of products for both humans and animals. This was the beginning of its popularity, and it continues to rise to the top of the market making new customers such as pet parents wonder what it is. Luckily, there are many articles and guides on the internet, such as this one.
One of the reasons why CBD is well-known is its benefits for both humans and animals, such as dogs. Ever since it was said to be effective in treating certain conditions on pets like cats and dogs, people started to be more curious about it. It’s essential for us to do our research first before giving our fur babies a certain product. We can also visit a veterinarian for better information and recommendations. However, other than that, you can do your own research now by reading the facts below.
What Is Hemp?
Before we learn more about CBD, let’s get to know the industrial hemp plants first. Hemp is a plant from the Cannabaceae Family under the Cannabis Sativa species along with marijuana. However, this type of plant is much safer to extract CBD from as compared to marijuana which is illegal in most places; check out this link https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/246392. To simply put it, hemp contains the most CBD and has low concentrations of THC. To know more about these two compounds, just keep on reading.
What Is CBD?
Now that you’re aware of the hemp plant’s background, let’s discover what CBD is. The Cannabis Sativa plant species have what we call cannabinoids, and CBD is one of them. There are hundreds of cannabinoids in each plant, including THC and CBD (also known as Cannabidiol). However, they have different purposes.
Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive compound that possesses several health benefits for both our pets and us humans. Since it’s non-psychoactive, it doesn’t cause a high unlike THC.
What Is THC?
In contrast to Cannabidiol, THC, also known as tetrahydrocannabinol, is a psychoactive compound that is mainly found in marijuana. This would be the reason why the users of the plant get stoned, or in other words, experience a high. A lot of customers tend to avoid THC because of its side effects, although there are good benefits when all the cannabinoids work together. There are a few products in the industry that contain at least 0.3% of THC since it’s legal and doesn’t cause the high. However, some just don’t like taking the risk, which is a safer option if you’re new to Cannabidiol products.
After clarifying a few frequently asked questions, let’s get to the main topic, which is how to use CBD oil for dogs. Although there are other varieties, such as dog treats, the most versatile to use is the oil variations. For the reason that it comes with a dropper that you can use to directly put it on your dog’s mouth, or you can also add a couple of drops of oil to your dog’s food, water, and treats, as recommended by Holistapet, which you can see on their website. Knowing Cannabidiol products is that easy to use makes us question how it works and why we should use it on our dogs. Well, this is where the ECS and Cannabidiol benefits come into play.
What Is The ECS?
The Endocannabinoid System is a molecular system that exists in all of us, including animals like dogs, and is responsible for balancing processes inside our body. These include appetite, memory, mood, communication between cells, immune response, and also metabolism.
In short, it’s composed of endocannabinoids that connect to the cannabinoid receptors that cannabinoids from Cannabis can interact with. Hence, making CBD oil work for specific health issues, which you’ll find out later on.
How Can Dogs Benefit From CBD Oil?
1. Anxiety
One of the famous benefits is anxiety relief. Although it’s difficult to determine instantly if your dog has severe anxiety, they would still show a few symptoms. These would be aggression, panting, drooling, restlessness, howling/barking excessively, depression, and so on (read more). Dog anxiety can be caused primarily by separation, fear, and aging. Just like with us humans, their anxiety levels have to be normal, and if it’s not, try consulting with your veterinarian.
2. Pain
Another well-known benefit for both people and dogs is pain relief. It can be joint pain, arthritis, body and muscle pain, and many more. It’s pretty bothersome for dogs if they have a certain discomfort somewhere in their body since it would prevent them from doing their daily activities like exercising and playing. The pain they feel would make them uncomfortable to move in any way, especially if the discomfort is around their legs.
3. Skin Conditions
We may notice that there are times that our dogs experience itchiness somewhere around their body, and they’d get restless. They would start scratching here and there, which results in various skin conditions. It would be the cause of irritated skin and hot spots that will make them scratch more in the long run. Cannabidiol happens to relieve a dog’s restlessness when they feel itchiness. Additionally, it helps soothe the skin to further ease the itchiness they’re feeling.
