Does your pup get scared when lightning strikes? Do they pout at the door feeling as though you abandoned them every time you go out? If so, it may be time to give your dog CBD to treat anxiety.
Many pet owners are now giving their dogs cannabidiol (CBD) as a means of relieving anxiety and stress. While such practices have yet to be approved by veterinarians, many are reporting positive effects. And this comes as no surprise given the current research surrounding CBD and dogs.
Throughout this article, we’re going to take a deeper look at using CBD for dog anxiety. From there, we’ll list our top picks for the best CBD for dog anxiety.
In the human body, CBD has an indirect effect on the endocannabinoid system (ECS). While researchers aren’t 100% sure as to what these effects are, it’s theorized that CBD helps to balance out our ECS, returning it to a state of homeostasis. As a result, many people are finding CBD to help relieve a wide range of symptoms and conditions.
Dogs (and other mammals) also have an ECS within their bodies. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that research is starting to find CBD may also keep their ECS in check. In terms of anxiety, we have the following to go off of:
Naturally, all this research is very preliminary. Therefore, we cannot make any conclusions as to whether or not CBD will effectively help your dog’s anxiety. Still, this hasn’t stopped pet owners from giving it a shot.
| Extract Type | Isolate |
| Total CBD Range | 90mg |
| Potency Range | 3mg per treat |
| Price Range | $34.00 |
| Value ($/mg) | $0.37 per mg |
| THC Content | 0.0% |
| Lab Report | View Report |
| Flavor Variations | 1 |
| Potency Variations | 1 |
| Extract Type | Full-spectrum |
| Total CBD Range | 125mg - 1000mg |
| Potency Variations | 4.2mg - 33.33mg per serving |
| Price Range | $39.95 - $99.95 |
| Value ($/mg) | $0.10 - $0.32 per mg |
| THC Content | <0.3% |
| Lab Report | View Report |
| Flavor Variations | 1 |
| Potency Variations | 4 |
| Extract Type | Broad-spectrum |
| Total CBD Range | 300mg - 600mg |
| Potency Range | 10mg - 20mg per serving |
| Price Range | $29.99 - $39.99 |
| Value ($/mg) | $0.07 - $0.10 |
| THC Content | 0.0% |
| Lab Report | On individual product pages |
| Flavor Variations | 3 |
| Potency Variations | 2 |
| Extract Type | Full-spectrum |
| Total CBD Range | 300mg - 1800mg |
| Potency Range | 30mg per serving |
| Price Range | $19.00 - $89.00 |
| Value ($/mg) | $0.05 - $0.06 per mg |
| THC Content | <0.3% |
| Lab Report | View Report |
| Flavor Variations | 1 |
| Potency Variations | 1 |
| Extract Type | Broad-spectrum |
| Total CBD Range | 150mg - 600mg |
| Potency Range | 5mg - 20mg per chew |
| Price Range | $29.95 - $64.95 |
| Value ($/mg) | $0.11 - $0.20 |
| THC Content | 0.0% |
| Lab Report | N/A |
| Flavor Variations | 1 |
| Potency Variations | 3 |
Finding the right dosage for your dog can be difficult – especially when considering the fact that dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Luckily, most CBD brands offer dosage recommendations directly on the product. If your dog is new to CBD, we recommend starting with this dosage and seeing how it affects them.
However, you may find that the recommended dose isn’t doing the job. This is okay! Not all dogs will be susceptible to what a brand may suggest and here are the reasons why:
*For bodyweight recommendations, you can refer to the following chart:
| Weight | Low Dose | Medium Dose | High Dose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 lbs | 1mg | 3mg | 5mg |
| 20 lbs | 2mg | 6mg | 10mg |
| 30 lbs | 3mg | 8mg | 15mg |
| 40 lbs | 4mg | 10mg | 20mg |
| 50 lbs | 5mg | 12mg | 25mg |
| 60 lbs | 6mg | 14mg | 30mg |
| 70 lbs | 7mg | 16mg | 35mg |
| 80 lbs | 8mg | 18mg | 40mg |
| 90 lbs | 9mg | 20mg | 45mg |
| 100 lbs | 10mg | 24mg | 50mg |
In order to develop our list, we made the following criteria. If you plan on purchasing a product not mentioned here, we highly recommend you consider following this criterion as well.
Since the CBD industry is unregulated, brands must take it under their own belt in order to ensure safety and quality to customers. The way they do this is by running batches of product through a third-party lab test.
These will produce lab results known as a Certificate of Analysis (CoA). On these lab results, you’ll find a number of aspects of CBD, including its cannabinoid profile and whether or not it contains any contaminants, such as heavy metals.
Beyond the fact that we prefer brands that are transparent about their CoA, we also give priority to those who run all batches of products through a third-party lab.
If you’re wondering how a CBD product may affect your pet, we highly recommend looking at customer reviews. These are first-hand experiences others have with the product and will often give you more insight than the product page itself. More so, you’ll likely find comments people leave concerning whether or not a product was effective at helping dog anxiety.
In order to garner CBD, it must be extracted from the hemp plant. There are three standard extraction methods you can expect to find CBD products:
Since you can’t determine your dog’s preference, it’s only worth noting that some pets are extremely sensitive to THC. In such cases, a broad-spectrum or isolate product will likely be ideal. However, if you want your pet to experience the entourage effect, then you should go with a full-spectrum extract.
In order to extract CBD, brands must find a hemp source. Some are vertically integrated, meaning they source their own hemp from their own farms. In most cases, this is ideal – especially if they have details of the manufacturing process on their website. Still, in other cases, we prefer brands that source from local farms with organic practices.
Most CBD oils are made using very simple ingredients: carrier oil, hemp extract, and flavoring. Still, these and other CBD products (such as dog treats) may also contain other active ingredients (such as chamomile). For these other active ingredients, we recommend doing a bit of research so you know exactly what you’re giving your dog. On top of this, it’s important to give the ingredient list a look in case your dog has any dietary restrictions.
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In accordance with our list, FAB CBD’s Dog Treats are considered the best due to their leveled potency and delicious flavors.
CBD has been shown to be effective in relieving dog anxiety, but research remains slim. That said, we recommend giving a product a try in order to determine if it can help your pup.
Since research is limited, veterinarians are likely NOT going to recommend, administer, prescribe, or dispense CBD for dogs. Still, this doesn’t place CBD products completely off the table. It simply means more research is necessary before vets are allowed to recommend these products.
