Hemp is an ancient medicinal plant. The psychoactive THC – just one of the active ingredients – has given it a bad image and made many almost forget its benefits. Thanks to legal CBD, hemp is making a comeback that can also benefit dogs. Find out how to get CBD oil for dogs in the UK and how it can help your dog here!
Hemp (cannabis) does not only consist of THC. The plant contains many other compounds called cannabinoids. The most commonly used is probably CBD. This stands for cannabidiol, which came into the public eye around the turn of the millennium.
The reason was Charlotte Figi from the USA, who suffered from epilepsy as a small child. When other medications weren’t helping, she was given an oil high in CBD but low in THC. The amazing result: CBD helped to reduce the number of seizures and their severity significantly. In addition, it is not psychoactive.
As a result, more and more people discovered the power of CBD: besides having a calming effect on stress, it is also said to have anti-inflammatory properties and help with pain. It stimulates the appetite and probably even has an antibacterial effect. As far as we know, CBD oil for dogs and humans is also almost completely free of side effects.
Possible effects of CBD:
- relaxing
- anti-inflammatory, antibacterial
- Support for the immune system
- appetizing
Possible areas of application:
- Pain relief, for example, for joint problems
- Calm down in stressful situations
- digestion
- skin and coat problems
- improve general well-being
The appetite-stimulating effect is probably because eating behavior also changes after pain relief. In general, CBD can help improve your dog’s quality of life. Therefore, many pet owners also resort to it.
Why does CBD work in dogs?
Dogs are mammals like humans, cats, or horses; therefore, they have an endogenous reception system for cannabinoids. It’s called the endocannabinoid system (ECS). Although little known to date, it plays a vital role in health: if one of the animal’s other internal systems gets out of balance, the ECS regulates it. This can affect any system, such as the immune, digestive or reproductive systems. For minor injuries, CBD can also support wound healing. It is absorbed orally or through the skin.
The ECS consists of a large number of receptors that are everywhere in the dog’s body, for example, on the skin or brain. At these receptors, CBD develops a complex effect that can lead to an improvement in well-being. This does not always work because hemp is not a conventional painkiller. In addition, it takes a little time for the organism to get used to the gift. Dog owners should, therefore, not get impatient if CBD oil does not immediately improve their symptoms. Sometimes it can take several weeks to get there.
Apply CBD oil
One of the most common areas of application in dogs is probably chronic pain, such as osteoarthritis. If your four-legged friend shies away from going to the vet or is afraid of death on New Year’s Eve, you can try whether products with CBD can reduce stress in addition to other measures (close the shutters, turn on the radio, stay close by, etc.).
In the worst case, no effect is noticeable. This can also be because many dog owners know too little about the dosage and onset of the effect. CBD works individually; in the body, it develops an interplay with the organism and other endogenous cannabinoids. Because no living thing on earth has the same composition of body chemistry, handling CBD requires some sensitivity.
Dosage and concentration
In order to find the right dosage, you should therefore approach it slowly and discuss this with your veterinarian, especially if your dog has health problems. You can start with one drop a day to get to know the substance and test whether the dog accepts it. After about a week, the body should get used to it, and the dose can be increased if necessary (e.g., 1 more drop every 2 to 3 days).
Avoid exceeding a certain dosage. Use your dog’s body weight as a basis: a small dog of up to 12 kilograms should not receive more than 5 mg of CBD per week. The bigger the dog, the more it tolerates. At most, large dogs over 50 pounds should only consume about 15 mg per week. The guide value for medium-sized dogs lies between the two extremes: for dogs between 12 and 25 kilos, the weekly dose should be between 5 and 10 mg CBD.
Important: CBD is not the same as oil. If we are talking about milligrams (mg), it is about pure CBD extract. Its amount is indicated in each vial. If we talk about milliliters (ml), we are talking about oil, i.e., the CBD extract PLUS the carrier oil.
An example: Small bottles usually contain 10 ml of CBD oil. That’s all it contains, with a carrier oil and CBD extracts in a certain proportion (concentration). If it is CBD oil with a concentration of 2.5%, the bottle contains 250 mg of CBD.
Conclusion
CBD oil for dogs can relieve pain, anxiety, or skin problems. The application is almost free of side effects and can complement conventional therapy. You will get your best CBD oil for dogs, i.e., full spectrum CBD oil, in the UK when you shop at Pure Organic CBD.
