You may have heard about the health and wellness trend in dogs called CBD, and you want to get one for your pet. Cannabidiol or CBD has a lot of potential therapeutic benefits, and many owners are already publishing their anecdotal evidence on some sites.
However, before you rush to buy CBD oil for your canine, it’s essential to know some things about it. Know that this is a supplement that the FDA hasn’t regulated, and you should ask questions to the manufacturers before buying a dog oil to ensure its safety. With this said, here are some questions that you should ask.
1. Is the Product a Full-Spectrum or an Isolate?
Most of the cannabidiol extracts in the market today are sold as full-spectrum or isolate. Isolate is ideal if this is your canine’s first time to take CBD. It’s pure and doesn’t include any other trace ingredients and active compounds.
On the other hand, full-spectrum varieties contain flavonoids, terpenes, cannabidiol, vitamins, minerals, and other phytocompounds that work together to make the therapeutic effects work faster. It’s worth noting that there are tinctures in the market with 0.3% THC as an ingredient, so your pet can experience the entourage effect. This is when the THC boosts the cannabidiol extracts making your pet get more relief from back pain or arthritis.
You may be asking which one of them is better. To this, there’s no definite answer in canines often respond to treatments differently. Start with the isolate, and if you get the full-spectrum oil, you should only administer the minimum dose recommended by the manufacturer.
Many pet parents tend to prefer the full-spectrum options because it has the presence of medium-chain triglycerides from coconut oil so that your canine can easily absorb it. Learn more about MCT on this site here.
2. Does the Product Contain CBD?
You may see cheaper alternatives on online shops like hemp seed oil. Know that these extracts are not the same as CBD, and they will produce different effects. Some products only have a trace amount of the critical cannabidiol ingredient, and others don’t have anything in them.
Most often, the shady manufacturers may get away by labeling some of the packages that they have with hemp-based or hemp-infused words, but these are not the same. They don’t necessarily provide the potency that CBD can give your pet. The terms are meaningless, and even the Food and Drug Administration has provided warnings about those shady companies and sent them letters about fines for false advertising.
Verify their claims with other users and always seek products with labels that disclose the ratio and quantities of cannabidiol. Check the amount of THC through certificates and laboratory reports. The dosage should be listed on the bottles or available on many websites.
3. What is the Recommended Dosage?
Administration of cannabidiol means that you have to know the recommended dosage that your pet should take. The size and breeds are different, and this is apparent in an oversized Saint Bernard’s and a nine-pound chihuahua. The treatment should have charts according to other species, and they should be specifically clear about the size you should use.
One general rule of thumb is to give 1 mg of oil per ten pounds of your canine’s weight. However, this can vary according to the oil type, brand, and overall potency of the product that you’re using.
4. Where is the Source of the Extracts?
Cannabis plants receive a lot of contention today, and the place where they came from makes a lot of difference in the effects that they can give your pet. The molecules are the same in CBD extracted either from hemp or marijuana plants and in commercial CBD. The difference, however, is the amount of THC content in the oil. Almost 50 states can buy and sell cannabidiol that contains 0.3% THC concentration, and other councils may forbid these transactions.
Other unscrupulous companies may source their hemp plants from overseas, and you can never be sure about the by-products in them. Most of them may contain contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and other herbicides, which are considered inferior products. The flavorings and additives are also not recommended to be given to your pet dog.
5. What were the Extraction Methods Used?
Knowing the purity and origin of the product means that you should also know about its processes, like the extraction methods. Today, the high-quality and premium extracts were made using supercritical CO2, and this is the same process used in commercial perfumes and other essential oils.
A lot of companies prefer supercritical CO2 extraction because it’s safer and more effective. It doesn’t leave any kind of residue behind, unlike ethanol and butane. The safest products are the ones that don’t leave any solvents behind because they can compromise some of the compounds and extracts in the final product.
Another cheaper alternative to the supercritical CO2 extraction method is the use of butane. This is when some are using food-grade ethanol, and these compounds don’t compromise the resulting product. This is a smart move for many companies because they are not necessarily using toxic solvents for cannabidiol extraction. Some of the ones that are considered harmful are propane, hexane, and other hydrocarbons. Check the labels and chat with representatives before buying supplements for your beloved pet dog.
