As I mentioned in my first blog….. LoKi, my dog is really the one launched me into this whole cannabis journey. When she was diagnosed with T-cell Lymphoma we originally thought ‘pot’ would help with her appetite. After buying the CBD oil from the local dispensary, we learned a few things. A) Most of the CBD oil products you will find are hemp based. For cannabis to be labeled ”hemp’ it must have <.3% THC. This is why companies are able to mail it all over the country. A word of caution! Buying cbd oil on the internet is a gamble. Anybody (china for instance) can mass produce fields and fields of industrial grade hemp, used for rope and other hemp products and turn it into cbd oil. THIS is money down the drain and possibly a horrible experience. I would recommend sticking with companies that are purely focused on medical grade hemp products. I trust Mary’s Medicinals and Stanley Brothers. I know that Canna-Pet is popular, but have not used their products. Back to LoKi – B) so CBD is not really going to stimulate appetite because it is very low in THC (which is the appetite stimulant in cannabis). It WILL however support a dog through chemo treatment, so we went with it. Prednisone had her up and running and EATING (like everything in the house), so cbd turned out to be a good balance for that. It helped her relax! In fact, one night I accidentally gave her about 5-6 drops instead of her 2-3 and she slept VERY hard. Peeing on herself in fact. Don’t do that. Over the months, we tried a couple of chemo drugs, one was called Vincristine – a one time 3 minute infusion that can cause GI upset, lethargy, malaise, hair loss, etc. She experienced zero side effects and we even wondered if she actually got the drug. Whew! Our first priority is to keep her feeling good. Should she leave this earth earlier than expected, it won’t be because her parents made her endure painful, stressful treatments.
We have been crazy conservative in the treatments we have agreed to, declining standard protocols that are much more intense. We are going for quality of life, not quantity of days. I suspect that the cbd has played a role in her overall happiness and energy level, but it’s hard to say. She runs around like a puppy yet we are often told that her time is limited.
CBD has shown over and over again to support pets with:
- pain, swelling (anti-infalmmatory)
- anxiety, aggression (anxiolytic)
- reducing allergies, skin issues
- seizures, muscle spasms (anti epileptic)
- tumors (antiproliferative, anticancer)
- digestive issues (anti-prokinetic)
- heart disease
- overall well being
People are constantly telling me that their older dog was on pain medication and when they incorporated in cbd, they were eventually able to wean down (or off) the meds, which everyone knows comes with their own list of side effects. Why NOT try it, I ask??? I can’t think of a single thing you have to lose! With that said – PLEASE don’t let your dog get into THC containing products!! Regular marijuana can cause all kinds of complications, including disorientation, hallucinating, stumbling, vomiting, increased heart rate and potentially death. Be responsible. Mmmmk?
Dosing:
I prefer to get the 500mg bottle of cbd, which has about 25mg per ml (dropper full). Each DROP has 1-2 mg of cbd in it, which is a good place to start. LoKi is 75# and can tolerate 2-3 gtts twice a day, but we did that gradually. It’s important with people and pets to start LOW and go SLOW. If you have a little one, 1 gtt twice a day may be fine. Most dogs like the taste, so putting it on their food is usually easiest.
*** Of note – I use Mary’s Medicinals cbd tincture, which I am finding is a bit more rich than the CW tincture. So if you go with Stanley Brothers, your dog may adapt quickly to a much larger dose. Although they are different from each other, I trust them to be a consistent product.
Our vet was very supportive of our plan to use cbd. I can’t say that all vets will be that way, the evidence to prescribe it is just not there, so they are restricted in what they can recommend. Understandable! Again – there are testimonials ALL over the internet about people giving their pets cbd. I really like this one:
There ARE vets out there that have put cannabis into their tool belt. Dr. Robert Silver from Boulder wrote a book called ‘Medical Marijuana and your pet’. He shares TONS of great information in this book and also has a website that you should take a look at: http://nurseyourpet.com/cannabis-for-pets-posts/
I’m afraid I can’t explain EXACTLY WHY cannabis is so great for your pet, so I will just have to refer you to people that have YEARS of experience in the field. I can only see with my own eyes what it has done for LoKi. I love that she has no preconceived notions that can possibly interfere with the efficacy of this medication. She just loves to play ball. Period.
Of note – THIS is LoKi. Just LoKi. NO cannabis products on board 😉
Exploring Medical Cannabis 