Hemp Oil for Pets: What Does It Do?

Everyone who has ever been a pet parent has experienced firsthand the awful feeling of a pet who may be unwell. We adore our pets and will do anything to help them feel better. Using a hemp oil supplement may be beneficial in doing just that by providing support holistically to your pet’s overall health. 

With that said, it’s important to understand how hemp oil works. If you’re choosing a natural supplement for optimal wellness, consider hemp oil that contains cannabidiol, also known as CBD. Today, there’s been increasing curiosity towards CBD, and with all the positive research, it’s definitely worth looking into.

In this blog, we’re going to discuss how veterinary formulated CBD pet products like our very own Veterinarian-Formulated Hemp Oil can help maintain and support well-being in pets. So with that, here’s what you need to understand about hemp oil for pets.

What is Hemp Oil for Pets? 

It’s important to note here that there’s a lot of different terminology when it comes to CBD and hemp: 

• CBD oil, which is a broad description of CBD extract plus a carrier oil
• Hemp oil, which can refer to hemp extract that has CBD, or to a carrier oil with CBD
• Hemp seed oil, which is akin to olive oil where hemp seeds are cold-pressed and contain no CBD or other cannabinoids. 

In this article, we’ll be talking about our own “hemp oil,” which is made from full-spectrum CBD and organic extra virgin olive oil. 

Full-Spectrum CBD 101

CBD stands for cannabidiol, a plant-based compound found in commercially grown hemp and the cannabis-sativa plant. Before your eyes get wide at the word “cannabis, note that CBD is non-intoxicating, and will not cause your animal to experience any kind of intoxicating response, unlike its cousin compound, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which can also be (but is not always) extracted from the same plant.

Our hemp oil in particular contains less than 0.3% THC, which is enough to still produce the entourage effect in a full-spectrum CBD oil without causing intoxicating effects. 

CBD oil can be extracted by itself in what is referred to as “isolate,” or along with other important and beneficial plant compounds in what is called either “full-spectrum” or “broad-spectrum” oil, depending on whether or not a trace amount of THC is included in that extract. Although isolate oil is sometimes marketed as “pure CBD oil,” this is a case where the oil not having other cannabinoids and plant compounds present is actually not as effective.  

Full-spectrum oil which contains beneficial cannabinoids including less than 0.3% THC, allows your pet to gain the full synergistic benefit of CBD oil called the “entourage effect,” meaning all plant parts are able to work together to deliver the most benefit, with additional cannabinoids such as CBN and CBG working in tandem alongside phytonutrients such terpenes and flavonoids. 

Neither broad-spectrum nor isolate oil cannot deliver the entourage effect, because both formulations do not contain the full blend of these other supporting-role phytonutrients and compounds. 

Hemp oil with CBD has become a popular choice because it’s natural and doesn’t result in drastic side effects even in full-spectrum form. 

That being said, CBD oil extracted from hemp has different potencies from one product to another, so it’s extra important to always check the label and dosing guidelines if you buy a new CBD product. 

Benefits

There are many benefits of using hemp oil, one being that CBD is able to interact with receptors in your pet’s endocannabinoid system.  This system plays a role in a ton of day to day functions ranging from hunger to sleep to mood and even discomfort levels, which is why CBD works so well at providing holistic support to your pet.

Though, there are a few key areas in particular that hemp oil can really benefit, even though it provides benefits for all-around wellness: 

Providing a calming effect.  CBD oil may be able to help pets who need a little help relaxing and feeling calm, as it may directly interact with the receptors that control your pet’s fight or flight response. This is especially handy for pets who easily experience emotional distress, whether when guests come over for dinner or if they’re going for a car ride to the vet. 

Supporting healthy joints.  CBD is known for its ability to support cartilage and joints. These soothing properties of CBD are great for pets who suffer from occasional joint and muscle discomfort, and it works particularly well for maintaining mobility in older dogs.

Supporting normal GI health.  CBD oil soothes the gastrointestinal tract, and can also help to temporarily alleviate occasional gastric upset.

Supporting normal brain function. CBD’s soothing properties and interactions with peripheral nerves means it plays a role in supporting healthy brain function, too — how do you think the endocannabinoid system plays such a widespread role? It’s through the brain!

Is it Safe?

CBD oil for pets is widely accepted as safe.  Although CBD oil is a relatively new product for animal treatment, it appears to be generally very well tolerated with very few side effects, if any, especially in animals such as dogs, cats, and horses.  As always, you’ll want to talk to your own veterinarian prior to beginning any kind of new treatment with your pet, particularly if your pet is already taking prescription medications or other supplements. 

If you’re wary about using just any CBD pet product brands, that’s a good thing! We as veterinarians are pet parents, too. It’s widely known that many CBD products, as a whole and not just for pets and are unfortuantely not as transparent as they should be, which is why we decided to formulate our own CBD products for pets specifically.

At VETCBD Hemp, we feature high-quality full-spectrum CBD oil. Our cannabinoid-rich hemp oil is 100% organic, vegan-friendly, and grown in full compliance with the Department of Agriculture’s industrial hemp laws. Our hemp oil is also triple-tested by third-party labs for purity and to always ensure that every batch is free of toxins, bacteria, heavy metals, and other contaminants.

Dosage

An important consideration with even the best CBD pet products is that it may not work for every pet in the same way. This is because all pets are different, from unique DNA to different biochemistry in each animal. 

With that said, not all outcomes are always the same, and the same pet product may yield different results at different dosages for similarly sized animals. In this case, you can tweak the dosage — just make sure you never surpass the max dosage recommended for your pet’s weight. 

Here is the dosage chart for our own Hemp Oil, which comes in a 1-ounce bottle with 125mg CBD and a 2-ounce bottle with 250mg CBD:

To get the best dosage for your pet, you’ll need to look at weight, use, and metabolism. Optimal results may take a few days to a few weeks. You’ll generally want to start at the lowest dosage and slowly work up until you see the desired results, but again, never surpassing the max recommended dose.

With our hemp oil, your pet will start to feel effects about one to two hours after their first dose, which lasts about 8 to 12 hours. At the 12-hour mark, you can give your pet a second dose if needed, especially if using for calming.

Wrapping It Up

You’ll feel good knowing that your furry friend is consuming a safe veterinary-formulated hemp oil for pets when you go with VETCBD Hemp, which is always made with full-spectrum, premium-quality American hemp rich in multiple phytocannabinoids.

Just a few of hemp oil’s benefits include supporting healthy joints, a healthy brain, and healthy GI function, in addition to providing calming effects to help balance emotional wellness.  

As always, administer the recommended dosage and work together with your veterinarian to figure out the best health and wellness regimen for your particular pet. 

Arming yourself with information about the benefits of hemp oil allows you to make safe choices for the well-being of your pet, and we’re happy to provide that for you right here in our blog!

Check out our other articles here for more info on hemp oil and its uses and benefits, or check out our hemp oil itself here, and don’t just heal your pet — help your pet thrive!

Sources:

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cbd-product-boom-science-research-hemp-marijuana https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6770351/