If your pup gets distressed when you leave them at home alone, or a little too anxious when you take them to the dreaded vet, you may be tempted to slip some CBD oil into their breakfast. With its researched benefits for anxiety, mood and sleep in hoomans it sounds like a good idea, right? Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation on the internet to sift through to discover whether it truly is a wonderful elixir for your dog or a dreaded poison. So today we’re going to delve deeper into CBD oil for dogs and reveal whether it is or isn’t okay for your furry friend.

What is CBD Oil?

Cannabidiol or CBD is a chemical compound found in the cannabis or hemp plant. In the UK it’s illegal to sell CBD derived from marijuana, so all British CBD oil is made from hemp. There’s no THC in legally made British CBD oil so there are no psychoactive effects of it, meaning in simpler terms that it doesn’t get people high. CBD has been used for thousands of years across different human cultures for its natural medicinal properties, and more recently has swept the supplement market claiming a multitude of benefits for hoomans.

What Are the Benefits of CBD Oil For Humans?

In human studies, CBD interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system which helps to regulate sleep, mood, appetite, pain sensation and hormone levels. As such, the use of CBD oil has shown benefits in helping to reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep, and manage pain.

Anxiety in Dogs – Can CBD Oil For Dogs Help?

The big wide world can be scary for our four-legged friends. Loud noises, meeting strangers, being left alone, seeing other dogs, and even the vacuum cleaner can all be triggers that stress out our floofs. Occasional displays of stress or anxiety are normal for dogs, but when their anxiousness recurs more often or their response to stressful stimuli is over the top, they may be showing signs of dog anxiety.
 
Unfortunately, dogxiety is all too common amongst our furry companions. In fact, one study on canine anxiety in snowy Finland showed that a whopping 72.5% of dogs exhibited some form of anxiety or problematic behaviour. All of us pawrents want to make the lives of our pooches the best that they can be and allow them to feel safe and secure as much as possible. So, it’s heartbreaking to think that 7 out of 10 doggies are regularly getting scared, stressed or anxious.
 
With this and the known advantages of using CBD oil for helping to manage stress and anxiety in humans, it would seem like a no-brainer that placing a few drops of this wonderful potion in your dog’s food would be safe. However, unfortunately, this is NOT the case. 

CBD Oil For Dogs; Is It Safe?

Unfortunately, the short answer is NO. 
Whilst you might love your doggy like your own baby, their bodies are very different to our own, and there are currently no scientific studies that prove the benefits or safety of using CBD oil for dogs.
 
Although there has been no evidence to suggest that CBD is toxic for pooches, there have been no studies into the safe use or dosage for different-sized animals including dogs. This poses a risk as there’s no way to know what the toxic and non-toxic levels of CBD oil are for dogs. Essentially this would mean you would have to guess how much of it might be safe to give your pooch and hope for the best that it doesn’t adversely affect them – definitely not a risk we’re willing to take!
 
There’s also no research into how CBD oil for dogs may interact with certain medications that your pooch may be taking, which again poses another risk of them having a harmful reaction.
 
Other than the fact that the use of CBD oil for dogs hasn’t yet been fully researched to ensure safety, there are currently no CBD products on the market in the UK that have been authorised by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, meaning that feeding your pet CBD oil without a veterinary prescription is illegal.

Don't Risk It, Try Our Dog Calming Treats

We all want the best for our darling floofs, so there’s no point taking the risk of giving them something that isn’t fully researched or known to be safe for their fluffy bodies. However, if your pooch is a stress head, it’s not all doom and gloom. Our Nibbles Dog Calming Treats are a pawfectly safe and natural way to help calm them.
 
We use delectable and naturally calming turkey, as well as relaxing chamomile and lemon balk to help reduce stress and dogxiety as well as promote a restful sleep. They’re ideal to use every night before bed to help your pooch nod off to dream about running after squirrels and tennis balls, or before any scary periods like going to the vet or New Year’s Eve.
 
We have gut health at the forefront of our mission at Scrumbles, so all of our products are made from natural, digestible ingredients, and our Nibbles have added prebiotics to soothe even the most sensitive of tums. So, if you want to take the worry out of giving your pooch something to help them chill out from time to time, head on over and check out our popular dog calming treats.

Whilst You’re Here, Why Not Check Out:

1.  Is Peppermint Oil Safe For Dogs?

2. Is eucalyptus safe for dogs?

3. Chamomile for dogs ; benefits and uses