The CBD industry has booming for sometime now with Savills estimating that market could rise to £1bn by 2025. The shelves of major high-street shops are packed with a plethora of products containing CBD including humous, nail polish and face cream. One use for CBD which is popular in North America, but is yet to truly take off in the UK is CBD for dogs. In light of this, Health Canal guest posted this article to give more insight.
Anti-seizure properties of CBD oil
CBD or cannabidiol is extracted from the cannabis plant. However, CBD doesn’t include any psychoactive properties like THC or tetrahydrocannabinol. The way CBD is structured affects its impact on the brain of your dog, nervous system as well as entire body. CBD oil is oil mixed with the compound of cannabidiol. CBD is one of the different types of cannabinoids that can be found in the cannabis plant.
Seeing your dog in pain and having a seizure may be quite heartbreaking and even frightening. A seizure can be both subtle or severe. A subtle or minor seizure may be indicated by a dazed appearance, whining, twitching, or rapid eye movement. Whereas a severe seizure includes tremors, uncontrolled fits, and even loss of consciousness.
Seizures are caused by the launching of neurons in the brain of an animal. If your dog is getting a seizure, you must immediately visit your vet so that you may understand the underlying cause of it.
If you want to help your dog to get quick relief, you can always supplement your pup’s treatment with a natural remedy of using CBD oil. CBD being a non-psychotropic component of the cannabis plant contains anticonvulsant properties. Being extracted from industrial hemp and not marijuana, and besides being legal too, the hemp oil for seizure won’t cause any harm to your dog’s health or make them high with other side effects.
Is it true CBD helps reduce seizures in dogs? And how?
Every mammal including humans has an endocannabinoid system. On-demand of the body, endocannabinoids are synthesized to maintain a stable internal environment. Whenever a physical condition like seizures interferes with this homeostasis, the internal system lag behind the need of the body.
A wide variety of uses of CBD oil is discovered by scientists. Among which one of the most important uses of the oil for dogs is the management of seizures in dogs. Although CBD has proved to be incredibly effective in the management of seizures in dogs. For more detailed information on the same, you may visit Healthcanal.com
How does CBD work for dogs?
Before understanding the working of CBD on dogs, you should know that there are two types of endocannabinoid receptors in the body of your dog. The CB2 and the CB1 receptors. The CB2 receptors are primarily located in the immune system whereas the CB1 receptors are centralized in the brain and the nervous system. It is the CB1 receptors that impact the treatment of your dog’s seizure the most. A few studies suggest that CBD helps to improve seizures in patients with epilepsy syndrome. As seizures leave a profound impact on the endocannabinoid system, the CBD through a process called external modulation can help reduce or even stop seizures.
Although the exact functioning of CBD and how it helps reduce seizures in dogs and affects the ECS is yet unknown. But one proved theory is that the CBD can interfere and affect the receptors that calm neurons during the occurrence of a seizure. But still more investigations and research are required for better understanding.
How to improve your dog’s seizure with CBD
To reduce the severity and frequency of seizures, it is better to administer CBD to your dog regularly. Giving a particular dose twice a day will give the best relief to your dog. As the amount of dosage may vary in a different situation, you must experiment to find the right amount of CBD oil required by your dog. Besides, also keep in mind that you do not overdose your dog.
You can get CBD for dogs in many convenient forms. Like the CBD oil drops can be given directly into the mouth of your pet, mixed with a treat, given inside the ears, or you can also drop it into his paw so that he can lick it off. Besides CBD oil, you can also get CBD biscuits, CBD hemp capsules, honey with CBD and CBD ointments. But, before administering any of the forms of CBD to your dog, make sure that the product is lab tested. So that you can be sure that your pup is not getting the wrong medicine.
The right dosage of CBD oil for your dog?
The dosage of CBD oil that you want to give your dog depends on the weight of the dog. Where smaller dogs require a low dosage of CBD oil, bigger dogs will require more dosage for an effective result. You can also follow the directions provided on the body of the product too.
Why studies on CBD and seizure matters
The studies on CBD and dog seizure are quite necessary because without regulations many of the CBD products in the market can be untested and unregulated too. For a dog owner understanding the exact constituents and quantities of the same in any product is quite necessary. As not knowing it may be quite scary. Because then you may administer the wrong dosage to your dog.
Seizures and epilepsy
As is already discussed above, seizures are sudden shooting of neurons or electrical activity in the brain of your dog. This appears at an inappropriate time interval. Underlying conditions such as epilepsy may sometimes be a reason for this symptom.
Additional benefits of using CBD
CBD oil besides treating seizures in your dog can also help with other multiple medical conditions in your dog. Some of which are being listed below:
- CBD can help improve your dog’s appetite
- Treat nausea from car rides
- Lack of energy and vitality
- Muscle spasms and pain from cancer or arthritis
- Help recover from surgery or illness
- Help reduce anger or grumpiness towards another animal
- Excessive barking
- Separation anxiety
Points to look at before purchasing CBD oil for your dog
- As there are many CBD oils available in the market, it is quite important and necessary that you choose the right product for your pet. Below mentioned are a few of the key points you should consider before purchasing CBD oil.
- The CBD oil should be extracted using water and food-grade ethanol and no harsh solvents.
- A third-party lab test should be performed for potency
- The oil-based CBD must offer improved absorption and bioavailability