*DISCLAIMER: This is a transcript of episode 19 CBD and Pets from our Full Spectrum Living with CBD podcast. Click to listen to the podcast episode Advocating for CBD or click here to watch the video.
Ep19_CBD AND PETS
Meredith [00:00:00] All right. Welcome back to this episode is Full Spectrum Living with CBD. I am your co-host, Meredith here with our host Jessica and Adriane. And today we are talking about our furry friends. We are talking about pets and CBD. And that’s a really interesting topic, Adriane, because so many people are using CBD with such success for their animals, for their for their little furry family. And so I’d love to hear, you know, I think you’re going to kick us off about what is it that you’d like to share about CBD and pets.
Adriane [00:00:33] Yeah, actually, people come into our store probably looking as much for their pets as much as they do for themselves. I would say probably you could, maybe one for one, you know, you have somebody coming in for their own anxiety then followed by somebody else looking for something to help with their pet’s anxiety. So when I come. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Yes. Well, I don’t know if you have pets, Meredith, but I have a Yorkie. Yes. So they’re our babies. They’re our children. We want to do everything that we can to give them the best quality care. And so if we’re willing to consume it ourselves for some of the conditions that we have, why not pets? Right. So pets have an endocannabinoid system, just like humans. Whether it’s a dog or it’s a cat. And I think Jessica and I we talked about it just the other day, we think we know for sure it’s not insects, but what about lizards and things like that? So these animals have an endocannabinoid systems, which means that they can see the benefit of a CBD supplement just like we can.
Meredith [00:01:34] That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Especially because pets have some of the same issues that we do. I mean, I know you asked if we have a pet, you know, we have a dog that literally has separation anxiety. And so you, you see that. So no wonder people are wanting to use it. So what are some of the most common things that people are looking for help with with their animals? And maybe some stories or the results that you’re seeing.
Jessica [00:01:58] Definitely some of the most common ones mimic what we see most commonly with people as well. But anxiety, either, you know, separation anxiety or they’re traveling in a car or fireworks. That’s another big one that brings people. So anxiety would be a top reason. And then chronic pain is certainly one, especially with aging pets. Epilepsy. We see a lot of people use it for their pets for seizures. So really just whatever people are using it for, for themselves, if their pet has that and they’re seeing like, oh, it helped me or it helped so-and-so with pain, maybe it could help my dog. And then they do a little quick research or ask around. And as it turns out. Yeah, I could totally help your dog. So I think pain and anxiety definitely are the top ones. And as Adriane kind of pointed out, I’ve always heard that it’s anything with a vertebrae. Any animal with vertebrae has an endocannabinoid system. So it’s basically any household pet. The most common ones and I think we’ve had quite a variety. But of course, dogs and then cats would be our most common ones because they’re the most common pets. And we get a lot a lot of feedback on dogs.
Meredith [00:03:19] And so how do you go about administering CBD to a pet like is it…
Adriane [00:03:25] So similar ways that we consume it. So we actually have a wide variety of the way that people give CBD to their pets. Some are just as anxious for it. They will run up and sit and wait patiently for it and let you give it to them orally. Others may not be so willing, so you can mix it in their food if they eat all their food at one time. If they’re grazers, I wouldn’t recommend that way. Honestly, you wanted to get it in one full serving so you can put it on a dog treat, put it on a piece of cheese. Anything that’s going to get your dog to consume it at one time.
Jessica [00:04:02] And when we now we now offer pet treats. Yes. There a new product. Yeah, so we have pet treats that have been really nice. They’ve got ingredients that are really healthy for dogs like chicken and fish ingredients. And they’ve been not only popular, but we’ve had some really good feedback so far. And essentially, you know, we kind of, as with people, make some general suggestions for use. So twice daily to three time daily use is the most ideal. Twice daily is the most ideal. Consistent use is definitely key. Just like with I think I said adults, but people, kids, adults, whatever. So people, animals twice daily consistency. And then starting on the lower end and kind of observing for effect and see where you’re finding benefits. See if you’re getting to a point where maybe they get a little lethargic. That would be like the main thing to watch for, for pets. And if you find that they’re too low energy, you may need to back it off. But otherwise you’re just kind of reading… You, if you’re a pet lover and you have a pet that you care so, so much about, you’re going to notice their behavioral changes and especially when it helps them get up and move and eat more normally and just interact with you like you like they used to. Which is really what a lot of people are going for.
Meredith [00:05:27] Yeah, that’s amazing. And so tell me some of the stories that you’re hearing. I’d love to know maybe a success that you’ve heard in the store or online feedback that you’ve heard.
Adriane [00:05:38] I was gonna say, when it comes to anxiety around fireworks, you can typically see there’s there’s a rush buying CBD for dogs whenever it comes around New Year’s Eve, July 4th. And a lot of our consumers report back that their dog is just unfazed, just completely unfazed by the fact that fireworks are going off. Whereas before and I know my Yorkie, Lola, she suffers from it where she would just shake. I mean, so much that she could almost shake the entire bed just with her little body. But now again, I give her CBD. I give her one of our dog bites and she’s just very relaxed. She could care less what’s going on. But we’ve also had some really great feedback with regards to epilepsy, where we actually and she’s actually a friend of mine and she gives her boxer CBD capsules. That’s what she that’s the way he consumes his CBD. But he was having a seizure and he was having it consistently. I think it was like every Monday he would have a seizure like clockwork. And once she started giving him CBD, that clockwork seizure just stopped happening. And he’s got early onset dementia. I think he’s maybe maybe twelve, which is pretty high up there for a boxer, but seems to be holding in and doing really well.
Meredith [00:06:56] That’s awesome. So I’m just thinking Yorkie and boxer dog and a medium and a mid-sized medium-sized dog. So what about dosage? How do you know? Is it by weight or…
Jessica [00:07:11] I think, you know, again, it’s start on the lower end. So maybe with, you know, when we were using liquid oils, we’d often suggest just a drop or so per ten pounds and then work your way up from there. With the treats it’s kind of like take a half a half of a treat, which I believe is what, two and a half milligrams for a smaller breed or a full treat for a larger breed. And then, of course, we just work up from there. But the nice thing about CBD is like it’s really hard to overshoot it so much that you get some kind of unwanted side effect. Even if they got into the treats and ate the whole box like they would probably take a nap, it would be my guess. Like you fall asleep for a little while and I think that would be as, you know, as much as you would really expect from that big of an overconsumption. So fortunately, you don’t have to tiptoe in and be just extremely cautious and fear for negative side effects, but use common sense and scale up slowly to observe how it affects them.
Adriane [00:08:16] We actually had one of our customers call in and say that her dog did actually eat the entire box of dog bites that we had. And so she just called. She said, I just wanted to make sure. And I want to say it wasn’t as big as a boxer, I don’t remember the kind of dog it was. She said, I just want to make sure that he should be fine. I said just keep an eye on him, honestly. He should be completely fine. He may be a little sleepy. And actually, I don’t know that she reported back, but I’m assuming if something horrible had happened, we would have heard from her. She did let us know that she was not really concerned about it at all, but that he enjoyed it and she’d be back for more. So I thought that was good.
Jessica [00:08:55] I didn’t know he had had that actual feedback. I mean, really, its a matter of time, I guess.
Adriane [00:09:00] Just the other day. Yeah.
Jessica [00:09:01] Wow, I wanted to share on the feedback. Seems like pit bulls are coming up a lot, but I’m not sure it could be Adriane the person that you were talking about earlier, but it was another family with a pit bull. And so she had a few pit bulls, she tried it for one of them for a particular thing and I think it was pain related. Like they had had an injury or surgery. Tried it for chronic pain. It worked really well. So she got her other pit bull on that and then she started telling her pit bull owning friends and they started taking it. And then she started trying it and recommended her family. And all the sudden, like from one pet, we had an entire community of pit bull owners and their pets, all, you know, just trying the product out for many different reasons and having some really good results. So it kind of spread from there. And it was just really cool to see, you know, the people coming into the store like so and so from the pit bull group that we’re in recommended me to come try this. And it was cool because it was just a lot of good feedback regarding pets, but also pet owners.
Meredith [00:10:09] Yeah, well, it’s not surprising because, you know, whereas for humans, you know, we’re apt to run off to the doctor and to try to get prescriptions for things. And, you know, with our pets, I think people are moving in the same direction that humans are. Like you’re seeing more and more people saying maybe I shouldn’t necessarily, you know, get that prescription for myself. Maybe there is another way. Maybe I can manage my pain or discomfort in a different way. And I think people are headed down the same path.
Adriane [00:10:39] We’ve actually seen a lot of good feedback from veterinarians who are actually recommending CBD. A lot of them will even carry CBD products themselves. So they actually recommend it. They know that the trend is going that way, that for that same reason, people are taking it for themselves. They’re seeing the benefits. They’ve heard a friend who’s taken it and seen benefits with arthritis or pain or anxiety. And if your dog suffering from that, why not? Right. We’re very concerned about what we’re putting inside them, what we’re feeding them, the ingredients within their food. So it’s definitely going that way with supplements or things that we can do to enhance our quality of life.
Jessica [00:11:17] And I think just like with, you know, as with a person, if you feel that CBD is a good fit for your pet. First of all, you should talk to your veterinarian if they’re on any other pharmaceuticals and make sure to get the OK there. But also to advocate for them to be able to try that. If you feel that you’re veterinarians, opinion does not match yours because it’s.. So something we’ve heard some feedback on that we wanted to be sure to address in this episode is that a few people have said, you know, my vet said no THC for dogs, that it’s toxic. And not even just that. Like I heard that THC was toxic for pets. And so we wanted to kind of quickly address that. So as of right now, and of course, we are not veterinarians and we would welcome any feedback to to contradict this if anyone has any substantial proof to back that claim. But as far as claiming that THC is toxic to pets, it does not at all appear to be a blanket statement. Like you can’t say any amount of THC would be toxic to a pet. Of course, just like with people, large amounts lead to negative side effects and those can be more substantial and the higher dose of that that you would intake. And with pets, maybe they are arguably a little more susceptible to those negative effects. However, a CBD product like ours that has only trace amounts of THC is just it’s really unlikely to have any kind of negative effect from the minor amount of THC that’s present. And we really wanted to kind of point that out. There is a physician, I wrote his name down, not a physician, a veterinarian who practices holistic approaches for veterinarian applications. His name’s Gary Richter. And so in trying to kind of figure out this claim in preparation for the episode, we came across some information from him. He’s written a book on the Ultimate Pet Health Guide. And it’s, there’s a chapter on cannabis. He’s an advocate for cannabis use in pets. And basically what it boils down to, in his opinion, is there’s not a ton of pet research currently, but there is more and more human research, which is pretty applicable to pets in general. And then there’s tons of anecdotal evidence as well that all suggests that cannabis can be a very effective therapeutic application for pets, just like with people. And it’s all about finding the right dose and the right kind of product. So we really wanted to put it out there that that claim is made from time to time. It does not seem to be a valid one, of course. Prove us wrong. If you want. I mean, we want to know. We want to know. It just doesn’t seem like there’s much truth to that. So I don’t know….
Meredith [00:14:16] Well, that was going to be my question of, you know, we’ve done lots of episodes and talked a lot about, you know, labeling and how to pick the right product and quality. And I’m just going to make the big leap that all of those same things that we’ve talked about really apply here, too, right?
Adriane [00:14:35] Absolutely. Absolutely. Put the same quality and care that you do in looking for products for yourself into looking for products for your pets. And if it’s going to be in a treat or in a dog bite form or maybe a CBD food, look at the added ingredients as well. I mean, there’s ingredients that are being added into pet foods that are not necessarily beneficial for pets. So you want to make sure that everything that you are feeding your pet comes from the highest quality. So make sure that you know what’s in the product, make sure it’s on the label. You want to know their extraction process. You want to see that it’s tested. Everything applies.
Jessica [00:15:10] And do a little math on the content, the value as well. Because, I mean, you’d be really surprised, but it seems to be pretty consistent that pet related products are way more expensive than human products for basically the same thing. So instead of MCT oil, you have some kind of oil plus a fish flavor and with the same content, it costs you double or triple the price sometimes. So I think definitely for consumers, look out for kind of some price gouging in the pet CBD industry right now. That seems to be kind of common.
Adriane [00:15:43] Yeah, I would say if your pets is taking an extract, if if your dog or cat will allow you to put it on their food or on a on a treat or even just sit for it and take it orally. No reason why he couldn’t take the human grade product. There is no I know that there’s some pet products out there, like Jessica said, instead of MCT oil, maybe they’re using a salmon oil. I don’t think that salmon oil’s worth twice the price. Right. You’re not giving them the extract for the salmon oil. You’re giving it to them for the CBD. So no need to pay that extra when if you’re consuming a product and it works well for you, drop it in their food, see how it works for them. No need to go buy a pet specific product. The dog bites, the ones that we produce, we could eat them as humans. I wouldn’t want to. It’s just it’s just chicken and fish and fish oil. But it is fishy. So, just not the way I want to consume my fish. But I could.
Jessica [00:16:38] You know, that I think, was in response to a lot of people are looking for that. It’s just an easier way to do it for them. And so I think that it’s a great option for many people. But before that, I mean, that’s a new product for us. And before that, we had just tremendous success with the oil itself. So to Adriane’s point, if you’re already taking it, try the actual oil. If you want to go pet treat route, that’s also a great option.
Meredith [00:17:01] Fantastic. Well, any last thoughts on CBD and pets that you wanted to share today?
Adriane [00:17:07] I think honestly, give it a try. I don’t know what Jessica is going to say. But I think if your pet is suffering with pain or anxiety, the anecdotal evidence and the reports that we’re hearing from consumers are just undeniable. And if you’re 10 year old or 14 year old or however old pet can actually get a little spunk back in his or her step. I think it’s definitely worth it.
Jessica [00:17:32] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I was just going to add that we’ve just seen so much direct feedback and testimony from not just our clients, but so many of our staff have pets that we we use this for. So I think, again, just like Adriane said, give it a try. But I think it’s just really likely not just for if something’s problematic, but if if you just want to try it as a maintenance, if it looks like they’re headed towards some arthritic symptoms, give it a try before it gets bad. You know, I think we just see a lot of very consistent results for them.
Meredith [00:18:10] Awesome. Well, I’m so glad that we had the chance to talk about our furry friends and how CBD can help them. If someone wants to know a little bit more about the work that you do, where would where would the best place be for them to go?
Adriane [00:18:23] Absolutely. Check us out on our website. Bluegrasshempoil.com or follow us on social media. We’re on Facebook and Instagram.
Meredith [00:18:30] Awesome. For this episode of Full Spectrum Living with CBD, I’m your co-host, Meredith here with Jessica and Adriane. And we will see you all the next time. Bye bye.