Guide For Introducing CBD To Your Dog

If you’re a dog parent like me, chances are you want the very best for your canine companion. Whether your pup is a true youngster or an old fella like mine, CBD can be a great option for fostering optimum wellness in the lives of your four-legged loved ones. 

All mammals — dogs included — have an existing endocannabinoid system in their bodies. As such, our doggos can experience the same benefit on their overall wellness by consuming hemp extract that humans do. However, the prospect of introducing something as foreign as CBD can be daunting. Of course, you don’t want to take any risks with your furball’s health, but the good news is that CBD can make for an easy and extremely helpful addition to your pet’s daily diet. 

Check out these five easy steps for introducing hemp extracts to your dog!

1. Consult your veterinarian. 

The very first step we recommend taking before introducing CBD to your pet’s diet is to consult your veterinarian. This will give you a chance to discuss your pet’s current health condition with a professional and go over any specific concerns or expectations you may have. Plus, it always helps to establish a baseline on your pet’s health with your vet before changing their diet so that you both can actively monitor any impacts and make adjustments accordingly. 

2. Research CBD brands. 

Your vet may have specific recommendations for CBD brands but oftentimes, that decision is left to the pet owner. This may feel like a daunting research project if you don’t know what to look for but luckily, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming at all. 

Here are some simple factors to keep in mind when researching the right CBD brand for your doggo:

CBD products may seem overly expensive at first glance. Indeed, many CBD companies do mark up their product prices past what is reasonable or even necessary. However, you can still find a good quality product at the right price with just a little research and some shorthand math. In order to compare the price per milligram of CBD between different products, all you have to do is divide the price of the entire bottle by the total number of milligrams of CBD, which should be clearly labeled on the product.

Another important factor to pay attention to is the availability of third-party lab tests for your pet’s CBD product. Lab testing allows you to verify the actual content of CBD and THC in the product as well as the absence of harmful contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins, microbes, and residual solvents. Bluebird’s CBD hemp extracts are guaranteed to contain less than the legal limit of 0.3% THC, so you can rest assured that your dog will not experience any psychoactive effects, or get “high.” 

As with all of Bluebird’s CBD products, our entire companion care line is third-party batch tested and can be accessed on our website by anyone, at any time. We are happy to be completely transparent with our lab tests because we want all our customers, both two-legged and four-legged, to do their research and ensure they are selecting the best quality products possible. Here at Bluebird, we make that research easy for you by offering third-party lab testing on every batch.

3. Choose your product and preferred delivery method. 

After you’ve selected your trusted CBD provider, your next big decision is to determine the best way to deliver the CBD to your dog. The most popular and accessible delivery methods on the market today are oils or tinctures, soft gels, and edible treats. When deliberating between these options, one should consider how receptive their canine has been to different treats and supplements in the past. 

For example, if you know your dog will eat anything whatsoever that’s in his dog bowl, then an oil-based product could make for an easy addition as you can simply add the drops right into their food. Likewise, if your pup is a pro-pill swallower, soft gels might be the way to go. For pets with pickier palates, you can also explore a healthy CBD-infused treat to get them the cannabinoids they need. Some pet stores carry such treats but you can also make your own right at home! 

Bluebird Botanicals offers a prime CBD product designed specifically for animals. Our Companion CBD Oil allows for pet owners to provide varying serving sizes of CBD to their pet(s).

All three of these products consist of two ingredients: full-spectrum hemp extract, emulsified in organic hemp seed oil. That’s all! The soft gel capsules are simply another indigestible option if your pet dislikes the taste of the extract, or if you prefer a pre-measured amount to provide your pet. The soft gels are made of glycerin, gelatin, and purified water, all easily digestible ingredients. 

4. Get your dog jazzed.

One of the best ways to get your dog psyched about taking a new supplement is to present it in the same manner as one of their favorite treats. This is an especially helpful trick for dogs that may be turned off by the smell or appearance of the CBD product you’ve selected.

If they’re resistant to taking the CBD on its own, try mixing it with one of their favorite snacks. This could mean adding drops of CBD oil to a spoonful of peanut butter or hiding CBD capsules inside a stick of string cheese.

However, many dogs aren’t put off by CBD in the slightest and will gleefully take it without a second thought. Treats are treats, after all!

5. Start low, go slow, and be patient.

So, you’ve picked your CBD product and figured out how to get your dog comfortable with ingesting it. What’s next? This is where patience comes in. Many first-time CBD users get led astray with the expectation that CBD works right away. That expectation almost always leads to disappointment and confusion when the anticipated results don’t show up right away.

The truth is that CBD can take quite a bit of time to produce noticeable impacts. Like many other supplements, it typically requires daily use for multiple weeks, sometimes even over a month, before results really start to present themselves. This is because everyone has a unique endocannabinoid system with subtle differences that cause them to react to CBD a little differently.

The same applies to your dog as well. In fact, it can be even harder to know if CBD is working for your pet because, well, they can’t use human words to tell you how they’re feeling. So, don’t fret if you’ve been giving Fido CBD for a couple of weeks and haven’t noticed anything different. It takes time, so try to be patient and avoid the urge to double the serving size or switch brands right away. The key to success is consistency, so start with a low serving and administer it daily for four to six weeks. If you’re still not seeing any results at this point, then you can consult your veterinarian and discuss increasing the number of servings or trying a more concentrated product if that makes sense for your pup’s health.

And remember, our Bluebird team is always here to help! If you have any questions about how to give CBD to your dog for the first time or what to expect, we’ve got your back. Email us at info@bluebirdbotanicals.com to talk to one of our customer care representatives.