Does your pupper whines and tugs the corner of your shirt when you’re leaving the house? Or does he scamper across the room to hide under the couch when there’s a thunderstorm? Or when he/she growl at your friends or families for no good reason?
Like humans, pets experience anxiety. It’s only natural for pets to feel anxious over things that they are scared of or unfamiliar with. Unlike humans, they verbalize their discomfort through behavioral issues like aggression or cowering. While it’s normal for animals to experience this from time to time, they could develop anxiety disorders or even trauma in the long term.
What causes pet anxiety?
Fear, separation, and age-related anxieties are three of the main causes of pet anxiety.
Fear-related anxiety is caused by loud noises, other animals or objects, and environments that your pet aren’t familiar with. You see this very often when you’re traveling with them or when they meet your friends and family for the first time. Some of this anxiety subside over time when your pet learns that there’s nothing to be scared about. But for some pets, like rescued pets, the anxiety never really goes away. In extreme cases, your pet might feel that attacking the source of fear is the best way of dealing with it. It works out fine in the wild where the strongest survives, but it isn’t the best thing to happen when they decide to attack your friends and family.
My dog used to have severe separation anxiety. Whenever I leave the house, he tries his darnedest to keep me in there. This might have happened to you too. The worst part about it is to come home to some sort of destruction. If nothing stands out to me at first glance, I know that there’s pee or poop hidden somewhere under the couch or the carpet.
Like humans, pets lose their some of their cognitive functions when they grow old. Understandably, they might get anxious and confused when they don’t recognize you or your home anymore. To protect themselves, they sometimes resort to defending themselves by attacking. In other cases, they just forget their training and start relieving themselves everywhere.
If left untreated, pet anxiety can turn your pet’s and your life upside down. A lot of the damages from pet anxiety are done on entryways, where you pet chews or bite on to get out of what they think to be a dangerous situation. Not only do you have to dig into your pockets to fix your house frequently, but vet bills might also build up because your pet hurt itself somehow. So when you notice signs of pet anxiety, it’s better to just bring them to the vet and get an accurate diagnosis.
How to treat pet anxiety?
Training and conditioning strategies are the most common ways to treat pet anxiety. But in extreme cases, pets are prescribed medication like puppy Prozac to help them calm them down. Even though it treats your pet’s symptoms, taking medication comes with a list of bad side effects like organ failure and lethargy.
What is CBD oil?
CBD oil is an alternative but arguably safer way to treat pet anxiety. It’s made by extracting CBD (the non-psychoactive cannabinoid in weed) from a cannabis or hemp plant. Before you feel bad for giving your pet weed, CBD oil doesn’t make you high. What it does do, though, is give your pet relief for many types of illnesses like anxiety, pain, and seizures.
How does CBD oil help?
The endocannabinoid system works hard to restore balance do your (or your pet’s) body. CBD binds and interacts to the receptors in the endocannabinoid to produce a range of effects that help balance their bodies like pain relief, stress relief, and anxiety relief. When produced properly, CBD oil is non-toxic, so don’t worry about accidentally poisoning your dog if you’ve done proper research.
It relieves anxiety and stress
If your pet gets stressed out easily, CBD oil can help manage those symptoms by relaxing your pet. It tells your let’s brain to release serotonin through the endocannabinoid system to reduce their anxiety.
It helps with physical pain
As your pet ages, his body will start to break down and he’ll start experiencing a lot of physical discomfort and pain. CBD oil can help with minimizing pain from arthritis, joints, and osteoarthritis. In a study conducted in 2018, 22 dogs were administered CBD oil and placebo to monitor the effects of CBD oil on pain management. 16 dogs that completed the trial showed decreased pain during the CBD treatment. Since the dogs can’t talk, the results were deduced through body analysis and their owner’s observation.
It helps with seizures
Canine seizure is a neurological problem that affects up to 5% of dogs in the world. It might sound like a small amount, but the feeling of helplessness when you see your furry friend twitch and seize uncontrollably is unbearable. Some drugs used to treat canine epilepsy might not work on your dog, and some might even harm your dog’s internal organs. CBD oil has been immensely helpful in treating or managing epilepsy symptoms in humans. In fact, the FDA recently allowed the sale of a CBD-based pharmaceutical drug to treat epilepsy in humans. So with more research in the future, there might someday be an FDA-approved CBD-based drug for canine epilepsy as well.
How much CBD oil should you administer to your pet?
You should always consult your vet before giving any kind of medication to your pet. However, if you’re at your wit’s end and your vet isn’t being helpful, you can start with small dosages to see how your pet reacts to CBD. Pets are normally good with two drops of CBD administered under their tongue, but it all depends on how well your pet takes it.
How to choose a good CBD oil for your pet?
Make sure you know the contents of the CBD oil: Some CBD oils call themselves organic, but contain pesticides or solvents that could worsen your pet’s condition. Pets should never ingest more than .3% of THC, so make sure to determine the THC count of the oil. A company with a good reputation would often provide a certificate of analysis with a list of ingredients in the CBD oil. Or better yet, lab test the CBD oil yourself with an independent third-party lab.
Choose hemp-derived CBD oil: Hemp-derived CBD oil contains more CBD than their cannabis-derived counterpart. Besides that, hemp-derived CBD oil is also easily available in the US since it’s legal in most states.
Have you ever tried using CBD oil for your pet? Comment below or email us with your tale (tail, get it?)!