CBD oil is just one of many active chemicals found in marijuana and other members of the cannabis family. The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is THC, but CBD oil has only negligible traces of THC so it does not have any of the effects that marijuana is famous for. In recent years the internet has been full of articles claiming that CBD oil is a miracle cure for everything from canine anxiety to feline cancer.
In this article, we will explain the benefits of CBD oil for pets and what owners need to know.
Effects on Cancer
Studies looking into CBD oil are rapidly expanding at the moment, although most of the studies have been done in laboratories looking at cell samples grown in test tubes and Petri dishes. There has not been too much real-life testing of the effects of CBD oil on cancer in pets, but the laboratory results have been very positive. CBD oil has been shown to stop cancers growing in lab studies where cervical and leukemia cells amongst others have been grown in the lab and then exposed to CBD oil. In leukemia studies, these cells were then injected into mice and the results were the same which seems to show that CBD oil could provide some benefits if your pet has cancer.
Effects on Alzheimer’s in Dogs
Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CCDS) has the same horrible effects on dogs that Alzheimer’s Syndrome has on people. There’s loads of anecdotal evidence and testimonials from people who have administered CBD oil for dogs and seen a really dramatic benefit. It is difficult to draw any firm conclusions from stories like this because of a lack of scientific testing, but the sheer amount of positive stories does seem to suggest that CBD oil can have some great effects treating CCDS. Any benefit in this area will be a huge boost to owners of aging dogs because CCDS is a tragic disease.
Effects on Pet Seizures
There are many claims that CBD oil reduces seizures and there is more advanced research in this area which is showing some promising results. Studies of CBD oil have shown a reduction in seizure frequency in children who have not responded to other drugs and it is widely accepted that it will have the same effect in dogs. There is a study being carried out at the minute looking at the use of CBD oil to treat epilepsy in dogs. CBD oil has been shown to reduce the frequency of epileptic fits, even dogs who have previously been unresponsive to other kinds of treatment.
Effects on Pain
CBD oil has been shown to have positive effects in reducing pain due to arthritis. A study of arthritic dogs showed a statistically significant increase in comfort levels when arthritic dogs were treated with CBD oil compared to when they were given a placebo. Although this is very encouraging, only a small number of dogs were studied and so the effects need to be tested on a larger sample before any definitive conclusions can be made.
Whilst it is still early days in the scientific testing of the benefits of CBD oil, the results so far have been very positive. CBD oil is effective in treating pets for a range of conditions and hopefully as more studies are done, scientists will discover ever more uses. If your pet has any of the conditions mentioned in this article, it may be worth looking into whether CBD oil could help.