Dosing CBD in Pets and How To Interpret The Bottle

Dosing CBD How To Understand The Bottle

There are only two ways to know the CBD content of a bottle of “CBD” and those are:

  1. It will say “CBD” or “Cannabidiol” on the bottle with “milligrams” or “mg” next to it.
  2. It will say “total phytocannabinoids” and there MUST be a  COA (certificate of analysis*) in the documents or web site supporting the product. (*see bottom of article)

If you cannot verify the CBD content, or they use meaningless terms like “full spectrum” “whole plant” “PCR” “Phytocannabinoid-rich” –  do not buy, or give the oil.

Dosing CBD In Pets

cbd cannabidiolThe dose of CBD (a starting point with considerable leighway on either end) is 1/4mg/lb (.25mg/lb) by mouth (in the cheek or under the tongue) twice a day x 6 weeks then 1x daily for the long term. Simply, divide the dog’s weight (in pounds) by four, and you’ve got the milligrams of CBD to give twice a day.

“Cheek dosing” is 30-40% more effective than “in food” dosing. And you needn’t pry the mouth open. See image at left.

A couple of side bars on CBD dosing

dosing cbd catsIt’s important to note that CBD is the most effective when put directly on the mucous membranes of the mouth, under the tongue or in the cheek. But, not all dogs will do that. So the rule of thumb is the less you mix that CBD with the more effective it is. Some dogs will lick the CBD tincture especially the berry flavor, directly out of a small bowl. They like it. So I would recommend that you consider the berry flavor that comes from CBDMD.com – as an excellent choice for most dogs and yes, that is the human version. There is much greater economy, fewer reorders, and I trust the potency more.

If you have to mix CBD with anything, oils are the best because they enhance absorption. Consider coconut oil, or the oil found in canned tuna, even peanut butter.

And then finally if you cannot get it down any other way, you can mix it in the food but that is up to 30 to 40% less effective than giving it directly. Still, it is beneficial and effective.

With dogs, before you go wrestling with a syringe, try putting the dose in a little cup and see if they lap it up. Choose the berry flavored, it seems the dogs prefer that over the others.

CBD is very safe, we start our dosing at a quarter of a milligram per pound of body weight, but there is no reason not to increase that. If you are using it for anxiety and a dog or cat, you certainly can double that after a week or two if you are not seeing a benefit before you give up on it of course.

How To Figure Out How Much CBD Is In A Dose

If the bottle says 500mg on the front label, that is USUALLY the total ‘active’ in the whole bottle. The reverse label may say “total CBD 500mg” or it may do the math FOR YOU and divide the CBD milligrams through the volume. So if a bottle that says 500mg is 30ml in volume, the milligrams per milliliter (mg/ml) is (500)/(30) = 16mg per ml

Let’s look at a 750mg bottle with 30ml in it:

dosing cbd dogs

As the dog gets heavier, it needs more CBD of course. So you go through your CBD too fast. A bottle of 750mg CBD won’t last long on dogs over 45lb so you should consider getting more CBD per unit of volume.

Let’s look at 1500mg bottle of CBD with 15ml in it. This is Lazarusnaturals.

how to dose cbd

And finally: A 3000mg/bottle with 30ml in it.

cbd cannabidiol

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What does a COA Look like?

 

Dr Erik Johnson is a Marietta, Georgia Veterinarian with a practice in small animal medicine. He graduated from University of Georgia with his Doctorate in 1991. Dr Johnson is the author of several texts on Koi and Pond Fish Health and Disease as well as numerous articles on dog and cat health topics.