Just some of the jokes I hear when I tell people that my dog is on CBD oil twice a day, or when I suggest to clients that they use it.
What is CBD oil?
Cannabidiol is one of the compounds found in cannabis plants. Before you get all huffy and have a hissy fit thinking it’s illegal and habit forming, let me just make it clear that just as poppy flowers don’t make you high when you smell them-despite being the same plant used to produce heroin- CBD oil isn’t going to make you high as a kite.
The compound in cannabis that makes you feel like your feet are detached from your body is THC (or delta-9 tetrahydrocannabidol for those in love with a long assed scientific term).
THC becomes psychoactive (or, in layman’s terms, makes you float through the air on a unicorns’ back wearing mystical robes of swirly colors while laughing like a maniac) when we apply heat, as in baking hash brownies or smoking it. I am sure that NONE of you, not one, has ever had experience with this stuff, right?
Of course not, you little angels.
CBD oil is basically hemp oil that has had the THC removed from it, so as hard as you might try, you’re not ever going to get a high from the stuff. No unicorns for you, my dears.
CBD is NOT psychoactive, thus it isn’t illegal. I mean seriously, you can buy about 300 brands of this stuff on Amazon, that’s how tame this stuff is.
What it does do though, is attach to the CB2 receptors in the brain, activating the endocannabinoid system.
It’s quite a remarkable process, as this particular stuff actually SEEKS OUT where the brain has a need, and fills it....and only that need. The CB2 receptors are those responsible for dealing with inflammation, and, when CBD targets these little dingalings, and gets to work, it produces some alarmingly good results.
Remember, the term ‘inflammation’ covers a boat load of diseases and symptoms from arthritis, to Crohn’s disease, most gastro-intestinal issues, brain and thyroid issues.
Anything that binds itself to those particular problem areas and has a beneficial effect in a totally natural way -only giving the body what it requires as opposed to the ‘force fed Pharma’ regimen of drugs where the body is swamped with a compound whether it needs it or not, having no choice but to accept what’s given to it - has got to be worth exploring, right?
I have to tell you, when I first heard about CBD oil, I thought it was all total bullshit.
I didn’t see how anything made of hemp oil could have such a profound effect on the body. However, having seen the results for myself, I have to tell you that this stuff works.
I have personally witnessed its effect on arthritis, anxiety, cancer and neurological issues.
I first started doing research on it while desperate for a cure for a dog I loved dearly who suffered from cluster seizures. Sadly, the brand that the owner, my friend Kathy used, despite its excellent reviews, did not help that particular dog, however many people testify to the benefits on their dogs and claim them now to be seizure free after they started using CBD.
I doubt any of them had quite the severity of the problem that poor Jack had, however, such news is incredible to me, especially when it comes from verified sources.
Not all brands are created equal though.
What CBD Brands Are Good For Dogs?
I’ve done some research on some of the different brands out there and come up with a few good ones, a couple of ‘okay’ ones and one really bloody sensational one. That’s what I wanted to share with you today, so as to save you time and money buying the wrong ‘shit’.
(See how I went all junkie-fied there? So you’d think I was cool, far out dude, and ‘like, totally down with all this cannabis’ stuff, man!)
First of all, let’s talk about Canna-pet, one of the very well known brands.
Not available on Amazon.com, but rather only through their website, Canna-pet is a very good quality CBD product that has a high bio-availability (very easily absorbed into the body to perform its targeted duties) and comes in different forms from liquid, to capsules to cookies.
I like this brand, it’s been really useful for two dogs in particular that I know.
One is Theo, the 220 pound mastiff we host regularly at the Ranch, who was struggling with realizing the new human baby in his house had grown legs and was VERY mobile, and started to stress about everything.
Using the Canna-pet capsules dialed back his anxiety by a decent 25% or so, which has been life changing for his family.
Juju, our recently departed Boston terrier at Frankie and Andy’s Place, suffered from severe neurological issues and was panic stricken at any touch or sudden movement, very much like a scared cat. Canna-pet was very good for her, it took away the anxiety (sadly not the neurological issues though) and allowed her to get a good nights sleep, her first in maybe a year or so.
Canna pet is around $48 for a month supply but they have some excellent sale deals very often with up to 25% off.
I now use this brand for three of my own dogs. One who has some fear-issues, one with spondylitis and the other who has cancer. It is not curing her cancer but it IS giving her a lightness of being and a boost to her quality of life, taking away the crippling stress and pain that can often come with this awful disease. It has been way more effective than a couple of CBD oils we tried and we also like the fact that it’s in a capsule, as we toss it into some cream cheese and it’s down the hatch in a jiffy.
We also tried Hempworx, a well-known brand of CBD products, sold through network marketing. I have to be honest, though it purports to be the best and most potent hemp oil on the market, the dogs we used it on didn’t have any huge turnaround effects on their health.
We used it on Andrea Bocelli, the 85-pound,16-year-old retriever we have at Frankie and Andy’s Place, hoping it would have a marked effect on his arthritic joints. Sadly, the result was, minimal effect, if any. We still had to give him Tramadol and anti-inflammatory drugs for him to be mobile, and even then, he was not able to get up himself. This product was around $70 per bottle.
Next we tried Genutri hemp oil which we purchased on Amazon.
This product has been okay for our seniors at Frankie and Andy’s Place. I have to be honest, the website looks pretty suspect, with text that was clearly written by someone who didn’t finish school, but the product itself is actually pretty good. Andrea Bocelli is now able to get himself up and around, he sleeps deeply and is always very calm and relaxed. For 28 bucks, I’d say that’s a good return on anyone’s money if you have a senior dog with some mobility issues. It definitely worked on the anxiety aspect of pain too, however it wasn’t a life changing turn around, which is what some of you whose dogs live with debilitating pain, are looking for. A decent product, nonetheless.
Lastly, Pet Releaf.
Recommended to me by one of the greatest authorities on all things dog, Suzanne Clothier, she suggested I try it as an adjunct to the incredible anti-inflammatory powder ‘System Saver’ I talked about on this page two weeks ago. I bought it because when sensible people give me advice, I take it, and I’m glad I did.
Pet Releaf is a different class of product and quite honestly has beaten every other hemp oil we have used in terms of efficacy.
It’s expensive, at $89.95 for a bottle of the large dog ‘1700’ strength, but it’s so effective, it is worth it if you have a dog in serious pain. My dog Levi cannot live without this stuff now. It has completely replaced the pharmaceutical pain killer Tramadol as his pain management system and it works even better, helping with inflammation, the anxiety caused by chronic pain (‘Don’t bump into me! I’m scared if I take that step it might hurt!”) as well as the pain itself.
We have no doubt that this product, coupled with the ‘System Saver’ has changed Levi’s life. I don’t know if he would still be here without them.
On Genutri, he had some pain relief but was still whining as if he couldn’t quite understand why he was hurting. It was better than having nothing on board at all and about as effective as the Tramadol has always been for him; it dulled the response to the pain but seemingly not the pain itself, which is a common thing for both human and canine Tramadol users.
On Cannapet, he definitely had less whining, the pain was a little more dulled, his mobility was somewhat increased and he seemed a bit happier in himself, less anxious about the pain.
With Pet Releaf, he is happy, there is no whining, his pain is something he is able to forget about and now considers doing things he would have been frightened to do six months ago. He even overdoes it at times, meaning we have to manage his day more carefully so that he doesn’t over-reach. That’s a nice position to be in.
Of course the downside is, I’m going to have to turn tricks on the street to pay for this shit at almost a hundred bucks a pop. Being fat and 54, and nowhere near as limber as I used to be, I’ll be exhausted beyond belief, but Levi will be just fine thank-you very much.
And that’s all that matters...
