Finding the right CBD dosage for your pet can be confusing. While a pet CBD product will usually come with a suggested dosage amount, pet owners may need to adjust that recommended dose to find their individual pet’s optimal dose. The right dosage of CBD for your pet can vary based on factors like their weight, the reason you’re giving your pet CBD, and the strength of the CBD oil or treat you’re using.
Though there are several factors that can affect your pet’s ideal CBD dosage, figuring out your furry friend’s dose is simple once you understand these factors. So, to help you find your pet’s optimal dosage, below, we’re going over everything you need to know about understanding CBD dosages for your pet. We’ll go over the factors you need to consider when choosing your starting dosage, then give some practical tips on adjusting dosage to find your pet’s perfect dose.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Your CBD Oil or Treat Dosage
Your Dog or Cat’s Weight
Pet CBD dosing should, first and foremost, be tailored to your dog or cat’s body weight. Your pet’s weight impacts how much CBD they’ll need to get an effective dosage, which is why pet CBD products will often come in different strengths for animals with different weights. For example, our 200 mg bottle of our CBD Pet-Oleum tincture is for small dogs and cats, while the 500 mg version is for medium-sized dogs and the 1000 mg version is for large dogs.
So, how much CBD should you give your pet based on their weight? A good general rule of thumb for a standard dose is to give your pet 0.2 mg of CBD per pound. For example, if your dog weighs 25 pounds, his or her standard dose would be 5mg of CBD.
The Reason You’re Trying Pet CBD
You may need to adjust the amount of CBD you give your pet depending on the reason you’re trying CBD. A standard dose may work perfectly for overall wellness use or situational use (such as for separation anxiety, firework anxiety, thunderstorm anxiety, etc.). But if you’re looking to ease an issue like chronic anxiety, hip dysplasia, nausea, inflammation, or pain, you may want to go with a stronger dose. As we mentioned above, 0.2 mg CBD per pound is a good general guideline to follow for a standard dose. A good rule of thumb for a strong dose is 0.5 mg CBD per pound.
The Strength of Your Pet CBD Product
When you give your pet their dose of CBD, you want to focus on giving them the appropriate milligrams of CBD, not on giving them a certain number of drops or treats. Pet CBD oils and pet CBD treats can have very different strengths. For example, the 1000 mg version of our Pet-Oleum Tincture will have five times as much CBD per drop when compared to our 200 mg version. So, if you gave your pet 4 drops of the 1000 mg version versus 4 drops of the 200 mg version, they’d get the same number of CBD oil drops, but a very different dose.
Note that you don’t need to be overly concerned with giving your pet too much CBD. While THC can be harmful to dogs, the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) isn’t toxic to dogs, even if you give your pet an extremely high dose of CBD. But though giving your pet too much CBD isn’t harmful, you probably want to make sure that you don’t give your pet an excessive amount of CBD because it’s just not necessary. If your pet gets benefits from a certain dose of CBD, there’s really no reason to give them a higher dose. That will just be more costly than it needs to be. So, just be aware of how many mg of CBD you’re giving your pet (especially when trying a new CBD product that may have a different concentration).
How to Find Your Pet’s Optimal CBD Treat or CBD Oil Dosage
Now you know how your pet’s weight, the reason you’re trying CBD, and the strength of your product can affect your pet’s dosage. Using this information, you can get a good idea of how many mg of CBD your pet may need to get the benefits of CBD. But to find your pet’s ideal dosage, you do still need to see how your pet responds to CBD, which you can do by observing their behavior. Every pet is unique, so your pet may need a bit more or a bit less than their recommended amount to see optimal benefits.
When you first give your pet CBD, we recommend starting with a lower dose, then slowly increasing it. Give your pet less CBD than you think they might need at first and observe their behavior. If you’re using a CBD oil, use your bottle’s dropper to measure out a smaller CBD dose. If you’re giving your pet a cat or dog CBD treat, give them a smaller number or treats or break your treats into pieces to get a smaller dose. Then, if your pet doesn’t get the benefits you’re looking for from that smaller dose, gradually increase their dose until they do. Once you’ve noticed improvement in your pet’s anxiety, pain levels, or whatever it is you’re looking to ease with CBD, you’ve found your pet’s perfect dosage.
Dr. You+ Veterinarian Formulated Pet CBD Oil
If you’re interested in trying pet CBD, we encourage you to try our veterinarian-formulated, veterinarian-approved CBD Pet-Oleum Tincture. Our high quality, full spectrum CBD hemp oil for pets comes in three different strengths to help you find your pet’s perfect dose with ease.
