CBD Oil For Dogs with Joint Pain And Arthritis

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CBD Oil For Dogs with Joint Pain And Arthritis
I work as a vet. I have a particular interest in companion animal pain management and rehabilitation, and over the past few years, I’ve narrowed down my work to mainly focus on just that. On a normal day to day basis, I look at medication protocols and do massage, acupuncture and laser therapy. The bulk of my work is with arthritic dogs.
But recently I have struggled with one of my patients. Luna, an elderly husky, had severe arthritis of the elbows and hips, as well as liver, heart and kidney failure. Unfortunately, that means she couldn’t have any pain medications.
That’s how I began to learn about CBD oil for dog arthritis. Her owners had been using it on her to good effect. It’s now gaining more recognition in the veterinary world, and I’m excited to start being able to recommend it for certain patients when options are running thin.

Understanding Canine Joint Pain and Arthritis

Understanding Canine Joint Pain and Arthritis
Arthritis is extremely prevalent, and a silent cause of discomfort in many older animals. In fact, one in five animals older than the age of eight, has underlying arthritis. In humans, it is well known that arthritis causes pain long before it causes limping, which means we can only assume the same in our canine friends. That means, by the time you notice that your dog is limping, the arthritis is already moderate or severe. To understand how we can improve the joint comfort, we must first understand the joint itself.
The moving joint comprises of six components; the joint capsule, the cartilage, the subchondral bone (under the cartilage), the ligaments and tendons, the nerves and blood vessels, and the synovial fluid filling the joint. All six components are involved in arthritis.
The joint capsule comprises of two layers. The outer layer is dense and fibrous, and its purpose is to protect the inner layer. The inner layer membrane produces a substance called hyaluronic acid which makes up the synovial fluid. It is richly supplied with blood vessels, and has plenty of nerve endings. This means it detects pain very well.
The cartilage is composed of cells called chondrocytes, molecules called glycosaminoglycans, and collagen fibers. It hasn’t got many blood vessels or nerves, and therefore its nutrients come from the synovial fluid and subchondral bone. Its function is as a shock absorber for the joint, due to the great amount of water it holds. It also provides a smooth surface to allow the joint to glide. Unfortunately, cartilage cannot regenerate well when it becomes damaged.
The synovial fluid is a transparent or pale-yellow protein-rich fluid, comprising of hyaluronic acid. The functions of the synovial fluid are to allow for constant load bearing, efficient heat conductivity and lubrication.
When a joint has arthritis, the cartilage gradually deteriorates and the subchondral bone becomes thick, reducing the shock absorbing capacity of the joint. In addition, the inner membrane becomes thickened, and the surrounding areas become devitalized because of the reduction in blood supply. The thick inner membrane grows into the joint space and starts to becomes stuck to the cartilage. As a result, the synovial fluid can no longer flow normally into the pores of the cartilage, leading to deceased nutrition and degeneration.
In a nutshell, the joint becomes very sore, and loses a great amount of function.

What Are the Symptoms of Arthritis in Dogs?

What Are the Symptoms of Arthritis in Dogs?
When people think of arthritis, they think of limping. And that certainly is the main symptom which is seen. However, as mentioned earlier, by the time a dog is limping, they already have moderate or severe arthritis, so it is vital to look out for early indications of pain.
There are some tell-tale signs to look out for, which even stoic dogs will demonstrate if they are in pain.

Traditional Arthritis Treatments

Arthritis can be treated in many different ways, and there is not one way which is best or most effective. In fact, treating arthritis in a number of different ways concurrently, will give the best results. It is thought that each individual arthritis treatment accentuates the effect of the other arthritis treatments, and so each one works better in conjunction with others, rather than by itself.
The following are ways in which arthritis is traditionally treated, some of which are not suitable for every dog:
So, as you can see, there are many ways arthritis can be addressed, but no one way is perfect. Selecting multiple approaches will be beneficial, but sometimes that is still not enough. That’s where CBD oil comes in.

CBD oil for dogs is not a traditional arthritis treatment, and is only starting to gain recognition in the veterinary community recently, however, it is proving to be an effective way of managing pain safely, without many side effects.

What is CBD oil?

cbd oil
There’s a lot of hype around hemp products, and it is easy to get confused about all the different ones. There’s a lot of false information floating around the internet, getting people confused between hemp oil, CBD oil, cannabis oil and medical cannabis. The two most similar are hemp oil and CBD oil. Both hemp oil and CBD (cannabidiol) oil are derived from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, but they are quite different from the cannabis drug. Neither oil contains the psychoactive substance, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and therefore they have all the health benefits with no side effects.
The difference between CBD oil and hemp oil is that CBD oil comes from the stalks, leaves and buds of the plant, whereas hemp oil comes from the seeds alone. They are quite different in medical uses and so it is important to know what you are buying.
There are a huge number of CBD oil products available, and the amount of CBD in each will vary. Therefore, it is important to buy one of very high quality from a reputable source.

Here are a Few tips to ensure that you buy a quality CBD oil product:

CBD For Pain

CBD oil is becoming more popular in treating seizures, arthritis, nausea, anxiety, stress and symptoms of cancer. But CBD is particularly excellent for treating pain, and is a popular adjunctive treatment for managing arthritis. The sensation of pain is a complicated neurological pathway.
In essence, there are lots of types of receptors, which are triggered when a painful stimulus arises. These are all different for deep pain, sharp pain, chronic pain, sudden pain etc. The signal is then sent to the spinal cord, and then up to the brain for processing, and the body then responds accordingly through a number of ways, such as physically reacting, sending inflammatory cells to that area, feeling emotional etc.
A study in 2011, showed that CBD reduced inflammatory pathways in rats, through working at the basic level of the pain receptors. This changed how the receptors responded to stimuli so that less nerves were triggered with the painful signal.
Later on, in 2014, a scientific review of the published research on animals, concluded positively that CBD can be used in the management of arthritis in animals. It emphasized there was still not a lot of published data on its use, however preclinical data was promising.

Will my dog feel high or funny?

cbd
The great thing about CBD oil is that it has none of the psychoactive substance, THC. Therefore, it has all the medicinal effects of hemp, but none of the psychological side effects.
There has been no research to indicate exactly what the side effects are on dogs, however based on humans, here is an indication of how your dog might feel or what he might experience:

What does the law say?

Given that CBD oil comes from the cannabis plant, it’s understandable that some people, even some veterinarians, are hesitant to give CBD oil to their dogs. However, the law in the USA allows for hemp to be produced as long as the THC levels remain under 0.3%. This means that the CBD oil has not been produced from illegal cannabis plants, but rather industrial hemp, which is grown widely.
The American Veterinary Medical Association has been hesitant to approve the use of CBD oil in dogs. They claim that all therapeutic agents given to pets should be licensed by the FDA, which few CBD oils have been. As a result, they advise veterinarians to be cautious in their recommendations, as products can be labelled inaccurately and vary in their active ingredient if not FDA licensed.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate in the UK have also been hesitant to sing the praises of CBD oil. They claim that CBD products fulfil the definition of a ‘veterinary medicine’ and therefore should be regulated and treated as one. As a result, CBD products for use in animals require a marketing authorization before they can be supplied in the UK, and none have been granted this so far. Off license use of human CBD products is allowed if approached with caution.

How to Give CBD Oil to Your Arthritic Dog ?

CBD oil is usually given orally to dogs, which means via the mouth. If you are giving capsules, the gelatin exterior can be pierced, and you can pour the contents on the food, if your dog does not take a whole capsule willingly. Tablets can usually be broken up into smaller pieces and hidden in treats.
Luckily, CBD oil often comes in a tincture or mixed with another oil, and therefore with the pipette you can drop it directly into your dog’s mouth or on his food.
However, a study in 2016 suggested that CBD has poor oral bioavailability, and therefore to avoid the gastrointestinal system, CBD can be effectively applied to the skin. It can be rubbed directly into the site which is sore, however, remember to wear gloves when applying it.

CBD Oil Dosages for Dogs

If you decide to purchase a CBD oil specifically made for dogs, the manufacturers will have had to clearly detail on the data sheet how much should be given to your dog. This is the safest guideline for that particular product, and therefore you should follow that. Unfortunately, there are very few products on the market available specifically marketed for dogs.
However, if you buy a generic CBD oil, you may not know how much to give. Unfortunately, some CBD oil manufacturers deliberately don’t give a dose on their product, to avoid getting into trouble with the FDA over promises of results at a specific dose.
Cornell is a leading institution in the research of CBD oil in dogs, and a research project which was submitted to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Summit in 2017, demonstrated that 0.9mg/lb of CBD oil twice daily will increase the comfort and activity of dogs which suffer from arthritis. This dose, however, is very generous, and most dogs will be able to be managed on a tiny fraction of this dose. It is recommended to start on a dose of 0.02mg/lb twice daily, and gradually work up to the most effective dose.
To convert this into how many millilitres to give your dog, you can do a simple equation:
For example, if your dog weighs 25lb, 0.02mg/lb will equate to 0.5mg. Now, if the CBD oil comes at a strength of 5mg/cc, then you simply divide 0.5 by 5, which gives you the answer 0.1cc. Therefore, you would need to give your dog 0.1cc twice daily, as a starting dose. This can gradually be increased to the most effective dose.
This becomes a little more complicated when the CBD oil doesn’t come in a liquid form. Capsules and tablets are common, but most come in sizes of 5-20mg, and so once you’ve figured out how many milligrams your dog needs, then you should just give the closest dose possible with the capsules or tablets, by splitting them up if necessary.
The main thing which should be taken from this, is that CBD oil has a massive dose range, which means that it is safe at many different doses, so the dose should be tailored to each individual.

Talk with Your Vet

As with starting any treatment for an ailment, you should ensure that your vet is on board. It is important that they are aware of your dog’s health, and how he responds to recommended treatments, to ensure he gets the best care possible.
If they are against use of CBD oil, it is most likely from either lack of knowledge, or just being cautious of the potential pitfalls of buying CBD oil. Nevertheless, it is important not to dismiss their concerns, as they are professionals in the field of animal health, and will be able to recommend the best way to treat your dog’s arthritis.

Final Thoughts

cbd oil - final thoughts
CBD oil is a potentially exciting treatment option for painful health issues, such as arthritis. However, you must be cautious when buying CBD oil. It is easy to buy one which contains additives or very little amounts of CBD oil, and therefore may have variable effects.
Nevertheless, it can potentially provide a profound pain relief for dogs which are suffering from arthritis or painful conditions, especially if there are reasons why conventional treatment cannot be used.
Speedy in Hollywood, LA

One request from Speedy

Dr. Joanna De Klerk put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to the dog parent community. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media networks.
SHARING IS ♥️

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Jo is a graduate of the Royal Veterinary College, London. She has a Masters degree in Tropical Animal Health and has spent most of her career working in mixed veterinary practice. Recently, she has become involved in one of the UK’s fastest-growing veterinary telemedicine services for dogs and cats. She is a published author of several books and enjoys working as a freelance veterinary writer around her clinical work. Some of her most well-known work includes books, ‘Tales from a Young Vet’, ‘Tales from a Wild Vet’, and ‘The Complete Guide to…’ dog breed series. She has a strong interest in canine pain management and rehabilitation, as well as global veterinary medicine and welfare. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her horse and her family. She has two dogs, a slightly nutty Springer Spaniel and a loving little Yorkshire Terrier.