A Scientific Look Into CBD Oil for Dogs With Seizures
Does your dog suffer from seizures? If so, it can be difficult watching your furry friend twitch and shake while having a seizure. Are you looking for ways to help your companion?
Preliminary studies have shown the CBD oil may reduce seizure frequency in some dogs up to 89 percent. Are you wondering how CBD oil can help?
Let’s take a look at the scientific side of CBD oil for dogs with seizures.
Causes of Seizures in Dogs
Seizures can happen quickly and can be anything from a slight twitch to excessive and uncontrollable shaking. They can be quick or last for minutes.
What causes seizures? It can vary. A few things that can cause seizures include:
- Vaccines
- Underlying health conditions such as cancer, liver disease, epilepsy, and kidney disease
- Flea and tick products
- Head injury
- Strokes
- Pesticides
- Electrolyte issues
Most of these will cause seizures sporadically. If your furry friend has epilepsy, the seizures are regular.
Epilepsy causes rampant electricity in the dog’s brain. There is no cure, but you can control and manage it naturally and possibly reduce frequency.
Side Effects of Seizure Medications
Traditional pharmaceutical drugs are popular to help our canines, and they have a great purpose. However, they also have negative side effects.
For one, seizure medications for dogs are not FDA approved, so this can be of great concern to pet owners. Phenobarbital causes drowsiness and your dog can appear unsteady when moving. It has also been associated with liver failure.
Other side effects include excessive thirst and urination. Potassium bromide also found in these medications can cause stumbling, stomach issues, and also drowsiness. Mild cases of bloody feces and vomiting have also been reported, so your vet will need to monitor the potassium bromide levels in your pooch’s blood.
You always should consult your veterinarian if you think your dog’s dosage or medication needs to be changed. Never stop giving your dog prescribed medication without talking to your vet. Quitting cold turkey can have an adverse reaction and cause seizures.
What Is CBD Oil?
CBD is short for Cannabidiol and is derived from the cannabis hemp plant. In contrast to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD has no psychoactive effects. This happens because of how CBD structured, and this affects the CBD impact on the nervous system, brain, and body.
THC is psychoactive because of the way it binds to the brain receptors known as endocannabinoids, and CBD works with these receptors.
There are endocannabinoids all throughout the human and animal body. The highest concentration is in the nervous system, brain, and spine. Because there is so much in these organs and systems, CBD has the greatest impact in these areas of the body.
CBD Oil for Dogs With Seizures
Scientists are uncovering a variety of uses for CBD oil in both dogs and humans. One of the major uses of CBD oil for dogs is to manage seizures.
How does CBD work?
To answer this question, let’s talk about the two types of endocannabinoid receptors found in your canine’s body.
- CB1 receptors are centralized in the nervous system along with the brain
- CB2 receptors are in the immune system
CB1 receptors in the brain are activated for anxiety relief, mood-stabilizing, pain relief, and also for pleasure. CB1 receptors can also affect neurotransmitters like serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine.
CB2 receptors are found most often in the immune system in the tissue and white blood cells. When activated, these receptors work to stop inflammation.
The CB1 receptors can have the biggest influence on your dog’s seizure management. Studies suggest that seizures and epilepsy can alter the endocannabinoid system.
CBD can improve seizure control with specific epilepsy conditions. CBD binds to the brain receptor in the endocannabinoid system. It balances the calcium activity in the nerve cells, which reduces the seizure activity in the brain.
This process is known as external modulation. CBD might also affect the receptors that relax the neurons during a seizure, but there is still more research needed to learn more about this.
CBD is a natural way to help your dog control those unwanted seizures. If he feels any side effects, it’s probably just some mild drowsiness.
How Much CBD Oil Should I Give My Dog?
The dosage of CBD for dog seizures depends heavily on your dog’s size. Of course, a larger dog will need a larger dose, and a smaller dog should have a small dose. You will also need to know your dog’s weight.
Start with the product recommendations on the label for your dog’s size. You may want to start with a smaller amount and see how your dog reacts before slowly increasing dosage.
You should also discuss CBD dosage with your vet, and get his or her recommendations.
Make sure you do your research before buying a product. You certainly want the best for your dog, so make sure you buy something with high quality and with acceptable levels of THC.
THC can cause issues for your dog if the dosage is too high, so quality does matter. You want the THC levels to be below .3% per federal guidelines. THC is safe for all animals as long as levels are below .3%.
Looking for CBD Oil?
CBD oil for dogs with seizures is a natural way to help your furry friend. If you are looking for high-quality CBD oil, check out our products!
We love animals and safety is our number one priority. We send our products to a third-party lab to ensure they are the highest quality just like human products.
Our farmers also do not use pesticides on their crops, so you can rest easy. Shop our oils today to help keep your pet comfortable.
