Looking to purchase CBD for your pet, but don’t know where to start or how to navigate prices? Read on to find the right product for you.
Pet CBD oil is likely to cost anywhere between $.6 and $.12 per milligram when you break down the costs. Prices vary wildly between brands, which can be confusing to new consumers who may be trying to get the best bargain. Spring for quality over low cost in order to get the best product for you.
In this article, we’ll break down the costs of pet CBD, the differences between human and dog CBD oil, issue our warnings about low-quality CBD products at massive chain stores, and offer alternatives to pet owners who are looking for the best product at the most affordable price.
How Much Is Pet CBD?
On average, pet CBD will cost anywhere between $.6 and $.12 per milligram. Admittedly, this is a pretty huge gap, which indicates some massive differences between brands and their products. While much of this might hedge on quality, it may also just be an indication of which company’s consumer base is willing to pay more, which makes it all the more confusing to determine which product is right for you.
Pet CBD’s fluctuations in price is not really all that different from the differences in price with traditional CBD used by humans. Some companies charge $30 for a 300mg bottle of CBD, while others charge something like $49 for a 400mg bottle of CBD.
Is there a difference between human and dog CBD oil?
There should be no difference between human and dog CBD oil beyond the concentration and some small tweaks, like flavor or carrier oil. Typically, dog CBD products are adjusted in terms of concentration in order to allow for easier dosing, as human CBD can be too strong for smaller animals.
However, some pet CBD manufacturers cut corners and do not create high-quality pet CBD products. They may skip out on creating a human-grade product and may instead allow their CBD to not be carefully filtered, allowing for toxins and minerals to accumulate in the final product. For this reason, it’s important to look for high-quality sellers that opt to make their pet products human-grade, even though they are not required to. This can make a world of difference in the health of your pet.
Additionally, pet CBD brands may not be as willing to provide extra information to consumers about their products as brands designed for humans. Be on the lookout for brands that offer extra materials informing customers about their product and its quality. Some materials like this are Certificates of Analysis and other lab reports, which tell you the exact amounts of certain compounds found in a sample of the product, including metals, toxins, pesticides, THC, CBD, and more. A CoA is completed by a third-party lab that has no stakes in the selling company and who can offer a genuine, unbiased analysis. Offering a CoA is a sign of a responsible brand that has your dog’s health in mind.
Alternatively, you might just opt to use human CBD oil on your pet, as that is guaranteed to be slightly higher quality (especially if you yourself have been on the lookout for signs of reputability). Just make sure that you are dosing it properly for your dog’s needs, since your typical dose of CBD may be a bit too high for your pet.
Does PetSmart or Petco sell CBD oil for dogs?
Yes, these sorts of large chain pet stores have begun selling CBD supplements for pets in regions across the nation. However, be wary about purchasing from these stores — their products are often low-quality and mass produced in large batches with little reputability. While they likely are not dangerous for your dog, remember that standards for CBD products are not very tightly regulated, and that egregious mislabeling errors do often occur in lower quality CBD products. If you’re concerned about your pet’s health and are able to afford it, try to spring for a higher quality product.
Tons of brands online offer high-quality and highly-vetted CBD products for dogs, and you’ll also have the bonus benefit of being able to look into their production processes and their lab reports online, too. While the chews and gummies offered by pet stores look convenient and may save you time, you can certainly find higher quality CBD dog treats elsewhere.
Where to find affordable CBD for dogs
Fortunately, there are places out there to find affordable CBD oil for dogs that is still high-quality and healthy for them. One such place is PetWorks, which offers CBD oil specially formulated for household pets, including cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, and even horses. Their CBD oil is completely THC free, and it’s guaranteed to be 100% organic whole-plant hemp extract mixed in with an MCT carrier oil.
Additionally, FABCBD offers CBD dogs treats to help your dog feel calmer and more comfortable at night before they go to sleep. They come in a peanut butter apple flavor that your dog is guaranteed to absolutely love. They are also completely THC-free, and they offer 3mg of CBD per treat. With a product page that is absolutely littered with positive reviews, it’s easy to believe that dogs and owners alike love these treats.
Pros and cons of CBD oil for dogs
Pros:
1. CBD can help to calm a dog down.
CBD’s relevance as an anxiety treatment in humans is well-known, so it makes sense that it would have a similar usage when it comes to our pets’ well-being. Many individuals offer anecdotal reports of CBD helping to soothe chronic anxiety in their dogs, promoting better health as well as improved behavior.
If your pet suffers from separation anxiety, offering them a treat that calms them down before you leave the house may help them wait for you patiently without causing problems like accidents in the home or chewed up personal belongings.
Additionally, many individuals use CBD to calm their dog at night, a prime time for your pet’s anxiety flare up. Using pet CBD products right before bed can help to allow them to settle into bed with you without worry.
2. CBD can help to relieve pain.
Similarly to its usage in humans, CBD might offer pain relief to dogs suffering from chronic pain. Once again, anecdotal reports claim that CBD has improved their dog’s quality of life in its older years. CBD is particularly effective with treating inflammation, so you should certainly keep it in mind for inflammation-related pain problems.
3. CBD may offer relief to dogs suffering from seizures.
Given the fact that CBD’s only FDA-approved usage currently is as a seizure medication, this claim makes sense and rings particularly true. While, once again, there have been no studies on the potential for CBD to treat seizures in dogs, we do know that CBD can drastically reduce seizures in children suffering from certain seizure disorders, in addition to potentially lessening convulsions in other animals like pigs. Given this information, it feels fair to assume that CBD may have some potential in treating your dog.
Cons:
1. There is almost no research on how CBD impacts dogs.
Unfortunately, however, there is little to no science to back up the idea of CBD as a treatment for dogs. While the studies may come in the next few years, as of right now, all we have to go on are anecdotal reports from pet owners who use CBD. This also holds true for the negative impacts of CBD — we don’t know what impacts CBD might have on the health of our animals long-term. Most of what we know about CBD has come from studies involving other types of animals that are not dogs, and from human subjects as well.
2. Pet CBD oil is more likely to be of poor quality.
As mentioned previously, many pet CBD manufacturers may take advantage of the fact that pet CBD is not used by humans, and therefore does not have to be high quality in the same way as human products. Make sure that your pet’s CBD products are wholesome and untainted by dangerous toxins and harmful heavy metals.
3. Dosing is difficult.
Dosing with CBD oil is hard enough as it is, but it may be more difficult with your pet, as even the biggest of dogs will likely require less CBD than you to feel the effects. Too much CBD may even be harmful to your dog, so it’s important to do a lot of research into pet CBD dosing, or to follow the guidelines listed on the product packaging.
4. It can cause side effects.
CBD may cause side effects in dogs such as dry mouth, lowered blood pressure, and drowsiness. Speak to a vet before starting a CBD regimen, as the lowered blood pressure may be dangerous to some dogs already suffering from blood pressure issues.
Takeaway: Pet CBD Varies Greatly in Price and in Quality
For pet CBD, you can typically expect to spend anywhere from 6 cents to 12 cents per milligram. When considering this wide range of prices, do not simply go for the cheapest option. Instead, be very wary of cheap CBD, and consider whether or not you are buying from a reliable source. For example, we do not recommend buying pet CBD from places like PetSmart and Petco.
The greatest pros of CBD for animals is that it can relieve anxiety, it can help animals sleep, and it can even help relieve seizures. The cons of pet CBD is that there is not much proven research on the benefits of CBD for dogs and the greatest evidence we have of its value is from personal anecdotes and testing on other types of animals that are not dogs and on humans. You should also be sure you are administering the proper doses, and looking out for side effects like lethargy, dry mouth, and lowered blood pressure. Also remember that pet CBD is more likely to be of lower quality, so be sure to look out for your furry friend when he or she can’t do it alone!
Because there is unfortunately an excess of untrustworthy CBD available on the market, we’ve put together a list of the best types of CBD for pets. You can access our reliable directory of products here.
