Dogs + Fireworks = CBD?

[Jill NYC]

Recently, my pup has started getting very nervous during thunderstorms and all of the pre-July 4th fireworks. (He’s 11 and rarely ever noticed before).

Inspired by @Tranquility post:

Does anyone dose your pets with CBD over the 4th?

I have a pair of pitties with one who DGAF about loud booms and the other wanting to crawl into thimble-sized spaces to hide from a finger snap. Here's an article talking about CBD for the issue:
https://420intel.com/articles/2020/06/29/can-cbd-protect-your-dog-against-fireworks-anxiety

Does anyone have any experience with CBD helping with anxiety in dogs?

 

[JCat]

Let me know what you find out about this ... my Doodle is super scared of thunder and fireworks!

 

[Moses Baca]

We've got two rescue pups, ages 11 and 8. They HATE loud noises! We've struggled with thunderstorms and fireworks since we got them. We were giving them cbd daily for quite awhile but our 8 year old developed some health issues that we think might be from the fatty oil being too much for her system so we stopped. We hate this time of year.

 

[macbill]

I wonder if vets have any doggie downers? Might be worth a call.

 

[jbm]

I have a 4 year old pit/lab mix who gets freaked out by fireworks and thunderstorms. Hides in the bathroom and shakes like a leaf in the wind. We've started giving her CBD drops on a biscuit in the early evening, about a quarter of the recommended dose, and it seems to calm her down.

 

[The Stray Fox]

A different direction than CBD but maybe something like this could help. Never used it on my dogs. I’ve just seen it advertised.

Link ➡ Thunder Shirt

 

[Tranquility]

A different direction than CBD but maybe something like this could help. Never used it on my dogs. I’ve just seen it advertised.

Link ➡ Thunder Shirt

We have a blanket that has some shot sewn in to give it weight. It worked wonders for a previous dog that was also scared of the thunder/fireworks. My current 'fradydog is not that soothed from it. But anyone who has the problem should try the weighted vest/blanket idea. It is a drug free way that works for a lot of animals. (Including children!)

 

[mephisto]

I have tried CBD with both of my Labs. The older (14 years) chocolate does not respond well to either the drops or the biscuits......The younger (5 years) yellow
does not respond well either. The drops and the biscuits cause power evacuation of their bowels. I had hoped for some pain relief for the older dog, and really wanted the CBD to help tame the young one's spastic nature........Oh well, I can take the drops myself though I find the biscuits a bit gritty........

 

[Tranquility]

I have tried CBD with both of my Labs. The older (14 years) chocolate does not respond well to either the drops or the biscuits......The younger (5 years) yellow
does not respond well either. The drops and the biscuits cause power evacuation of their bowels. I had hoped for some pain relief for the older dog, and really wanted the CBD to help tame the young one's spastic nature........Oh well, I can take the drops myself though I find the biscuits a bit gritty........

What dose was used?

 

[Jill NYC]

Thanks for the suggestion @The Stray Fox
Years ago, when my dog wasn't bothered by loud sounds, I got a free thundershirt. I passed it on to a friend who had a dog that trembled and cowered during fireworks. She claimed it helped quite a bit. The dog was noticeably less shaky but was still somewhat unsettled. (Some second-hand anecdotal data)

My dog (Clyde) doesn’t shake - he just gets antsy and stares at me a lot as if to ask “wtf is all this noise about? why don’t you stop it?”
I think the thundershirt is best for the trembling dogs so they can feel hugged.
If he gets worse, I will definitely reconsider.

I read article @Tranquility posted and a few others, it doesn’t seem like there is much documented accounts of CBD helping.

 

[Tranquility]

I read article @Tranquility posted and a few others, it doesn’t seem like there is much documented accounts of CBD helping.

Before I posted in the other thread, I did a search as best I could. I was unable to find much other than opinion and anecdotal evidence out there. Of course, that's largely true on CBD in general; let along for dogs.

On another point, what of THC? My wife has a tincture that has a CBD/THC ratio of 30:1 and the little bit of THC in the mix really seems to help her get to sleep when needed. I am hesitant to use it on my dog. I don't really have a problem with CBD but will probably under-dose a little just to avoid a "power evacuation" mentioned by @mephisto . (After the casserole incident of '19, no one wants that.) But, THC? I'm not so sure.

 

[The Stray Fox]

Thanks for the suggestion

You bet. I’ve got a soft spot for our furry friends. My first dog Hudson, no longer with me, hatted the thunder or any loud noise. I’d often come home to find that he had hid out in the bathtub. More often than not he managed to turn the water on. He was a very large shepherd and usually made for an interesting scene.

To bad about CBD. I love CBD but have found little relief from my anxiety from using it. Does loud music scare you dog? Hudson was not and I used to just crank the stereo when I was home and storm would come rolling through. Treats were another trick I would use to distract him. When food came into the picture his woes would some times dissipate.

@Tranquility funny side story. Same dog Hudson ate a half ounce of butter soaked weed. A girl at a party was making brownies and for some reason dumped the leftovers out in the yard. Well Hudson...yeah. He was pretty high for almost a day. I immediately called my Vet and he just laughed and said just make sure he has food and water . He seemed relaxed but was very obviously stoned.

 

[strech]

Mack gets 10-15mg of CBD to calm his nerves. Works great.

Been using Austin and Kat products.

 

[mephisto]

I also used the Austin & Kat products, 10-15mg dosage.

 

[grampa_herb]

I've had success in acclimating a dog I once had by playing thunderstorm sounds softly by his bed in my office. I can still remember when I played it initially and he just looked at me like WTF?!?

 

[Moses Baca]

Relatively quiet in our neighborhood last night, we're thankful. Our littlest guy was still pretty nervous but we kept him close all night so it wasn't too bad.

 

[Jill NYC]

I did buy some CBD drops at the pet store...
And at sundown, I went to open it up to try out and... the damn child-resistance lid was impossible for me to open.
Maybe they should rename those lids to “no-one-over-the-age-of-49-proofed”. (or maybe it is just me.)

Thankfully, we really didn’t hear any fireworks either, so while I wasted $30, at least Clyde was none the wiser.

 

[Tranquility]

Did 15mg of bites (75 pounds times .2 per https://www.caninejournal.com/cbd-dosage-for-dogs/) hours before the explosions started. At max peak of explosions, scaredy-pit could not be soothed until we placed in an inside doghouse with a white noise generator on top. Rewards given each time dog came to us after explosion.

The end result is that I don't know if the CBD helped, but I know I can train my dog to come to me after an explosion scares her.

 

[Tranquility]

 

[MiztressNemesis]

CBD has proven to be effective for some of our adoption dogs but not for others. It varies and even within the specific subset of "Sighthounds" I deal with there really is no way to tell what dogs will get relief from it but start slow and build up if you try it. Another option is scentless bounce sheet. Yes, I said Fabric softener sheet (unscented). Sometimes the electric feel of the air just before& during a storm will be what's upsetting to your dog. I have used this on a few dogs to good effect. The unscented softener sheet applied a little while BEFORE the storm negates the static some can feel which is what freaks some of them out. Just rub the unscented sheet all over their fur, generally best like 15 mins or so before the storm occurs if possible. Thunder shirts with CBD can also help for SOME dogs as well, but the one thing you Don't want to do is go overboard to coddle them too much, as they will feel they are justified to be scared and continue on that way. Animals also feed off of your own nervous or scared energy so try to be the most upbeat and positive dependable leader you can be. Definitely be there to reassure and redirect some energy if possible to treats or playing *if* they are amenable. Otherwise, you can sit with them and pet them if you like but keep an upbeat tone whilst doing something else that is not focusing or directing back into scared negative energy. Just had our new boy pitch a HUGE shaking & hiding fit with the storm we just recently had and he was calm on my couch with me and eating some liver treats while I listened to some music on the tablet (power was off) within around 15mins. Good Luck to everyone with frightened doggos & Stay Safe everyone!

 

[BrianTL]

Havent tried any with my pup, hes only 5 months and dont want to start giving him CBD yet. I want to see how he does with fireworks (not great this weekend) and thunderstorms (havent had too many yet). Hes definitely visibly bothered and nervous, goes to find a corner table to go lie under. We just sat with him and tried to comfort him and be positive.

I will say my GFs parents have a dog with a lot of mental issues that a cop friend of theirs found in really bad shape and they were unable to locate an owner, so they took him in until they could locate the owner which they were never able to do. So now they've adopted her as their own. Day to day, she has what I would consider pretty extreme issues, and thats without the fireworks and thunderstorms.

They just started giving her these, and I will say I've seen a big difference in her behavior. She always seems/acts extremely nervous, panicked, and anti-social but she seemed a lot more relaxed and less stressed with these hemp chews

A friend of mine gives his huge Swiss Mountain Dog CBD sometimes and he said it does calm him down a lot and chill him out. Other than that, seems to be mixed reviews for the most part.

 

[Jill NYC]

Yesterday we had some pretty severe thunder/lightening, and I finally was able to open up the bottle of CBD I bought for him.
I gave him about 5ml, which is a little more than recommended dosage and unfortunately it did not help.
But he didn’t mind the flavor (he’s a picky bastard) and luckily he didn’t have the bad poops like @mephisto mentioned happened with his Labs. So, I will give it a try again, but I am pretty doubtful.
Oh well, I wonder if I should try it out on myself... and if so, how much should I take?

This is the stuff I tried, in case anyone is interested:

ISOHEMP-150 HEMP OIL TINCTURE - Super Snouts H.C.

150MG OF 99% + pUre extract CBD PER BOTTLE Veterinarian Recommended :: Non Detectable THC :: USA Farmed Hemp :: Hemp Oil Extract :: GMO Free PERFECT FOR PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SUPPORT OF NORMAL DISPOSITION, HELP WITH THE EASE OF DISCOMFORT, AND PROMOTION OF NORMAL COGNITIVE BALANCE FOR SMALL...

supersnoutshempcompany.com

 

[MiztressNemesis]

There really is little difference between pet CBD and People CBD. Just as long as there is no more than 0.3% THC in it and lower the dosage on the bottle.

Here is an example of 3 different strengths of dosage to give your dog:

• LOW TIER = 0.05mg CBD x 0.5kg of body weight
• MID TIER = 0.125mg CBD x 0.5kg of body weight
• STRONG TIER = 0.25mg CBD x 0.5kg of body weight
  
  It is great when you see it work on a pet especially when paired with being a strong supportive leader and pet parent.

 

[Tranquility]

While not the exact same topic, I've found one of my pitties has ARF-ritis and the vet and I want to do the most we can before doing the NSAID for canine path. Right now, I'm giving her a size-related Chrondroitin/glucosamine chew once a day, a gram of tumeric once a day and 1/2 ml of 3/1 CBD/THC tincture twice a day.

While there is not huge improvement, it is certainly better. But, we're still in the titration phase and trying to find the right dose.

There, the July Baylor study would have a dose of CBD alone to a high amount for efficacy. (2mg per kilo twice a day.) They even found a greater effect from liposomal CBD. Conversely, another study felt the liposomal formulation would give rise to higher blood levels that would drop to greater amounts so did not recommend that formulation for chronic conditions. However, there was no THC included in the study. My vet was the one to recommend the ratio formulation.

Anyone have any ideas on dosing with a mixed tincture for arthritis?