Pet CBD Oil for calming effect

[tripntx]

Does anybody on here use CBD Oil (Cannabidiol) to calm your pet?

We adopted our almost 85 lb French Mastiff, Boxer, and American Bulldog (not to be confused with pit/stratford terrier) mix almost a year ago. Lexie is approx 3 yrs old now. She is great with DW and I, plus lives happily alongside our little 15 yr Chihuahua male. (We had a DNA test performed to find out what she was)

Her background as we know it: she was purchased as a puppy for a family's kid, she was surrendered by owner to a city pound when she was over a yr old. The city pound does euthanize animals when they aren't adopted within a certain period of time. She was at the pound for at least a couple of months, and was rescued just before her date to be euthanized. I know the foster parents. They kept her at their house with 5 or 6 other dogs and 1 or 2 cats. She lived with parents for over 6 months. She was attacked twice by the foster parents female boxer, which she did fight back before they were separated. She never attacked any of the their dogs. They also said she was scared of strangers. Foster parents and rescue group took her off their website, because she is strong, and it was apparent she didn't need a lot of strangers trying to meet her. Foster parents introduced us to her, and we fell in love with her, and adopted her June 2018.

She is very skittish of noises, terrified of long objects in peoples hands, and will jump back and start barking angrily at anybody who raises a hand when waving. She will allow people on our street to pet her.

She is fine on leash around our neighborhood where no other dogs are out.
She does have separation anxiety.

The problem is when camping. She doesn't like it when people out walking, jogging, cycling, etc. want to visit with us. She will start barking at approx half of them. She will drop to the ground beside me I when I sternly say her name, but will stand up and start barking again a few seconds later. I believe she wants them to leave the area where she is, possibly as a protection defense.

Other dogs are a problem. She always wants to go see other dogs, but I keep her from it because the hair on her back is raised and her tail isn't wagging or tucked. She might not start an attack without provocation, but I'm not willing to take the chance. Small dog biting her would not be good, but if she bite back, it could kill a small dog.

Out of desperation, I texted my vet while we were spending a week at Retama Village last month. Lexie was way to hyper the whole week. Vet said to try melatonin, but it didn't help.

I came across CBD Oil while researching pet anxiety, aggression, and separation anxiety. After a lot of reading, we order a 1oz/30mL bottle of 1500MG Pet CBD OIL from cbdMD. Started giving her eight drops twice a day. DW & I can both see that she is much more relaxed now in the house. FYI, based upon Lexie's size, I will get the 3,000MG next time since it would take fewer drops.

Had been using a Martingale collar, but it hadn't stopped her from pulling. I've now decided that maybe the restriction on her neck when she is pulling hard might have been part of the problem when she wants to go visit another dog. She is anxious to go see the dog, I'm holding her back, and the collar has some restrictive tightening on her neck.

Just switched from the Martingale collar to a harness. Between the harness and CBD Oil, Lexie is now easier to walk. She doesn't continue trying to pull away in front of me, and will now walk more calmly beside me. She actually sat down when visiting with neighbors instead of placing herself in-front of me.

Taking her to visit vet this afternoon. We will discuss CBD Oil, as well as find out about any other options. Our vet is aware of that I'm administering CBD Oil to her, and she was supportive in she text. She believes CBD Oil has a possible future for treating pets.
(Been texting vet for a long time because we had a boxer in the past that had to be hospitalized 5 or 6 times for GI issues)

Please share if you have any experience, whether good or bad.

[tripntx]

Lexie and I spent over an hour at the vets office. After a few minutes visiting in office, our vet took Lexie into a fenced yard, then over a 45-minute period, her and her technicians took turns visiting Lexie. In addition to her protective instincts over strangers approaching while I’m present, they confirmed she had serious trust issues against humans.

As the first part of the plan, they want to help Lexie with some behavior modification. For the next three to six months, Lexie will spend every Tuesday at vets office. They want her to build trust with the eight or nine people who work there. Lexie will be in a very large kennel at different times of the day while they are busy. They also want Lexie exposed to other pets being brought through the room where she will be kenneled. Once Lexie becomes fully trusting of them, they will start doing things that trigger her, such as waving arms or having a broom handle in hand when they pass through the room.
Our vet is very interested in hearing about our experience with CBD Oil, but she doesn’t want to actually document anything about CBD Oil use at this time. She mentioned she would contact Texas Board to determine if she can actually discuss CBD Oil use with us. I was able to determine she is interested in the continued CBD Oil treatment for Lexie. BTW, the CBD oil we purchased does not contain THC.

She prescribed 20mg Fluoxetine (Prozac) daily, and 450mg Zylkene for occasional use. We were told to start giving Zylkene approx. three days before leaving for a weekend camping trip, before & during vacation, as well as before having a party at house, or introducing a new dog to the house.

Hopefully this will all help her become a better RV Park and campgrounds visitor. Also, we will be bringing a new fur baby home in a couple months. Have a deposit with breeder for either a female brindle Boston Terrier puppy or female brindle French Bulldog puppy.

[MaureenB]

Hi - Sounds like your dog landed in a home of nice people who care for her and will protect her. I purchased oil for my dog, but honestly didn't notice a huge difference. I stopped and figured I would re-visit it later to see if I can see anything. I only used it for a week or so and have been thinking it may not have been long enough for a calming affect.

With dogs like her management is very important, and it sounds like you have a brain. I just got a smidge nervous at your line of the vet waving things and upping the ante as she gets more comfortable. If not taking slowly enough it could be quite detrimental. Slow is the word.

Good luck - keep us posted how she does.

[tripntx]

Originally Posted by MaureenB

Hi - Sounds like your dog landed in a home of nice people who care for her and will protect her. I purchased oil for my dog, but honestly didn't notice a huge difference. I stopped and figured I would re-visit it later to see if I can see anything. I only used it for a week or so and have been thinking it may not have been long enough for a calming affect.

With dogs like her management is very important, and it sounds like you have a brain. I just got a smidge nervous at your line of the vet waving things and upping the ante as she gets more comfortable. If not taking slowly enough it could be quite detrimental. Slow is the word.

Good luck - keep us posted how she does.

You have a valid point. Our Vet said it could be several months down the road before they will carry anything through the room or wave an arm in the area where Lexie will be kept on Tuesdays. She said this was going to be a long process, and they would avoid doing anything until Lexie has become completely trusting of them.

The CBD Oil appears to be helping, to an extent, but isn't enough for complete management of her issues.

Appreciate your kind words. The rescue group had taken Lexie off their website, and stopped advertising her. The foster family knew the extent of my efforts to care for my previous boxer, Kami, and knew I would work with Lexie to help her reach her potential to become a decent dog in public. They reached out me. One visit with Lexie, and I was hooked, she is such a pretty dog.

BTW, the foster family had her for 6 months, and the foster dad was very attached to her. He would have kept her if it wasn't for the fact a large female boxer in his house regularly tried to start fights with Lexie.

[Bigd9]

Interesting post. I have nothing to add except to say Lexie sure has landed in a good home with you guys! Keep us posted.

[Loraura]

Your story sounds very familiar.

I adopted Lulu from the pound when she was 6 months old. I have no info on her back story at all. She was super calm when I met her. She stayed super calm for about 6 weeks. Meek, even. Little did I know, she was calm because she was completely shut down from fear at the loud noises and various dogs at the pound, and possibly things that happened to her before that.

As she began to trust us, she came out of her shell and decided we were the BEST THINGS EVER. Specifically, I am the best person on the planet.

Sounds cute, but it's not.

She started showing aggressive tendencies when she would not allow other dogs to be near me at the dog park. That progressed to strangers coming to the door or in the house. Her field of protection continued to grow to include anyone or any dog walking in our neighborhood.

I spent literally thousands of dollars on a vet behaviorist to work with us. In addition to positive reinforcement training she was also prescribed Prozac and Clonadine.

I do sometimes put her on "doggy-weed" (as we call it) when we travel. It helps calm her. I purchase from Canna-pet.com. She doesn't like the treats (she's a treat snob after all that positive training), so we go with the capsules, which she has no trouble taking along with her daily meds. It doesn't make a huge difference, but it does help a little.

Thunder vests don't help at all.

After many hours of work on our part and a billion treats, Lulu will always be a one-dog dog. She will always be walked on a leash. She will never frequent the dog park.

However, she won't attack people, she won't lunge at other dogs. She will bark at strangers coming on to her property (of which, the RV is now her property). I'm OK with that. She won't bark long or nuisance bark. She won't tear up anything that isn't a toy that has been given to her.

All in all, after lots of money, professionals, training and meds, Lulu is a good dog. The mail-man may disagree. She's a good dog because I take extra precautions to be sure she can be a good dog. I don't put her in situations where her anxiety might push her to turn into a bad dog. I'm fully aware that this could happen if I'm not a good dog-parent.

When we travel we always make sure to have her meds with us as well as her leashes (2) and harnesses (2). We carry spares in case one breaks. She is never left unattended where another person or dog could come up to her. When I'm with her outside, or hiking, or walking, I keep her under my control and on a leash. When children ask if they can pet her, I simply explain that she is a very shy dog and doesn't like pets from people she doesn't know. At times I have carried pepper spray in case another dog attacks her. I've never used it. So far, since the training, she has always tolerated being approached by a loose dog long enough for me to remove us from the situation. Her body language tells me she clearly is not comfortable, but she has not attacked any loose dogs that have approached us. Without the meds and training, I am not sure the same would be true.

[tripntx]

Originally Posted by Loraura

Your story sounds very familiar.

I adopted Lulu from the pound when she was 6 months old. I have no info on her back story at all. She was super calm when I met her. She stayed super calm for about 6 weeks. Meek, even. Little did I know, she was calm because she was completely shut down from fear at the loud noises and various dogs at the pound, and possibly things that happened to her before that.

As she began to trust us, she came out of her shell and decided we were the BEST THINGS EVER. Specifically, I am the best person on the planet.

Sounds cute, but it's not.

She started showing aggressive tendencies when she would not allow other dogs to be near me at the dog park. That progressed to strangers coming to the door or in the house. Her field of protection continued to grow to include anyone or any dog walking in our neighborhood.

I spent literally thousands of dollars on a vet behaviorist to work with us. In addition to positive reinforcement training she was also prescribed Prozac and Clonadine.

I do sometimes put her on "doggy-weed" (as we call it) when we travel. It helps calm her. I purchase from Canna-pet.com. She doesn't like the treats (she's a treat snob after all that positive training), so we go with the capsules, which she has no trouble taking along with her daily meds. It doesn't make a huge difference, but it does help a little.

Thunder vests don't help at all.

After many hours of work on our part and a billion treats, Lulu will always be a one-dog dog. She will always be walked on a leash. She will never frequent the dog park.

However, she won't attack people, she won't lunge at other dogs. She will bark at strangers coming on to her property (of which, the RV is now her property). I'm OK with that. She won't bark long or nuisance bark. She won't tear up anything that isn't a toy that has been given to her.

All in all, after lots of money, professionals, training and meds, Lulu is a good dog. The mail-man may disagree. She's a good dog because I take extra precautions to be sure she can be a good dog. I don't put her in situations where her anxiety might push her to turn into a bad dog. I'm fully aware that this could happen if I'm not a good dog-parent.

When we travel we always make sure to have her meds with us as well as her leashes (2) and harnesses (2). We carry spares in case one breaks. She is never left unattended where another person or dog could come up to her. When I'm with her outside, or hiking, or walking, I keep her under my control and on a leash. When children ask if they can pet her, I simply explain that she is a very shy dog and doesn't like pets from people she doesn't know. At times I have carried pepper spray in case another dog attacks her. I've never used it. So far, since the training, she has always tolerated being approached by a loose dog long enough for me to remove us from the situation. Her body language tells me she clearly is not comfortable, but she has not attacked any loose dogs that have approached us. Without the meds and training, I am not sure the same would be true.

Thanks for sharing. While my preference is for Lexie to become a model canine citizen, I'm sure she will never be able to play freely in a dog park with other dogs, just isn't going to happen. I'll be satisfied to get her to sit or walk calmly beside me while other dogs pass by, and to stop being afraid of strangers when we go walking in a RV Park.

[1bigmess]

Thundershirt works for some, won't for others. If it does work, it might work wonders for far less than CBD oil. I'd try that first.

I had two dogs that were scared to death of fireworks, a Pom and a German Shepherd. Th Pom would simply freeze in fright, go into massive panic, and lie almost catatonic, barely breathing, and she would remain like this all night long if people were setting off fireworks. The GSD would moderately panic and bark all night long. Neither would go outside without fear for days after the night of all the noise. I got Thundershirts for both of them, and it literally eliminated all of their problems. I'd put the shirts on them, and the anxiety and everything else would simply not appear, even in the crescendo period of the neighborhood fireworks.

If you try Thundershirt and it doesn't work, I'd still hold onto it in case the combo of the Thundershirt and a little medication (CBD or whatever you use) works wonders. If it does nothing, you could probably easily sell it and recoup some of your money.

[jbrv]

I dont know about for the dogs but I have found the more weed i smoke the less the neighbors dogs barking bothers me.

[DreamsWork]

You are a good 'parent'; you're paying attention to how she is doing. I think you have the right track giving her the peace and goodness of knowing she is safe. The changes you made were excellent. The collar change was genius...keep trusting your intuition, it will make your dog whole.

[DreamsWork]

P.s...CBD oil is excellent for treating dogs (and humans) with emotional and physical ailments. I have used CBD oil at about the same dosage for an older noble dog who was dealing with cancer related discomfort and symptoms. The dosage I used was about one drop per 10 lbs. The positive effect is this new comfort also is a good time to introduce "therapy" to realign or change her response/behaviors.

[Gumpster808]

Our experience has been similar.

Using it to help with our Paporgi’s (we made it up since she is a cross between Papillon and Corgi) arthritis.

She has done real well with the supplemental CBD.

Like the OP our vet knows and has been tracking all his patients that are using it.

Vet also said the main vet association is getting ready to publish their study and he thinks the benefits are going to be confirmed.

He tried her on pain meds and she was a drugged up mess - stopped that and back to CBD. Much better overall — well as good as a 13 year old dog can be with arthritis [emoji3]

[DreamsWork]

Hello again, read about the Thundershirt, it apparently works for 7-8 out of 10 dogs. That's great! Like CBD oil, there are no side effects. Try using both.


The "feel high" effect of the cannabis plant, comes from THC; the higher the THC percentage in the cannabis, the stronger the "high".


Fact: CBD will not make any person or any pet "high" because the THC level is miniscule.


Fact: CBD oil is legal to possess and use, in all 50 States.


If your Vet will prescribe Prozac, Zylkene or Melatonin, etc., but is not willing to help you with CBD dosing of your pet, find another veterinarian. The side effects of the Vets drugs are dangerous, and can be fatal.


If it is you that needs treatment, and your doctor is of this same mind-set, see another doctor.


Cannabis (marajuana) and to a degree, Alcohol, used in moderation, have excellent medicinal effects.


Animals are living beings. How we take care of animals, as a society, is a good indicator of how well we take care of each other.


It's about love.
Love is something there is too little of...

[1bigmess]

Originally Posted by DreamsWork

Fact: CBD will not make any person or any pet "high" because the THC level is miniscule.

It may not make you intoxicated, but it can show up on a drug test. One of my coworkers peed hot on a UA. She showed us the bottle and the lab test showing the THC levels in that batch of CBD oil, and was suspended from work, and ultimately quit (DOT regulated job that was not truck driving). Just thought I would make this part of the topic more clear.