CBD for dogs (and cats)

If you didn’t know this already, I am a huge fan of CBD. And I’ll tell you why…

CBD can be a game-changer for dogs and cats with health issues from allergies to cancer. How does it work? There’s a messenger system in your pet’s body called the endocannabinoid system. It helps regulate everything from sleep and appetite to pain, the immune system and more. CBD impacts the activity of the messengers in this system and stimulates the nervous, digestive and immune systems, as well as the brain. It can do this because the endocannabinoids in CBD are very similar to the ones found in your dog’s body.

That’s why the benefits of CBD can be so deep and significant!

Here are 5 ways CBD can help your dog (or cat):

1) CBD helps dogs with joint pain by giving them relief.

If your dog has joint pain, medications vets prescribe like NSAIDS or other pain meds can cause deterioration in joints and soft tissues, and they can damage your dog’s liver and cause kidney damage. Plus they’re not super effective. CBD is a natural anti-inflammatory that doesn’t carry the same risks and side effects as drugs. It works by binding to CB1 receptors in the brain and CB2 receptors in the nervous and immune systems, which stimulate the immune system to reduce inflammation and helps the body produce more cannabinoids naturally. This helps reduce inflammation and reduce the pain associated with it.

Amazing, huh?

CBD as an anti-inflammatory for joint pain including:

• Arthritis
• Hip and Elbow Dysplasia
• Sprains and Strains
• Torn Ligaments (CCL)

My adult dogs are all seniors now (Zoey and Duke are 11, Havok is 8) so I give them CBD on a daily basis. And I believe that it’s their raw diet plus regular CBD that enables them to live such healthy, actives lives full of activity and fun!

2. CBD kills cancer cells.

For dogs with cancer, CBD can be a game-changer. How? Because it works as a cancer-fighting substance and can slow the growth of tumors. It also kills cancer cells by blocking their ability to produce energy, and it can stimulate the immune system to produce killer cells that cause death in cancer cells. Additionally, it blocks the cannabinoid receptor GPR55 that has been proven to increase the growth rate of cancer cells. And it helps with the nausea associated with many cancer treatments. Wow!

It’s no wonder CBD is the fastest growing plant in the world!

3. CBD reduces the frequency and severity of seizures.

While 50 percent of dogs will likely get cancer, five percent of dogs suffer from seizures. If you’ve never witnessed a dog having a seizure, it’s terrifying. My dog, Zoey, had a seizure three years ago right in front of my husband, and it was absolutely awful. We think it was her first seizure, and we immediately put her on CBD after that.

Most vets treat epilepsy and seizures with antiepileptic drugs, like phenobarbital and potassium bromide, but these drugs are harmful to dogs’ livers and other organs!! Plus, they don’t always work.

CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system by binding to the receptors in the brain where it’s believed that abnormal electric charges of neurons in the nervous system cause seizures. This is believed to reduce the frequency and severity of seizures.

We never saw another seizure in Zoey for two years. Then I forgot to give her CBD several days in a row, and we believe she had a small seizure. I felt awful. I have been giving her CBD consistently (once daily) since then, and we haven’t seen a single seizure!

I am a huge believer in CBD.

4. Dogs with anxiety benefit from CBD

Anxiety is a common reason dog owners turn to CBD. This anxiety can be noise phobias, separation anxiety, aggression and overall fear. CBD has been credited with helping to reduce anxiety and works best when given daily over a period of time.

While I do believe that CBD can help dogs with anxiety -as an antidepressant- as a dog trainer I must say that I believe the best solution for anxiety in dogs is training that focuses on foundation work (confidence building, counter-conditioning and desensitization) along with restructuring of leadership and meeting the dog’s needs for physical exercise, mental stimulation and training.

So, as a dog trainer, when people reach out to me looking to purchase CBD for their anxious dog, I feel obligated to let them know that it might not be a fix-all for them. But it can’t hurt to try. CBD has no dangerous side effects, and you cannot overdose on it. So combining rehabilitation training with a daily dose of CBD is your best chance for success!

Researchers aren’t certain how CBD helps relieve stress and anxiety, but it’s thought that it can help regulate seratonin, which is the hormone that regulates mood, social behavior, digestion, sleep and appetite.

5. CBD helps dogs with allergies

Allergies are on the rise in dogs, and they’re difficult to treat. Skin conditions are now one of the top reasons people visit the veterinarian with their dogs. CBD can help relieve dry and itchy skin! Why? Because the endocannabinoid system is also found in the skin! CBD helps relieve dry and itchy skin, and it can promote the growth of new healthy skin cells.

Would you like to order CBD for your pet?

I am such a believer that I started placing wholesale orders a few years back so that I could have extra CBD on hand for clients, friends and family, and literally anybody who wanted some for their dog. I sell both liquid and powder CBD, and I am happy to place an order for you!

What I’ll need is:

• your first and last name
• your mailing address
• your CBD type preference (liquid or powder; liquid is $80, powder is $50)
• your shipping preference (with insurance for $15 or without insurance for $7)
• quantity requested (ordering in bulk will save on shipping)
• your payment method/email (you can “Zelle” your payment to 208-577-0744 or pay by invoice using a credit/debit card, please note invoices incur an added 3.5% card fee. If you want me to send you an invoice, please provide your email address)

That’s it! You can email me at info@valork9academy.com to place an order.

Giving your pet CBD

For liquid CBD, you can add 5-10 drops per day on top of your dog’s food depending on the size of your dog (5 scoops for smaller dogs, 10 scoops for large dogs). For powder CBD, I will send you a little orange scoop with two sides on it. Use the small CBD for dogs under 50 pounds and the large side for dogs over 50 pounds; give one scoop a day on top of your dog’s food.

Liquid and powder CBD are 99 percent identical in their applications, so choose whichever you like! I would say the bottle lasts a week or so longer than the powder. A bottle lasts approximately 3-4 weeks.

CBD testimonial

“Our cat, Tux, started losing weight about a year ago. He’s definitely getting a bit older and he has pretty bad teeth so our vet just attributed his lack of appetite to that. Then, last winter he started throwing up. He would throw up just about everything he ate. Like multiple times a day. It was horrible. We tried every kind of food! And all the while he’s wasting away. 4 years ago he weighed 19 lbs and this spring he was 9. Literally skin and bones. So I got mad and started making him appointments with all different vets just to get some different options. I think it was early May, I was putting CBD in Finnley (their dog)’s food and I thought, “hmm…I wonder if this would help Tux’s nausea..” so I gave him a little scoop with each meal. Within a couple days he pretty much stopped puking and was back to eating something at least twice a day! He’s since been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and is on all sorts of meds. But even before figuring that out the CBD probaby saved his life. He’s still pretty skinny, but not to the point where I’m wondering if today will be his last day. He’s still getting CBD twice a day and is happy as a clam about his food. Feel free to share with anyone who’s on the fence about CBD for their pet.” – Sam Duval

If you’d like to place an order, please email me at info@valork9academy.com. Thank you!

Amy