After the 2018 Farm Bill removed most hemp products from the Controlled Substances Act, cannabis-based consumables for dogs, cats and other pets have proliferated. While hemp seed oil, hearts and protein powder are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration, cannabidiol (CBD) remains in regulatory limbo. Also, despite the proliferation of CBD products popping up in the pet supplement space, the chemical’s actual effects on dogs and cats have yet to be thoroughly tested under controlled conditions.
To help meet this need for empirical information about CBD in pet supplements, researchers at Colorado State University and Hill’s Pet Nutrition collaborated on a long-term study of the effects of CBD in dogs. After 36 weeks of CBD supplementation, none of the dogs in the study showed serious health problems. Only at the highest dose did some of the dogs get loose stools.
“This study is important to show that dogs can tolerate doses that are generally higher than what most of these brands are marketing,” Breonna Kusick, neurology clinical trials manager at Colorado State University told the pet food industry. “However, it’s important to remember that these are all very healthy dogs, and higher doses may not be well tolerated in dogs with any type of illness or on any additional medications. With that said, I think it is important for CBD-based pet supplement brands to continue to review new literature to stay on top of their own recommendations. I also think it is beneficial for these brands to understand what should be watched for (such as signs of liver disease) for pet parent education.”
Dog owners who choose to supplement their pet’s diets with CBD should watch for signs of liver disease, including vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite and general fatigue, says Kusick. Yellowing of the eyes and skin can be signs of more advanced liver disease.
“Any pet on CBD experiencing any of those signs should be seen by their veterinarian as soon as possible for bloodwork and possibly more advanced diagnostics,” he says.
In the study, researchers assigned 18 healthy adult Beagles to three groups of
six. Each of those groups received 0, 5 or 10 milligrams of CBD per kilogram of body weight every day for 36 weeks.
“This study shows that while the doses were well tolerated, there was a reported adverse event of softer stools and a liver enzyme that was consistently elevated, although not enough to be significant,” said Kusick. “However, that was only at the highest dose of 10mg/kg/day. So, as mentioned in the paper, that dose should be used with caution, and it probably won’t help a healthy dog. In terms of the 5mg/kg/day dose, it is difficult to draw any kind of conclusion about a positive or negative influence on the health of the pet because no significant adverse events were observed and the general health of the dogs was the same at the end of the treatment. -student as in the beginning.”
The study was not designed to evaluate the positive effects of the supplements on the dogs’ health or behavior. Also, the dogs are all healthy to begin with, so there are no curable disease symptoms.
“There is still a high need for more studies to be conducted looking at the effect of CBD on various disease processes,” Kusick said.
The regulation of CBD in pet products
Although this and other studies have not found low doses of CBD to be harmful to dogs, cannabidiol remains limited to pet supplements, such as hemp-derived CBD. Interest in the use of hemp in commercial animal feed has accelerated since the passage of the 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act (“Farm Bill”). While the Farm Bill expanded the legal production of hemp in the United States, the use of hemp and hemp by-products in animal feed, including pet food, remains under the jurisdiction of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state regulatory programs. for commercial animal feed.
This year, as negotiations began for the next US Farm Bill, a coalition of 33 hemp industry groups called for regulation of CBD and other hemp-derived substances under existing frameworks for on dietary supplements and food additives as outlined in HR 1629 and S 2451 .
“There’s still a bit of a ‘wild west’ aspect to CBD as the market is unregulated so it’s important to always look for a certificate of testing when considering any CBD-based products,” Kusick said.
