How To Give Your Pet CBD Oil: How To Administer CBD Oil To Pets and Find The Right Dose
Article by Britt Foster
So you’ve discovered how CBD oil is good for pets and you’ve chosen a source to buy CBD oil from. Now you’re ready to give your pet CBD oil! Whether your pet is a dog or a cat or a horse or a goat, the method is pretty much the same: get your pet to eat the CBD oil. Of course— sometimes that’s easier said than done. CBD tincture can have a bitter taste when put on top of dry food, and some pets resist attempts at squirting it in their mouth. There’s also the question of how much and how often to give your pet CBD oil.
Not All CBD Oil is Created Equal
We are going to assume you are using FlowerChild Pet Tincture here. If you have a different brand of CBD Oil, please take note of the differences in milligrams and extraction method. FlowerChild Pet CBD is made using food-grade ethanol extraction, which ensures it is one of the most potent products on the market— therefore, you need less FlowerChild Pet Tincture than you would with a product made from a CO2 extraction or CBD isolate. FlowerChild Pet CBD is whole-plant, full-spectrum goodness.
Will CBD Oil Get my Pet High?
It is a common concern of pet owners that CBD oil might make their pet high. We all love our pets (especially if we’re buying CBD for them) and we don’t want them to be uncomfortable. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid, so it will not make your pet high. However, all whole-plant, full-spectrum products contain trace amounts of other cannabinoids, including THC, and THC is the molecule responsible for the “high” feeling. FlowerChild Pet CBD contains less than 0.3% THC. It will not make your pet high as long as you do not give your pet too much at once. We always recommend starting with a low dosage and then gradually working your way up to your preferred dose over the course of a couple weeks. This allows your pet to develop a tolerance to the CBD oil and will prevent your pet from getting high.
How Do I Know The Right Dose of CBD Oil For My Pet?
The correct dose of CBD for your pet depends on your pet’s size. A basic guideline is to give your pet 1-5mg CBD for every 10 pounds of body weight. Before reaching that dose, we recommend starting out with a lower dosage so that your pet can get accustomed to the CBD. Please take note that we are not medical professionals and therefore cannot give you official medical instructions; all of the advice on dosing is based on customer feedback, personal experience, and personal research.
Dosing CBD for Cats:
For cats, your best option is to use our Pet CBD 350: start with a single drop and then work up from there over the course of several days. You don’t have to worry about being exact, as the only side effect of giving your pet too much CBD is drowsiness. Our Pet CBD 350 contains 12mg CBD per dropperful, and there are about 20 drops in a dropperful. Therefore each drop of our Pet CBD 350 contains about 0.6mg CBD. After giving your cat 1 drop of CBD oil for a few days, you can increase the dose to 2 drops. After a few more days, increase to 3 drops. 4-5 drops (about ¼ dropperful) should be a good dosage to stick with unless you feel that your cat needs more CBD for their condition.
Dosing CBD for Small Dogs:
For very small dogs, such as chihuahuas, follow the same dosing instructions as you would for a cat (see the paragraph above). If your dog is slightly larger than a chihuahua, you can double the dosage; start with a couple drops of our Pet CBD 350, then after a few days increase the dose to four drops. 6-10 drops ( ¼ – ½ dropperful) should be a good dosage to stick with unless you feel that your dog needs more for their condition.
Dosing CBD for Medium Dogs:
For medium dogs, you can use either the Pet CBD 350 or the Pet CBD 700. Each drop of the CBD 350 contains about 0.6mg CBD and each drop of the CBD 700 contains about 1.2mg CBD per drop. The Pet 700 is twice as strong as the Pet 350, so 6 drops of the Pet CBD 350 is equivalent to 3 drops of the Pet CBD 700.
If you are using the Pet CBD 700 for medium dogs, start with 2 or 3 drops for a couple days and then work up to 5 or 6 drops. You can keep the dose to about 6 drops (¼ dropperful) or increase to about 10 drops (½ dropperful) depending on your dog’s responsiveness and what you’re using it for.
In general, it is good to stick to a lower dosage for conditions such as mild pain or inflammation, anxiety, minor chronic itching, or mood. For more severe conditions, such as extreme itchiness, tumors, or chronic pain and inflammation, larger doses are better. You know your pet best!
Dosing CBD for Large Dogs or Other Large Animals:
The same advice continues when dosing CBD for large dogs: start with a low dose and work your way up. You can start with 5 or 6 drops of our Pet CBD 700 and work up to about 10 drops, or even to a full dropperful (about 20 drops) if you feel that your pet needs it. Some people even buy our CBD 1400 in natural flavor and give their pet an even higher dosage.
Can I give My Pet CBG?
FlowerChild Pet Tinctures contain the exact same ingredients as our human tinctures (as long as you choose the natural flavor option rather than peppermint): just grape seed oil and hemp extract. Although grapes themselves are not good for animals, grape seed oil itself is perfectly safe. Since our pet tinctures and human tinctures are the same, you can give your pet any of our human tinctures, whether it’s the CBD or the CBG 700 or the CBD/CBG Blend containing both. CBG is just as good for pets as CBD is, and many pet owners have given their companions our CBG and Blend tinctures and reported great results. To learn more about CBG, read the product pages or the posts on our blog about it.
How to Give CBD Oil to your Pet:
The simplest way to give your pet CBD oil is to squirt it into their mouth — aim to get it under the tongue/in the gum area close to under the tongue. Follow up with a treat right afterward so that your pet is sure to swallow everything and enjoy their CBD experience. Use a paper towel to wipe off the dropper afterward before replacing it in the bottle.
If you have difficulties squirting the tincture into your pet’s mouth, you can add it to their food. You can either mix it into some wet food or just squirt it on top of their dry food. If your pet doesn’t like the taste, you can add something else, such as peanut butter or a treat, to encourage them.
If neither of these methods is working for you, try adding the tincture to a small amount of chopped up meat. Ground beef, chicken, or steak usually always does the trick.
How Many Times a Day?
Some pet owners give their pet only one dose of CBD oil per day, and others give it to their pet 2-3x a day. The frequency with which you give your pet CBD oil depends on the condition you are using it for and the severity of that condition. If you are giving your pet CBD oil daily, we recommend skipping one day a week so that your pet’s tolerance to the CBD can go down a bit and the CBD can remain optimally effective. For example, give your pet CBD oil for 6 days in a row and then give them none on the 7th day. You can also give your pet CBD oil every other day, or every few days, depending on what feels right to you.
If you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Get started today with Pet CBD 350 or Pet CBD 700!
