The moment you become a pet owner, several responsibilities start weighing on your back. From making sure that your pet is healthy and out of harm, to ensure that your pet is eating healthy food has a good diet, and is exercising on a regular basis. We can all agree to say that your pet’s happiness and overall wellbeing depend completely on you, and it is your responsibility to ensure that your pet is living the best life a pet owner can provide.
But, when it comes to pets, especially when it comes to dogs, there are some things you can’t avoid no matter what, and one of those things is, of course, time. Dogs are well known for aging much faster than humans, and when they reach the age of 8, to 10 they become senior dogs.
The larger the breed, the faster they become older. Although the age of the dog will heavily depend on its breed, a good example we can provide is how an 8 years old Australian Shepherd is close to 55 being years old in human terms.
When a dog turns old, he becomes much more prompt to suffering from specific physical conditions and diseases that are very common in senior dogs. These conditions include things like joint pain, inflammatory diseases, cancer, and kidney complications. As a dog owner, it is your responsibility to make sure that are at least comfortable with their diseases, and not suffering as much as they should.
Although traditionally, these conditions were treated with drugs like anti-inflammatories and pain killers, these drugs are infamous for causing damages and side effects when they are consumed in the long term.
For that reason, pet owners started to look up other options, and here’s where CBD enters the play. But what is CBD, exactly?
Cannabidiol for Beginners
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is one of the hundreds of compound present in the cannabis plant, and along with THC, they are the two main compounds of the plant. Both compounds are can provide plenty of health benefits, but there’s a big difference between the two: Although THC is well known for providing the plant with its psycho-active capabilities, CBD is actually non-psychoactive.
This means that, if you consume a CBD-based product, you won’t get high under any circumstances, and this also applies to dogs. This is important to note just because of the way dogs react to getting high because of THC. THC is particularly for a lot of animals and it can get them intoxicated for a very long time, which is the reason why medicinal cannabis and recreational cannabis are so bad for them.
That being said, most CBD-based products are created using a variation of the cannabis plant known as the hemp plant. As shown at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp, the hemp plant is a variation that contains higher levels of CBD, and lower levels of THC, only reaching up 0.3% of the plant’s chemical structure.
Thus, most products derived from the hemp plant focusing solely on CBD are harmless to dogs. But what are the reasons behind cannabidiol’s popularity?
Why Cannabidiol is as Popular
There are various reasons for Cannabidiol to be as popular as it is right now. First of all, this alternative method of treatment is usable by both humans and animals, making it a very viable option for pet owners and people with physical conditions.
Secondly, cannabidiol-based medication is fairly harmless in comparison to traditional forms of drugs. Although cannabidiol can still cause side effects, they are much more manageable in comparison to the mental and physical side effects that regular drugs can cause.
Some of the side effects caused by cannabidiol include things like diarrhea, stomach ache, and vomiting, yet, said side effects can be easily avoided by consuming the right dosage, and are generally caused by consuming more than your body can handle.
Last but not least important, getting your hands on cannabidiol is fairly easy, as long as it is legal where you live. Cannabidiol oil, especially, is the most common presentation you can find, and when it comes to cannabidiol beginners, it is actually recommended to go for CBD oil because of how easy it is to use, and how managing the right dosage is much simpler thanks to droppers.
Ideally speaking, you should always start with smaller doses and prescribed dosage. Most service providers will grant you a chart with valuable information and factors to consider when deciding the dosage, so you shouldn’t worry too much about it.
Actual Benefits of CBD
The actual health benefits of cannabidiol are the main reason people prefer this particular method of treatment. First of all, cannabidiol is well-known in the industry for being a great countermeasure against pain-inducing conditions and for pain management.
Because of the way in which CBD influences the body, it can also greatly reduce inflammation, which is the reason why it is perceived as the panacea for senior dogs, as well as senior people, which tend to suffer from inflammatory diseases like arthritis.
On the other hand, cannabidiol can also be used for reducing stress and anxiety. For dog owners, CBD can be used as a perfect tool to deal with dogs that suffer from separation anxiety, a type of anxiety that is very common in adopted dogs and makes them act chaotically whenever their owners are not around for long periods of time. It can also be used to calm down dogs during a trip or when a veterinary or grooming appointment is around the corner.
