The health benefits of CBD have been a hot topic for a few years now. Most people know that CBD products can be beneficial for many different conditions, including anxiety, depression, arthritis, and chronic pain. However, what many don’t know is that your favorite furry friends can benefit from CBD as well. Some of the best CBD dog treats can help your puppy deal with a great number of common ailments.
More often than not, your dog is not too keen on taking regular meds. That’s why giving them CBD treats is a great way to make them feel better when they are anxious or in pain. Though dog treats aren’t as potent as CBD oil itself, they can still help ease your dog’s pain. In any case, it won’t hurt to try them.
Below, we have listed the four best CBD dog treats to help your canine friend feel better. Furthermore, we included everything you need to know about choosing and using these dog treats.
The 4 Best CBD Dog Treats in 2021
If you ask any dog owner with experience in giving CBD treats to their dog, they’ll say that Royal CBD has the best products on the market. The reviews and testimonials speak volumes, and we cannot help but agree with the customers (evidently, The Daily Herald, Juneau Empire, and Seattle Weekly rated Royal CBD as the #1 CBD Dog Treat in 2021).
These all-natural treats are full-spectrum products from organic hemp, made via CO2 extraction. Each treat delivers 5 mg of CBD, and the delicious natural flavors will ensure your dog doesn’t notice it at all. The treats are also vegan and gluten-free, and they contain all the terpenes needed for maximum effectiveness.
Another amazing fact about Royal CBD dog treats is that they come in several varieties and flavors. Each variety is aimed at treating a different set of ailments. Their calming treats contain L-theanine and chamomile and come in apple and peanut butter flavors. These hearty treats are sweet potato and blueberry flavored and are good for boosting your dog’s immune system and keeping their heart healthy. Finally, their active treats contain turmeric roots and boswellia, both of which are great for keeping your pet’s joints in good shape. These treats are pumpkin spice and cinnamon-flavored.
Though these treats seem picture-perfect, there are a few things we didn’t like. Firstly, they are the more expensive CBD dog treats on the market. Secondly, all their treats come with a dose of 5 mg, which might be too much for smaller dogs. These two drawbacks are something you should consider before you opt to buy Royal CBD treats for your pet.
Though the name might worry you, these treats won’t really make your dog goofy or high. Made from whole-hemp CBD, the chews contain no traces of THC whatsoever. However, the absence of THC doesn’t mean that these treats are isolates. They contain all the necessary substances that provide the famous CBD entourage effect. You can find mentions of Gold Bee’s Goofy Bones on publications such as Bellevue Reporter and The Daily World.
Since the CBD in Goofy Bones is collected by the cold-press method, it isn’t as medically effective as the one found in Royal CBD products. However, all Gold Bee treats contain 6 mg of CBD, as opposed to the 5 mg we have in Royal CBD treats.
The higher amount of CBD can make up for the extraction method and ensure that these treats are just as effective. Goofy Bones also come in two different flavors your dog will not be able to resist: pumpkin and bacon.
These treats have a rather soft and chewy texture. They are CO2-extracted, full-spectrum products with 2 mg of CBD in each piece. Just like in Goofy Bones, all traces of THC have been removed, so the entourage effect might be lessened to a degree. These chews are the most affordable ones on the list.
All Hempure treats are non-GMO and tested by a third-party lab. However, they contain a lot of additional ingredients you will need to research carefully before buying the treats. Those ingredients include glycerine, sodium alginate, dried brewer’s yeast, as well as different natural preservatives. Having this many additives and just one flavor (beef) is what ultimately puts these treats below our first two picks.
Honest Paws bites come from Colorado organic hemp. They are third-party lab tested, GMO-free full-spectrum products. Each treat contains 5 mg of CBD and can come in various flavors including peanut butter, which is a big favorite with many dogs.
The Honest Paws CBD treats are affordable and contain only natural ingredients. They also contain no additives. According to the reviews and testimonials of their regular customers, these chews are both safe and effective. They will make your dog calm and ease their pain. One big drawback of these treats is that you can only get them in the US, as the company does not ship anywhere else.
Everything You Need to Know About CBD for Dogs
Just a few years ago, your vet would have recommended meds such as Rimadyl or Novox to help ease your dog’s joint pain or similar ailments. Today, they will recommend CBD products just as often. This compound has become a common option in the vet community as it seems to be helping with countless different medical conditions.
There are many ways to give CBD to your dog. However, most dog owners agree that CBD treats are the safest and easiest way to do it. Still, there are quite a few things you need to consider before buying and giving CBD products to your dog. We are here to help make sure you get all the information you need.
First, What Exactly Is CBD?
Many people hear the word CBD and immediately think of weed and getting high. While CBD indeed is a compound found in the marijuana plant, it is in no way responsible for the high the plant causes. Furthermore, marijuana is just one type of cannabis, the other most common one being hemp. The CBD products available on the market always come from hemp. Therefore, they contain only small amounts of the psychoactive THC (less than 0.3%), which is not enough to get anyone high.
Giving marijuana to your dog is dangerous. Giving them CBD is, on the other hand, perfectly safe.
How Can CBD Help Your Dog?
There has been substantial research on the healing effects of CBD on humans. However, the studies on its effects on dogs have been few and far between. Even so, vets and experts alike agree that CBD can help treat a variety of common canine ailments.
Firstly, CBD can help increase mobility and reduce joint pain in dogs suffering from osteoarthritis, one of the most common types of arthritis. Secondly, CBD can be useful for dogs battling epilepsy, as it can reduce the number of seizures. That doesn’t come as too big of a surprise, since CBD has been used to help people with epilepsy for quite some time now. Thirdly, there has been some research that shows that CBD could be useful in slowing down the growth of cancer in dogs.
CBD can help with a few more conditions. It might reduce chronic pain caused by cancer, arthritis, or different neurological issues. It also appears to help ease the effects of inflammation and inflammatory diseases. Finally, CBD has also proven to be effective in treating symptoms of anxiety.
While many prescription meds could help with all of the above, they often produce unwanted side effects. CBD, on the other hand, only causes minor side effects in a small percentage of cases. Most dog owners opt to use it for that exact reason.
CBD Treats vs. CBD Oil: Which One Should You Choose?
As we mentioned at the beginning, the biggest benefit of the best CBD dog treats is that they are the easiest way to give CBD to your dog. But, before you buy them, it is important to understand all their drawbacks as well.
Lower Potency
The first and most significant drawback of treats is that they are not as potent as CBD oil. The preparation of the treats often requires cooking or baking, which means that the CBD is exposed to high temperatures. High temperature can cause it to break down, and if the temperature reaches 350°, CBD becomes virtually useless.
Even if the treats are cooked slowly at lower temps, it can still reduce the potency of CBD. Furthermore, companies are not likely to say how exactly they make their products. And, since most potency lab tests are done before cooking, you can never truly know if something was lost in the process of production. That’s why sticking to reputable and popular brands is the best thing you can do.
Finally, because of lower potency, you’ll have to experiment with the dosage a little before figuring out how much your dog needs. But that is not such a serious drawback since you’ll get the hang of it quickly.
Slower Effects
CBD dog treats need a bit longer to take effect than oils. Since you put CBD oil under the tongue, it is absorbed by the sublingual glands and it spreads through the bloodstream quickly. Treats, on the other hand, have to be digested first. That means that the process will last longer and that some CBD might be lost along the way.
Additives
The third and final drawback is that the CBD dog treats contain certain additives you won’t find in CBD oil. Some of those additives are natural and will help treat your pet’s pain or anxiety (turmeric, chamomile). But others are there just to add flavor and make the treat more inviting. So, checking the label for the list of ingredients is the most important step to take while looking for the best CBD dog treats.
Things to Consider When Looking for the Best CBD Dog Treats
Type of CBD
The type of CBD in the treats will determine how effective they are. The best choice is the CBD from organically grown American hemp. Organic plants don’t contain pesticides, and hemp grown in the US has to meet strict quality regulations.
CBD Extraction Method
There are several different methods to extract CBD from hemp. The CBD of the highest quality comes from methods that use carbon dioxide. The CBD they get from cold press extraction or steam distillation is also a good and safe choice. What you should avoid is the CBD they get using solvents, as it is of lower quality.
Full-Spectrum or Isolates
Full-spectrum products contain more than just CBD. They also contain substances that boost the healing properties of CBD and create the entourage effect. Again, the amount of THC will never exceed 0.3%, so you don’t need to worry about your dog getting high.
Isolates contain only CBD, so achieving the full entourage effect with them is impossible. However, they are a good choice if you want to stay fully safe and only give your dog treats with non-intoxicating compounds.
Certificate of Analysis (COA)
Whichever product you choose, make sure it comes with a COA issued by a third-party lab. There, you will find how much CBD and THC there is in the treats, as well as any other information about the product. If a manufacturer allows an outside testing company to take a look at their product, it means that they are confident in the quality of their production process and have nothing to hide.
Taking all of the above into account, we’ve compiled a list of the best CBD dog treats for your pet.
A Few Parting Words
CBD has become widely accepted in the vet community as a cure for different ailments common to dogs. These ailments include arthritis, chronic pain, and anxiety.
As you have read, there are many things to consider when choosing the best CBD dog treats for your pet. We hope that our list can help you make the right decision for your dog and ease their discomfort and pain. We know you only want the best for them. So you can rest assured that the products we picked are the best CBD dog treats on the market.
