Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard some of the buzz around CBD. What you might not know, though, is that CBD oil is used by dog owners to help treat a number of different conditions.
At this point, there are only a handful of studies on the potential health benefits of CBD for dogs or humans. However, some anecdotal evidence by vets and owners suggests that CBD oil for dogs with seizures might be an effective treatment.
If your dog has been experiencing seizures, it can be incredibly scary. We all want the best for our pets and we don’t want them to suffer.
Is giving your dog CBD the right way to help treat their seizures? Let’s take a look at what you should know.
What Is CBD Oil?
CBD oil is derived from cannabis. CBD is short for cannabidiol, which is a cannabinoid or chemical compound found in cannabis plants. While CBD does come from the same plant that is famous for an intoxicating “high,” CBD almost never has the mind-altering effect on humans or animals.
Though the field of CBD research is still in infancy, there is a lot of optimism about the potential benefits of using CBD for medicinal purposes. Some studies have suggested that CBD can be helpful with conditions including:
- Anxiety
- Seizures
- Pain
- Acne
- Symptoms of cancer treatment
There is also some evidence to suggest that CBD might be neuroprotective, meaning that it can help people who have neurodegenerative disorders.
It is also believed that CBD can have positive health benefits for pets, too. People use CBD for their pets to help reduce inflammation, provide stress and anxiety relief, treat epilepsy and seizures, increase appetite, reduce pain, and even potentially fight cancer.
Follow this link to learn more about CBD for pets.
Seizures in Dogs: Causes and Symptoms
There are a number of different things that can cause seizures in dogs. These include:
- Liver disease
- Eating poison
- Electrolyte problems
- Kidney disease
- Low or high blood sugar
- Head injury
- Anemia
- Strokes
- Encephalitis
- Brain cancer
The symptoms of seizures in dogs can be quite varied. You might notice that your dog seems confused or unsteady, looks confused, or stares off into space before a seizure occur. Some of the symptoms that your dog is having a seizure include:
- Muscle twitching
- Collapsing
- Stiffening
- Jerking
- Drooling
- Loss of consciousness
- Tongue chewing
- Chomping
- Foaming at the mouth
During a seizure, your dog might pee or poop. They also might fall to the side and move their legs in a paddling motion.
After a seizure, your dog might be temporarily blind, wobbly, or disoriented. Their chin might have lots of drool, they might try to hide, and they might bump into things and walk in circles.
What Are the Different Types of Seizures Dogs Can Have?
Generalized seizures are the most common kind of seizures found in dogs. This is also called a grand mal seizure. During this type of seizure, your dog might convulse and lose consciousness.
These seizures can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes long. During a grand mal seizure, there is abnormal electrical activity occurring throughout the brain.
Another type of seizure is a focal seizure. This is when there is abnormal electrical activity occurring in only one section of the brain. With this type of seizure, you might notice that your dog is exhibiting unusual movements on one side of the body or in one limb.
A focal seizure might only last for a few seconds. Sometimes focal seizures transform into generalized seizures.
Psychomotor seizures last a few minutes and involve strange behavior. Your dog might chase its tail or attack an invisible object. This type of seizure can be tricky to identify because it isn’t always easy to distinguish normal, odd behavior from seizures. When a dog has a psychomotor seizure, however, they will always perform the same odd act every time.
Idiopathic epilepsy is a type of seizure that comes from unknown causes. They are most common in dogs that are younger than 6 years old but older than 6 months old. This type of seizure is more common in Australian shepherds, border collies, beagles, Labrador retrievers, German shepherds, Belgian Tervurens, and collies, however, any breed of dog can experience them.
Does CBD Help With Seizures in Dogs?
Seizures are experienced by roughly 5% of dogs. Typically, to help deal with this condition, dogs are given a cocktail of different anti-seizure medications. Unfortunately, it appears that these medications aren’t always effective, so the dogs continue to suffer.
Recently, many people have been turning to giving CBD oil to their dog to help stave off seizures and treat epilepsy. There has been scientific evidence to suggest that CBD can help to treat drug-resistant epilepsy in humans. In fact, the only drug that is approved by the FDA that contains cannabinoids from cannabis is designed to treat a few rare forms of epilepsy in humans.
There is anecdotal evidence from vets and dog owners that CBD oil can help reduce the number of seizures that dogs experience.
CBD Oil For Dogs With Seizures: Promising But More Research Is Needed
At this point, there aren’t any CBD products that the FDA has approved for use in animals. While a number of studies have shined some light on the potential of CBD’s medical benefits for pets, it’s necessary for more studies to be done.
Did you find this article about CBD oil for dogs with seizures helpful? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more interesting and informative articles!
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