What matters when looking at a medicated oil for your dog?

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Introduction to our journey with CBD oils

Here at the blog we started this whole thing just to help out others. If you haven’t read our entire story we can break it down pretty easily. Our Pug started having seizures out of the blue. We went to our vet and they did all the typical scans, blood tests etc. Nothing turned up so we got a diagnosis of Epilepsy. For those who have no experience with this terrible disease I will break it down as easily as possible.

Epilepsy is basically seizures that happen with no cause. There can be lots of reasons but basically it is an issue with the brain. Pugs can suffer from their own brain problems, but this wasn’t related to Pug dog encephalitis. We got the test done for that, and at least that one came back negative.

However, we were kind of just stuck with the issue that she was having seizures. We quickly noted that her seizures would always happen after her shower time. This was something that we noticed as a trigger, but eventually they started happening on days that weren’t shower days. To make things worse their frequency started to be more and more often. It went from shower time only, to weekly, to a couple each week. Then finally it got to almost daily occurrences.

As we saw the disease progressing we continued to be in touch with our Vet and looked at the different options. There were pills that she could take and that was something we thought about. However, we had a friend who had a pug dog who had seizures from a very young age. He told us that the pills that he gave his little one basically zoned his dog out. This is what we also found in common complaints about the pills. As the seizures were basically shorting the brain out, the pills somewhat turned down their brain.

Now, I know all dogs are different but Pug dog’s aren’t usually viewed as fast thinkers. She is a wonderful companion but will never win an award for knowing complex tricks. This is nothing against her as I love her, but there is probably a reason why they don’t use Pugs as sniffing dogs or work dogs. Although I would love to see a Pug herding a bunch of sheep… I just don’t think it will ever happen.

Turning to CBD to help with seizures

As we decided to not go on the pills based on our friends experience we had to look at different things we could try. We kept a very strict life journal that noted everything she ate and did. Nothing came up as a trigger other than showers. So we moved onto trying out as many things as we could try out.

Our first attempt was to change her diet. Our vet had suggested trying out a food specifically made for dogs with brain related issues. We slowly introduced the food to the point that we had her over to this new kibble. After three weeks we gave up in defeat as she not only didn’t get any reduction in seizures but also didn’t seem to like the food.

Our next attempt was to try some different natural supplements that had been shown to reduce seizures. When I tell you that it consumed our lives for those initial months it would be an understatement. We looked at forums for hours, read different medical briefings and anything we could do to reduce the seizures. At the end of the day we just didn’t find anything that we could change to give her a good life.

That is until we finally tried out medicated oils. The CBD hype was just about to pop as it had just become a buzzword that could help with everything under the sun. We were at first reluctant as it had a very similar feeling to snake oil from the past. When a product is so popular and is sold as the cure to pretty much every disease in the world it does throw up some red flags. However, at this point we really had no other choice as the options were quickly running out.

Reading about CBD oils online

So to the internet we turn to find out as much as we can about cbd oils and dogs. The good thing is that dogs have an endocannabinoid system which can be positively impacted by Cannabimimetic compounds. Now you might be wondering what that means? They are basically things that have responses similar to CBD in the body.

Now you might be thinking that all CBD comes from hemp, which is what we usually hear. But the truth is that these positive impacts can be found in many of our everyday interactions. Echinacea, Black Pepper, and Cacao all have chemicals in them which can be beneficial to the Endocannabinoid System.

So now that we know it is ok for our dog to take in CBD or these other Cannabimimetic compounds we felt good with moving forward with our journey into trying to fix her seizures. But as soon as you type in CBD for Dogs online you will be flooded with all these different companies that are saying they can fix your issues.

Our first medicated oil experiance

So now that we know the direction we are going to be headed we go to our trusted local pet store. This is where we get our first introduction to APawtheCary pets. They were the best selling medicated oil option that the pet store had. He said that there had never been an issue with anyone who bought them, and they came in Bacon Flavor! Sounds like the perfect pairing of benefits when looking for something to help with her issues.

So we go home and read, then read some more, and finally figure out how much we are going to give her. We started with the smaller dosage as the internet had suggested. This is because if there is going to be a bad reaction, you want it to be when exposed to as little as possible. If you start at the highest dose, and their body doesn’t like something it will be much worse. Luckily for us there were no issues at all, and she loved the Bacon flavor!

Right away she eats the treats with oil on it. And we wait… and wait… and wait… but a day passes. Then another day passes. Almost an entire week of no seizures and were so happy . We were so happy that she wasn’t having any issues. We thought that we were done and out of the woods! However, eventually there was a seizure. Which broke our hearts as we thought that it was just luck that she didn’t have any that coincided with giving her the oil.

We reached out to A Paw the Cary and their customer support got back to us within an hour. Amazed would be an understatement. Sometimes when you buy a product and it doesn’t work the person who made it has no interest in helping out. The sale is done, they’ve got your money and that’s it. But with them it was different, they asked so many questions to try to figure out the best thing for our little one.

After speaking with them it became apparent that I had a lot of learning to do…

Learning about CBD dosing with dogs

The very first thing that we realized is that, generally speaking, it is not a one and done with medicated oils. As the oil is quick to get into their system, it is also quick to get out. So with medical related issues it is a must to continually be giving the oil. While this might sound daunting, the reality is that without doing it her seizures would return and continue to get worse. So while speaking to their support team they explained that it must be given in a high enough dose to stay within her system.

For us we have found that every two hours and about half a dropper on treats would alleviate the issues we were seeing. This coincides with learning about the “sweet spot”. This is essentially the amount of medicated oil that you need in order to reduce the issue you are targeting. But what if they get too much cbd?

Worries about CBD and  cannabimimetic and hemp terpenes oil

So while we had alleviated the issues of seizures soon the bad thoughts crept into our heads. Is this something that will last long term? What is the chance of her dying because of an overdose? Is this making her high and the list goes on and on. So we can break down the biggest worries that dog owners have about their little ( or big ) hairy family membets

Can CBD hurt dogs?

While I would be reluctant to say that it will never hurt a dog I can say that we haven’t encountered any issues with our little one. We have tried out many different brands and mixtures and have yet to see any issues. However, like anything there will always be different reactions to things. Just because it is natural doesn’t mean you can’t be allergic to it. As different blends will have different additives there is always the chance of an allergic reaction.

Can a dog overdose on CBD?

While there doesn’t seem to be any cases of pets dying from taking CBD oil, like all things in life moderation is the key. If your pet does get too much CBD you will generally see grogginess or lack of coordination. There might be accidents in the house or small issues like that because they are just a bit out of it.

Is long term use of CBD bad?

While CBD is generally safe there have been some studies it is similar to all things in life. As each dog can respond differently, so too can their bodies. In some very small cases there has been the possibility of having raised liver enzymes if using massive doses. Blood work should be something that you speak with your vet about. If you are using medicated oils to control issues, like seizures in our case, then you probably get bloodwork done once a year.

How to reduce worries when using CBD oils on dogs.

And now we go back to our story. Our little one has seen a drastic reduction in seizures since we found our sweet spot and dose schedule which we are so thankful for. But the worries start to creep in wondering about long term. As we slowly worked our way up to our sweet spot we didn’t really have any worries about overdosing after reading about it and speaking with APawTheCary pets customer support. They really put our minds at ease which we will always be thankful for.

If you are looking at using these types of oils daily then it is best to talk to your Vet. Ours was very helpful as we discussed the path of treatment going forward. Thankfully, they are looking out for our little ones best interests, and supported us as we had something that helped.

Are all CBD and medicated oils the same?

This was a painful experience that we had to learn the hard way. No, not all oils are the same and this can cause issues. After about a year using A Paw The Cary oils with hemp terpenes in them the company closed down. This was a drastic shock to our system as we had been using them daily for a while. We had got our schedule down and everything was going right. Then out of the blue they closed.

We were really left with no other option that try what else was on the market and this is when things took a turn for the worse. All in all we tried about 15 different companies products and none were able to reduce her seizures to the level that we had been seeing in the past.

We started doing research and the reality is that just like any mixtures in the world they are all different. Just like some people love Coke instead of Pepsi because of their mixture, the same applies to bodies and medicated oils. Each manufacturer can source different products, add different ingredients, and in turn change the effect of their mixture.

This is why we suggest trying out different brands until you get one that you like. Once you have found a product that works for you, keep it! For us it was night and day when we looked at the reduction of seizures from one brand to the other. You will see right away, as there is a huge difference from not working and needing to find the sweet spot.

Should you talk to your Vet about using CBD oils?

As we sometimes get in our heads that vets only want to make money some people are reluctant to share their ideas with their vets. This is not what you should be doing. The reality is that a Vet has gone to school for many years to know what is best for animals. They are, or should be, on your side. We found our vet to be very open to trying out medicated oils to reduce the seizures as we fully explained what our friend had said about the negative impact of the medication that was being suggested to reduce the seizures. Our vet understood and gave us as much information as she could about what she thought would help.

If you are in a spot where you don’t think you can talk to your Vet about the possibility of using CBD oils for your dog we would suggest you look at why you think that is the cause. If you are afraid of your vet getting angry then maybe you should look at why that might be. Vets should be part of your team to make your dogs life as good as possible. There is nothing gained from hiding things related to your dogs health, and sometimes medicated oils will interact with medications. So it is vital to be truthful and transparent with your vet.

Where are we at right now with medicated oils for our dog?

It has been a long, long, journey to get to the spot where we are right now. We have the seizures down to a level which we are viewing as not impacting her life to the point where we need to look at other options. We got here with the help of our vet, and the wonderful people over at FurBabies . Currently we are using the Furbabies Bacon flavored oil . Our little one loves the flavor, and easily takes the medication. Their unique mixture of cannabimimetic and hemp terpenes  are the perfect solution to the seizure problems we are encountering.

While it doesn’t reduce the seizures down to 0 , the reality is that no matter what we do we will always have breakthrough seizures. These are seizures that even when the perfect medication is delivered perfectly everyday they still occur.

What we do know is that in all of our testing at home, and through our interactions with their support we were amazed by how much they cared about our little one and not the sale. At no time was there ever any feelings of being upsold , or suggestions to try things that wouldn’t work just to make more money. We are very thankful that we had the luck of finding their products after our previously used one was discontinued.