The Role of CBD for Your Dog

And how emotional support is not replaceable 

Oftentimes, humans find themselves grappling with a number of emotional and mental struggles. These struggles can be anxiety, stress, mood swings, and depression. In most cases, they are treated with medication, but sometimes medication alone isn’t an end-all solution to these problems.

The same applies to our dogs. Dogs are a reflection of their environment, and if a dog is behaving negatively it may be time to take a closer look at the environment that they are being subjected to. CBD can help calm your pet, but that doesn’t mean we ignore the emotional support that our canines require from us.

Their Environment Matters

As we mentioned in our previous blog post, the environment our pets live in can have a huge impact on their emotional and physical well-being. CBD does not “heal” the emotional gaps in your dog. Really reflect on how emotionally supportive the surroundings are in your home and whether or not they are meeting the needs of your dog.

Your Dogs Might be a Reflection of You 

Ever heard the saying, “Dogs look like their owners”? Your home life, your personal stress levels, and the way your home is structured all play a part in the emotional support your dog requires.

Think about it, if you prefer a clean house and feel like you always come home to a mess, how does that start to make you feel? Do you become easily frustrated? Do you find yourself struggling to find common items in the morning? This may cause you to express frustration by storming around the house or yelling.

Your dog can sense that agitation, and oftentimes they think that agitation is directed at them. CBD will not fix this issue.

Play Works Wonders

One easy way to combat outside stress in your dog is to give them plenty of physical stimulation. Alyssa Castle with Jet Pet Resort writes, “Proven over time, a tired dog is better behaved, calm, focused and understanding”. (View the full article here.) CBD may calm anxiety, but it does not relieve the need to burn pent up energy.

Dogs of all breeds thrive off of physical exercise and proper socialization, just like humans. A quick jog can make you feel ten years younger, imagine what it can do for your dog.

(it’s all natural)

Finding the Balance with CBD

Through research, we now understand that dogs have a specific system geared toward the active component CBD. It is called the Endocannabinoid System (ECS), and Robert J. Silver with MDPI writes how the ECS “Provides homeostatic balance to the nervous and immune systems…” (Click here for the full article.) CBD positively affects things like anxiety, stress, and joint pain, by filling in the gaps when your dog’s ECS doesn’t produce enough of “the stuff” on its own.

 Conclusion

 Emotional support for your pet is a requirement if you wish to have well-behaved dogs. Things like a nurturing environment and mental stimulation cannot be replaced. CBD can help calm your pet, but it will not “fix” your pet’s behavior problems. Now that we understand that CBD can help alleviate unwanted symptoms, what steps can we take to eliminate the core issues our dogs might have? If the emotional support of your dog, on all fronts, is already a priority, why not add in CBD for the things you can’t help with?

How are you emotionally supportive for your puppy?

Dogs are just one part of your life, but to them, you are their whole life.

What has your experience been like with your beloved fur babies? Drop a comment below, we would love to hear about your personal experience!

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Dogs are not a household item.

Are you ready for a dog?

Like a son or a daughter, our four-legged friends have their own place in the family. Not as objects, not as “furniture”, but as a real, living member of your household. Dogs have their own limb on your family tree. In some cases, when a dog is brought into a home it may not be receiving the love and care it needs to thrive. Instead, they are used as props, as items to be used to protect the image of what a “home” is. It is vital for dog owners everywhere to fulfill the emotional, physical, and mental needs of their pets.

What Does That Mean?

Dogs, just like humans, experience a wide range of emotions. They may not be able to express those emotions as easily as we can, Simon Worrall from National Geographic writes “They [dogs] have feelings very much like we do, even though they don’t have words to describe them”. To see the full article click here.

As a dog owner myself, the emotional range my dogs are able to express is self-evident. They express excitement when they see me grab a leash, they express love through wet kisses all over my face, and they even express anxiety when I get ready to leave for work. 

Dogs are emotional creatures with very real emotional requirements. 

How Do You Meet That demand? 

How do you express love when they chew up your favorite pair of shoes?

How do you express patience when they try to knock over your guests at the front door?

How do you express compassion when they tear something up every time you leave for work?

I, myself, have a dog with these very real issues. Moose, my pitbull/lab mix, has torn through the drywall in several corners of my house, every time I leave for work. Each incident has happened next to a door as if he is trying to scratch himself out of the house in order to come to find me. The fear stems from thinking I will never come back, as his previous owners did once. 

It Takes Work

It takes work, but they are more than worth it. Now more than ever we are faced with challenges in our lives that may be hard to cope with. But dogs do not understand the “tough times”. Dogs understand energy. Gillian Scarpino with Off The Beaten Trail Canine Facility writes, “Dogs read body language. They literally read the energy of the room, of people, of other animals, then reflect that energy back”. View the article here.

Simple at-home hacks to try with your dog:

• Our dogs love to “watch” TV with us. Try laying a thick blanket out on the couch (protection against sharp nails and shedding) and snuggle up for a few episodes of your favorite show.

• Dogs require physical stimulation daily. They need on average at least thirty minutes of exercise a day to release pent-up energy. If sticking to a walking routine proves challenging, try out a dog park.

• Invest in good quality chew toys. Dogs also need mental stimulation throughout the day, and waiting for their favorite person to come home can get boring pretty quickly.

 Conclusion

    Dogs experience a range of emotional and physical needs just like humans. Through experience, we understand how negative emotions can have a lasting effect on our dogs. But so can positive emotions. Love is a universal language, spoken by both humans and dogs, and through love, we connect on a truly exceptional level. Before you take home a dog, consider that they will need more than just food and a roof over their heads. They will need a real emotional commitment from you and all members of your family for the next 15-20 years. 

Dogs are just one part of your life, but to them, you are their whole life.

What has your experience been like with your beloved fur babies? Drop a comment below, we love feedback!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more amazing content.