CBD and Pet Health: Wellness for Our Four-Legged Friends

Approximately 85 million families are pet owners, according to data from the Humane Society. For most of these households, pets are family. They are cared for as well as—or maybe even better than—their human counterparts. According to the American Pet Products Association, in 2021, more than $123 billion was spent on pets in the U.S., including food, treats, supplies, OTC medicine, vet care, and services like grooming and pet setting.

Modern-day “pet parents” are more savvy and proactive about ingredients, often seeking out healthier options for their furry companions, including a popular wellness remedy: cannabidiol (CBD).

The reasons mirror why they purchase CBD for themselves. According to Brightfield Group, in 2020, 64% of consumers said they buy pet CBD to reduce overall levels of anxiety or stress for their pet. Pet owners also turn to CBD tinctures and treats to combat issues like joint pain and for seizure relief, and they seek out CBD in topical formulations, like shampoos and conditioners, for coats and skin.

The interest in pet CBD has been ongoing. According to 2020 data from Brightfield Group, nearly three quarters of current pet CBD consumers had discussed pet CBD with their veterinarian. Interest in the ingredient, and a growing slate of products that contain it, has created a fast-growing market.

In 2018, pet parents spent $31 million on pet CBD products, but by 2019 that number spiked to $321 million—an increase of 946%, according to Brightfield.  And the forecast, so far, looks positive. The pet CBD product market is expected to rise to nearly $1.7 billion by 2025, according to some industry pundits.

The pandemic may also serve the category well. According to 2021 data from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, close to one in five households acquired a cat or dog since the start of the COVID-19 crisis (approximately 23 million U.S. households), and the vast majority still have that pet in the home—90% for dogs and 85% percent for cats.

These pandemic pets’ lives have been changing since they arrived at their new homes. As COVID-19 restrictions began to lift across the U.S., people began to return to a more typical cadence of life—kids were back in school five days week and adults headed back into the office more often. Families have also spent more time eating out and traveling again—and the pets who enjoyed almost 24/7 companionship during lockdown are likely to be spending more time alone.

Recent Research

That separation can be stressful. But studies show CBD may provide relief.

According to recently published results from a study performed by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute in the UK, a single oral dose (4 mg per kg of body weight) of THC-free CBD was shown to significantly relieve multiple measures of dogs’ stress caused by car travel or being left alone.

The aim of the randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded study was twofold: to understand the impact of a separation event and car travel on canine stress and to establish if a single dose of a THC-free, broad-spectrum CBD could positively influence measures of canine stress during these two events.

The study looked at how CBD impacted the experience of 20 dogs in two commonplace activities that were anticipated to cause stress—car journeys and being left alone. Researchers collected a range of physiological (blood levels of cortisol, ear temperature, heart rate) and behavioral measures (whining, trembling, panting) at different times during the study. There were significant changes in several stress-related measures, with the car journey eliciting a more pronounced stress response. Dogs received either a placebo or CBD capsule (~4 mg/kg bodyweight) and, two hours after administration, were exposed to either the separation event or car travel.

Researchers found multiple measures of the dogs’ stress improved following administration of CBD. Specifically, dogs treated with CBD were scored as significantly less “sad,” had significantly lower cortisol levels, exhibited less whining, and were in a more relaxed emotional state overall than dogs that received a placebo.

The study was run by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, part of Mars Petcare, and published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. (Mars, however, does not manufacture or sell products with CBD.)

Another Waltham study published in the same journal last year showed a once-daily oral dose (4 mg/kg of body weight) of broad-spectrum THC-free CBD over a six-month period to be safe for healthy adult dogs. Together, this research adds to a growing body of evidence around the safety and efficacy of CBD for dogs.

While research into the safety—and use of CBD—moves forward, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that it believes a new tact is needed to fully evaluate the ingredient.

In January, the agency announced that a new regulatory pathway is needed that “balances individuals’ desire for access to CBD products with the regulatory oversight needed to manage risks.” According to FDA, this new regulatory pathway would benefit consumers by providing safeguards and oversight to manage and minimize risks related to CBD products, and provide access and oversight for certain CBD-containing products for animals, too.

In addition, FDA said it wanted to explore issues such as CBD use in pets and other animals, including considerations of species, breed, or class, and the safety of the resulting human food products from food-producing species.

Brands and Product Trends

Even still, CBD remains a category with ample new product development in both the topical and ingestible categories.

In March, Simply Better Brands Corp. rolled out PureKana CBD-based products designed to support specific dog ailments. The product line includes CBD oil drops, treats, and topicals formulated to address common issues such as anxiety, inflammation, and skin irritation and coat health. 

Sky Wellness has relaunched its CBD wellness collection for dogs under its D Oh Gee brand. The range includes three broad-spectrum, THC-free CBD products formulated to support joint health and mobility: Dog Oil Drops Bacon Flavor, Daily Turkey Chewies, and Daily Duck Bites. The drops are available in 300 mg and 600 mg sizes, and can be added to dog food or water. The chewies are formulated with 10 mg of CBD per supplement and the bites are formulated with 5 mg of CBD per supplement.

Phoenix-based Sky Wellness, which has been in the pet CBD space since 2019, said it used feedback from pet owners over time to build a better product.

“We learned from that experience about what pet parents want in CBD products. We decided to retire the Sky Wellness pet brand to relaunch the pet category with new products under our house brand D Oh Gee. The line of CBD supplements and oil drops is now available online and through most of our major retail channels, and the sales velocity we see for the brand with our C-Store channel partners has been significant,” Brook Bacon, vice president of marketing and general manager of animal products at Sky Wellness, said in a statement.

The company—which recently joined the American Pet Products Association, the longstanding group that includes manufacturers, representatives, importers, and livestock suppliers within the pet industry—has won accolades for its animal CBD products. D Oh Gee won a 2022 World CBD Awards for best pet range. Sky Wellness has also been recognized for its CBD Dog Oil Drops, CBD Daily Duck Bites, and CBD Daily Turkey Chewies, which netted a 2022 Product of the Year award from Kantar.

Pet Releaf, a Denver, CO-based company, said its Skin & Coat Releaf shampoos and conditioners, which contain USDA organic full-spectrum hemp extract with naturally occurring CBD, are now back in stock. The company reported that the grooming products had sold out the day after their launch in fall 2022. The range includes Skin & Coat Releaf Shampoo Itchy & Dry Skin Formula, Skin & Coat Releaf Shampoo Sensitive Skin Formula, Skin & Coat Releaf 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner, and Skin & Coat Releaf Conditioner Soothing & Silkening Formula. The veterinarian-formulated products also contain organic aloe vera extract and organic chamomile.

CBD Body Blends has added peanut butter to its line of PAWSitively Puuure oral CBD drops for pets. The new variant joins existing flavors that include vegan bacon, chicken, and fish. The Colorado-based company said it formulates with “premium Colorado-grown hemp CBD, which has 0.00% THC.”

Market Movers

There has been activity in the business side of the pet CBD space as well. For example, last year, Antelope, an omni-channel, pet wellness platform that is home to several pet-related brands like Bocce’s Bakery pet treats and Doggo insurance and training services, acquired Diggin’ Your Dog and Super Snouts, a supplier of pet CBD supplements, health products, and treats.

More recently, in February, ElleVet Sciences, a U.S.-based maker of pet CBD+CBDA oil, announced plans for a new  European headquarters in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The office will help the Portland, ME-based company as it rolls out its products to the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and France. Pet owners in Europe will have access online or through their local veterinarian, according to ElleVet.

“Being the leader in CBD+CBDA cannabinoids for pets in the USA, it is a natural next step for us to continue our growth by not only supporting the U.S. market but also by offering our products to veterinarians and pet owners in several European countries,” Christian Kjaer, CEO, said in a statement.

In 2022, ElleVet released results of a study that investigated the efficacy of its CBD+CBDA oil on dogs with seizures. Analysis of the data showed that 40% of the dogs enrolled in the study had a reduction in severity and frequency of seizures. The paper was published in Frontiers of Veterinary Medicine. The research team, led by Dr. Gabriel Garcia of the University of Florida Veterinary School, conducted a 2-year study examining a 3-month-long treatment in a randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study where dogs were either given a placebo or ElleVet Sciences CBD+CBDA oil. When compared to the placebo group, the frequency and severity of seizures dropped significantly for 40% of dogs on the ElleVet oil. All dogs enrolled were on concurrent seizure products with no adverse events occurring.

Additional players active in the pet CBD space include Charlotte, NC-based cbdMD, Inc., which owns Paw CBD, a line of tinctures, chews, and topicals in varying strengths. This NYSE-traded company’s first quarter of fiscal 2023 sales were $6.1 million, down from $9.3 million in the prior year quarter. However, its net loss improved to $3.9 million in Q1 2023 compared to $19.1 million in the prior year comparative quarter.

HolistaPet, a California-based company, touts all-natural hemp-derived CBD products for cats and dogs. The brand’s chew treats contain CBD as well as organic chamomile and L-tryptophan to help reduce jitters and nervousness.

R&R markets dog- and cat-specific CBD chews as well as a pet tincture. The dog chews, which are chicken flavored, contain flaxseed, chicken liver, sweet potato, and 5 mg of full-spectrum CBD per chew. For felines, the trout and chicken flavor chews deliver 1.5 mg.

Receptra—which owns its supply chain of hand-harvested hemp flower with “robust” cannabinoid and terpene profiles—offers tinctures and full spectrum CBD Pet Chews. Each peanut butter bacon flavor chew contains 5 mg of full spectrum CBD and 100 mg of wild Alaskan salmon oil to help combat inflammation and promote mobility, pain reduction, and skin health.

Purity Preferred Pet CBD by Kadenwood also sells products to calm anxious pets. The range is said to have the highest levels of proprietary broad-spectrum CBD with 0% THC. Infused  with functional ingredients that enhance efficacy, the company contends they are made with pets’ health and happiness in mind.

Ultimately, healthy and happy is what pet parents want for their best friends.

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CBD Tinctures for the ‘Neigh Sayers’

CBD Body Blends, a Colorado-based company that offers CBD for dogs and pets as well as humans, is exploring new pastures, so to speak, with its new 0.00% THC CBD for horses. The tincture is available in oral drops for horses in two flavors—peppermint and green apple. The company said when rubbed right onto the gums, the drops can minimize pain and can make nervous horses feel more comfortable during farrier treatments, training, riding, and traveling.