Phenobarbital is a common prescription seizure drug your vet may give your dog. With CBD pet treats and products quickly rising in popularity, many dog owners are aggressively on the hunt to find a more natural solution (with fewer side effects) to stop their puppy from having seizures.
Medical journals show CBD is an effective & potent alternative to phenobarbital. Further results show a significant increase in effect & potency in combining both CBD with trace amounts of THC which wasn’t shown to be helpful. The most recommended CBD is broad-spectrum tincture oil.
Two broad-spectrum CBD oil tinctures we recommend include.
- Medterra – Unflavored: Ultra Broad Spectrum Tincture
- Joy Organics – Unflavored: Organic Broad Spectrum CBD Tincture
Below, we’ll look at how several dog owners managed to ween their puppies off the phenobarbital. Additional information we link to and discuss are clinical trials, veterinarians specializing in CBD and neurology, CBD dosage, and more helpful information to have the best experience for your dog with CBD.
- CBD Vs Phenobarbitol – Why Dog Owners Are Considering CBD over prescription meds?
- What are medical journals saying about mixing CBD with phenobarbital?
- Should I try full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum, or CBD isolate?
- How much CBD do I give my dog?
- Does CBD help your dog with worry, nervousness, or unease?
- How do you calm a dog down after an episode?
- What’s the best CBD oil for your dog?
CBD Vs Phenobarbitol – Why Dog Owners Are Considering CBD over prescription meds?
After scrolling through my Facebook feed, a question caught my eye and piqued my curiosity about giving CBD to your dog – for a specific reason.
The gentleman asking CBD questions first realized there are SO many types of CBD products to choose from and then he listed a few CBD brands he was aware of and was hearing people talk about.
He then described the size of his dog and revealed his fur baby was on Phenobarbital.
He and his vet were in the process of weening the pup off of Phenobarbital and were heavily considering starting his pup on CBD.
At his wit’s ends, he then admitted he was at the point and willing to try anything.
CBD got his attention because of all the wonderful stories he was hearing and the positive effective reports of using CBD for their puppy.
Not only was this gentleman concerned about his puppy’s abnormal episodes triggering randomly, but he was also noticing a lot of fear and worry after an extremely violent shaking episode.
After reading through all the “sales” based Facebook comments, most of the people attempting to help this gentleman with his puppy were quick to push him to buy their affiliate CBD brand, so they could get a quick commission.
I too admit to being a wee bit guilty of sharing information about a CBD brand I recommend, however, I noticed everyone’s comments were not too helpful.
The concerned gentleman mentioned that he wanted to start giving his puppy CBD oil “without” discussing this decision with his veterinarian.
This part of the story GRABBED my attention and my immediate concern was wondering if any potential negative effects could occur from mixing CBD and phenobarbital.
Were there any potential drug interactions between the two that would cause a potentially life-threatening event? I had no idea, and it was very strange that no one else seemed to be interested in the potential dangers of mixing medications. So I started doing some research.
What are medical journals saying about mixing CBD with phenobarbital?
My initial Google search popped up quite a few CBD brands explaining everything except the answers I was looking for.
Some of these lower-quality CBD brand blogs were going around the horn asking the basic questions and avoiding the critical question of potential drug interactions between CBD and phenobarbital.
Some of the questions these other bloggers were asking were questions you could easily look up, including, what is phenobarbital, what is CBD, how phenobarbital works in dogs, what the side effects of phenobarbital, and they even were blogging about the price of phenobarbital going up.
This had nothing to do with legitimate research in mixing CBD with phenobarbital.
Also, I was noticing, none of these blog posts were persistently avoiding answering the basic question.
Is it safe and effective to give your puppy both CBD and phenobarbital at the same time?
Or should you completely ween them off of the phenobarbital before you give them CBD?
One blog post I found casually said there are no reports of negative effects of using both CBD and phenobarbital or any other vet-prescribed medication.
My problem with this statement on this particular low-quality CBD brand blog was there were no links to any medical journal supporting their causal claims, it was just another CBD blog saying things without linking to authoritative research.
After vigorous research, I finally came across a few medical journals providing the information and research I was looking for.
The first medical journal I came across mentioning CBD and phenobarbital was The Journal Of Pharmacology And Experimental Therapeutics (J Pharmacol Exp Ther.).
In this medical journal, they compare the effects of both CBD by itself, THC by itself, and the mixing CBD with other drugs (phenytoin, phenobarbital, carbamazepine, chlordiazepoxide, clonazepam, ethosuximide, and trimethadione).
The results found CBD to be effective and potent.
Additional results showed the potency of mixing CBD and phenobarbital to significantly increase.
However, CAUTION – when mixing CBD with any of the other of these listed drugs did reduce the effects and potency.
Should I try full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum, or CBD isolate?
Further concerning questions asked included, are there any risks with using a full-spectrum CBD oil that includes THC? What is the worst that could happen to my dog tried a CBD oil that also includes THC?
In the medical journal referenced above, there is no indication that THC was helpful.
One blogger went into extensive detail on how she was able to ween her puppy off of phenobarbital.
She also gave some insight as to why you should not give your puppy THC because dogs are very sensitive to THC.
Therefore a quality broad-spectrum CBD might be ideal because there is zero THC in it, but, it will include a large variety of other helpful cannabinoids that will make the CBD oil work more effective.
Whereas CBD isolate brands are mostly ineffective, due to the bell-shaped dosage response curve you must overcome by providing an exact precise dosage, to even get a minimal effect.
Anyways, in her blog, she references Dr. Stephanie McGrath who is a veterinarian specializing in neurology and advocates for CBD use in veterinary practices.
Published in the Journal Of The American Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. McGrath led a clinical trial study to assess the effects of oral CBD given in addition to conventional treatment.
Results from this clinical trial showed that 89% of dogs receiving CBD experienced a significant return to normal function.
How much CBD do I give my dog?
When starting your puppy on CBD, it’s recommended you start with the lowest dose possible and then keep increasing the dosage every week or two until you’ve achieved the results you’re aiming for.
It’s best to discuss the best CBD dosage for your puppy with your veterinarian.
Although my preliminary research indicates there are no drug interactions, it’s best to verify the research with a licensed professional.
Reports from Dr. McGrath’s clinical trials listed the exact procedure and dosage of CBD-infused oil given to dogs.
In the group of dogs receiving CBD, the dosage was 2.5 mg/kg [1.1 mg/lb] two times a day for 12 weeks.
In addition to giving the dogs this precise dose of CBD, the researchers also kept their puppy on their existing drugs.
- A specific example of how much CBD to give a 12-pound dog is 13.2 mg.
- For a 55-pound dog, you’ll need to give them about 60.5 mg of CBD.
If you’re having trouble figuring out how many milligrams (mg) of CBD is in each drop, enter in the numbers into the CBD Dosage Calculator and it will tell you exactly how much CBD is in each drop of your CBD oil.
Does CBD help your dog with worry, nervousness, or unease?
Yes. CBD is shown to help bring the mind back to normal function.
If you notice your puppy feeling uneasy, nervous, tense, jittery, etc., CBD can have the powerful potential to help them return to optimal levels of normal.
How do you calm a dog down after an episode?
The best way to calm your dog down is to remain calm. When you remain calm, your dog tends to reflect your behavior patterns and follow your lead. If they look fearful, you might want to sit down and spend a few moments comforting them until they feel better.
Most of the time, a little treat after an attack can help focus their mind in a better direction.
What’s the best CBD oil for your dog?
The best CBD oil to give your dog are the brands that put extra care and caution into producing the absolute best quality possible. Yes, there are a good handful of good CBD brands out there. However, one main concern I’ve noticed about different CBD brands is the consistent quality factor.
Some CBD brands have had problems, not necessarily creating an initial high-quality CBD oil, but, the real challenge appears to be in the long-term maintenance of that high-quality standard.
In some states, like Idaho, where consistency is a critical factor, it’s highly recommended that you choose a CBD brand that can consistently create a high-quality broad-spectrum CBD oil, that won’t run the risk of popping positive for THC.
Currently, Idaho law is very strict and essentially says if the CBD oil has any little bit of any trace amounts of THC, then they consider it illegal marijuana.
Joy Organics is a CBD abiding by Idaho law that works amazing for my lifestyle. One primary reason I like Joy Organics is because of the thorough “complete” lab testing on all batches.
These strict lab testing protocols not only reveal the safety but also let you know whether or not it’s a CBD isolate product or a true broad-spectrum CBD oil.