Vibrant Dog

How much CBD should I give my dog for arthritis?

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by

Joshua Whitley
in
The picture shows an older, white Bull Terrier named Kramer walking on a wooden floor from the kitchen to the living room.

How much CBD should you be giving your dog for arthritis? The answer to that question is generally 2-3 milligrams per pound of body weight.

In some cases, you should dose more heavily, and here are two different ways of calculating the proper CBD dosage for your dog.

Pete and Kramer

Kramer the arthritic English Bull Terrier improved after increasing his CBD dose, and here’s his story.

Pete and Kramer are pictured sitting on the couch together. It is a tan couch with a blanket draped on the back. There is a very large oil painting hanging on the wall behind the couch. Pete has long, curly auburn hair that flies in every direction.

My friend Desiree sent me a message on social media recently. She and her roommate, Pete, were visiting San Francisco to celebrate his 40th birthday; the driver of the car was unexpectedly planning to bring his Chihuahua along.

Kramer, Pete’s old bull terrier, is reactive to other dogs, so riding in a vehicle together wasn’t going to work. “Would you be able to watch him over the weekend?”

“He doesn’t trust anyone else”, she added.

I can relate to having a reactive dog, and needing a trusted friend to watch them while on vacation. Pete is a veteran with PTSD, and his dog is an anchor for his mental health. I can relate to that, too.

Friday Night

Opening the front door, a single lamp on an end table lights a blanket-filled couch. Against the wall opposite the couch is short, wide cabinet decorated with a 2 foot tall, blue glass art sculpture. A perfectly-centered record player sitting atop the cabinet is framed by shelves of well tended plants obscuring the front window.

Nestled in the moon crater of the blankets on the couch is Kramer, curled up and snoring softly. He appears only as a white furball, without head or tail, and does not stir upon my entrance.

Heading to the kitchen and turning on the light still did not rouse Kramer. Only after gently bonging the metal food dish, did a little brown nose and a wagging tail poke out of the blanket moon crater.

Sitting down on the couch next to a smiling, friendly, tail-wagging Kramer, he happily accepted several minutes of ear scratching after being alone all day.

He did not immediately attempt to move from his sleeping spot.

Arthritic dogs often get stiff after sleeping for several hours, and he needed a bit of time to warm up those old bones. Kramer also broke both his back legs when he was a puppy, and these injuries contribute to his arthritis.

When he did move, he moved slowly, stretching each leg out over the edge of the sofa before placing it gingerly on the ground.

Once all four paws were on the floor, this transitioned into a second round of stretching: a yoga “down dog” followed by a yoga “up dog”. This, in turn, was followed by again lifting and stretching each leg individually, followed by a whole body shake.

Finally, after two full rounds of stretching, a satisfying whole body shake, did he proceed, tail high, into the kitchen for his evening meal.

Kramer the Bull Terrier is standing on the threshold between the kitchen and living room, contemplating his empty food dish.

Pete had reported substantial improvement in Kramer’s mobility after giving him Vibrant Dog tincture. But he was still stiff, and I knew he needed a higher dose after observing him in person.

Kramer had been receiving slightly more than 2 mg per pound of body weight, administered as a ½ dose 2 times per day. And this is correct for most animals.

In some instances, such as severe arthritis, it is appropriate to dose higher.

An alternate way to calculate the proper CBD dose for your dog is to:

• Start at a low dose (as you always should)

• Gradually increase the dose every three days until you see improvement

• Then continue increasing that dose to double the amount at which you saw improvement

Increasing the dose is safe for your dog, and there are articles discussing this linked below.

Kramer weighs 40 pounds and was taking 100 mg total of CBD per day, which was split into two doses and given with his food.

Based on the level of stiffness Kramer was exhibiting, I went ahead and gave him 82 mg (½ teaspoon of Vibrant Dog tincture) in a single dose with his evening meal.

After his meal, we went outside for a few minutes to take care of business. Kramer enjoyed his break, but did not go too far from the door, nor did he seem playful. That was Friday night.

Saturday

Entering the front door on Saturday morning, Kramer was not in the living room, but had crawled into Pete’s bed to sleep. He awakened more quickly than the previous day, and was visibly less stiff when arising from his slumber.

He took less time getting down off the bed, and didn’t need the multiple sessions of stretching for comfortable walking.

His morning dose of CBD was then increased to 123 mg total (¾ of a teaspoon of Vibrant Dog tincture). In addition to seeming less stiff, Kramer headed further into the backyard, and spent a bit more time exploring the outside before returning to the back door to be let inside.

The Saturday evening visit was similar to Saturday morning, aside from Kramer playfully barking at me for no apparent reason after coming back inside the house.

He was definitely more upbeat, and received another 123 mg of CBD, a total of 246 mg for the day, or 6 mg per pound of body weight.

Sunday

Kramer is in his backyard standing in the raised beds preparing to have some fun digging in the dirt. It is a sunny day with blue skies in Eugene, Oregon.

Sunday morning was when things got interesting. Kramer awakened easily upon my arrival, again received 123 mg of CBD in his morning food, and seemed to have a little more pep overall. Then the fireworks happened.

When we went outside to take care of business, Kramer began spinning joyfully in circles, barking happily, then climbed into the raised bed garden to dig himself a hole!

This puppy like behavior – the dog regressing to a playful state similar to it’s younger years – is common when there is a significant reduction in pain and inflammation, and this is an indicator that the CBD dose is correct.

Kramer the Bull Terrier has commenced digging in the raised beds. He has some dirt on his face.

Why To Choose Vibrant Dog

The reason why Vibrant Dog offers certified organic bottles of CBD tincture in 1000, 4000, and 8000 milligram strengths, is so that pet owners like Pete can administer therapeutic amounts of CBD to their dogs without breaking the bank.

And the organic certification comes from a third party that scrutinizes the ingredients, to make sure that everything is as it should be. This means that you, the customer, can be assured to receive an authentic and high quality product.

Kramer's hole in the raised bed has gotten quite deep, and he doesn't seem to be ready to stop. He's feeling good!
Kramer, still standing in the raised bed, has finished digging his hole. He looks cute with dirt on his face.

Kramer is standing on top of the large pile of excavated dirt from the raised bed, surveying his backyard. He looks happy.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6388458

https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/cannabis/is-cbd-bad-for-your-body

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2397847320922944

https://canlivj.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/canlivj.2018-0023

Joshua Whitley and his Rottweiler, Tito Puente, are pictured in a stand of Douglas Fir trees in Eugene, Oregon.
Joshua Whitley has been working with canines and CBD since 2014. He possesses a B.S. in Applied Science in Information Systems Technology, two canine nutrition certificates from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute, and enjoys engaging with pet owners on how to improve their dog’s health through supplements and nutrition.