Taking CBD for pain, anxiety and stress has become routine for many Americans. So it’s not surprising that some people wonder if they can give their dogs CBD, too.
Dozens of social media posts feature people feeding their pups CBD treats and oils, along with claims that doing so calms aggression or eases arthritis pain. But should dogs be given CBD?
“This is a question that I probably get at least once a day,” said Dr. Jennifer Quammen, a veterinarian based in Walton, Kentucky, and president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. And she urges caution.
CBD is a chemical found in the cannabis plant and extracted from hemp. But it doesn’t cause a high like tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main active ingredient in cannabis. It is used in a variety of human products, including foods, pills and oils.
For pets, CBD may have “therapeutic promise,” Quammen said, but research on its use in dogs is limited, and any supposed benefits are unproven. Over-the-counter CBD products (for dogs or people) also do not undergo the same Food and Drug Administration testing for safety and efficacy, as medications do. And some products labeled CBD may contain other ingredients that could be harmful for dogs.
Still, the CBD pet products market is thriving. A 2025 survey that involved more than 47,000 dog owners found that 7.3% had given their pets CBD, mainly for dementia, osteoarthritis, seizures or hip dysplasia.
The availability of CBD products for dogs has “really gone so much faster than the scientific evidence around safety and clinical efficacy,” Quammen said.
Does CBD offer health benefits for dogs?
Research on CBD for dogs is still in the early stages. Many of the studies have been short-term and have included only a small number of dogs, and several have been funded by CBD companies, said Madeline Droog, a pharmacist at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in College Station, Texas.
Most research on CBD for dogs has focused on arthritis-related pain, seizures and atopic dermatitis. Overall, the studies have shown that CBD may have some benefit, “but it’s not a huge game changer that significantly changes the way we manage these diseases,” said Droog, who has given lectures on CBD in small animals to veterinary students. “We still have a lot to learn.”
CBD appears to have anti-seizure and pain-management properties but doesn’t seem to work in all dogs, said Dr. Stephanie McGrath, a veterinary neurologist at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Scientists are working to understand why, said McGrath, who studies CBD in dogs, adding, “There’s a lot of question marks.”
One study involved 51 dogs who had regular seizures and took anti-seizure medication. They were randomly assigned either a placebo or 9 milligrams of CBD per kilogram of body weight per day for three months. Dogs that were given CBD had fewer seizure days, but there were no significant differences in the overall reduction of seizures between the groups.
For chronic pain, a study of 32 dogs found that 30 of the animals had decreased pain scores after being fed CBD oil for 90 days. But most of the dogs were being given the pain medication gabapentin at the same time. Some were able to stop or reduce gabapentin after adding CBD. However, other research has shown no significant difference between CBD and a placebo for relieving osteoarthritis-related pain.
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Other small studies have shown that CBD used along with other drugs could minimize itching for dogs with canine atopic dermatitis.
Many social media users claim CBD relieves anxiety for dogs. However, studies haven’t shown a major difference between dogs taking CBD and control groups in minimizing anxiety behaviors, including noise-related fear, stress or aggression, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Studies on the benefits of CBD for dogs are continuing, and more research is needed to understand its most effective uses, McGrath said. She says she believes it will be useful for some dogs with “some diseases at certain doses” but will not be a “panacea.”
Last year, the FDA sought public comments from veterinarians about the use of cannabis-derived products for animals, which the agency said will enhance its knowledge about safety and veterinarians’ experiences using the products for their patients.
Is it safe?
CBD is probably safe for most healthy dogs, McGrath said, but long-term safety studies haven’t been done.
Some research has shown that CBD raised liver enzymes, which could indicate liver stress or damage, Droog said. She suggested that dogs’ liver health be monitored if they take CBD.
Wobbliness, nausea, vomiting, excess drooling and a decreased appetite are other side effects from CBD reported in studies, Quammen said.
Another issue is that since CBD products for dogs are not FDA approved or regulated, there’s no oversight to “ensure that what’s on the label matches what’s actually in the bottle,” Droog said. It’s also difficult to know if products do contain higher levels of THC, which can be harmful to dogs, especially in higher doses, experts say.
One study funded by a pet CBD company analyzed 29 CBD products for dogs and found that four had heavy metal contamination, two contained no cannabinoids and just 10 had a cannabinoid concentration within 10% of what the label claimed. All of the products contained less than 0.3% THC, the federal limit.
CBD could also interact with other medications your dog takes, particularly drugs metabolized by the liver like the anti-seizure drug phenobarbital or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, for pain, McGrath said. “We are just a little uncertain what CBD is doing to the liver.”
There’s less research available on CBD in cats. Quammen said felines metabolize medications differently than dogs and may be affected by CBD in different ways.
Should you give your dog CBD?
Veterinarians say they are hesitant to recommend CBD for dogs, since there’s little oversight of the products and limited research on their effectiveness.
“I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but I can understand why a pet owner would be interested and want to try that,” Droog said of CBD, especially if other treatments haven’t helped their dogs.
Talk to your veterinarian before giving your dog CBD, Quammen urged. Vets can offer advice based on a pet’s individual health, examine potential medication interactions and address any side effects. Avoid giving dogs CBD products designed for humans.
If you want to give your dog CBD, Droog suggested looking on a CBD brand’s website for a product’s certificate of analysis, a third-party assessment of its contents, showing the amount and potency of CBD and THC, and any potential contaminants like heavy metals or insecticides. McGrath said she would be “hesitant” to buy from companies that didn’t make this analysis available.
Any CBD products making health claims that it prevents, treats or cures any ailment should be a “red flag,” Droog said. The FDA has issued several warning letters to CBD companies over safety and for making unsubstantiated veterinary health claims.
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Although CBD is probably safe for healthy dogs, “I’d be very hard-pressed to say this is definitely going to help” any symptoms or illnesses, McGrath said. And, Quammen added, for most health issues, there are already plenty of “tried-and-true” treatments that are proven to work.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.