In the United States, nearly 30 percent of dogs are given health supplements regularly. One of the most common health supplements pet owners are giving their dogs these days is CBD.

CBD has a lot of benefits to offer our four-legged friends. It’s a potent anti-inflammatory, suitable for alleviating chronic digestive inflammation, joint and muscle pain, boosting immunity, and alleviating anxiety or obsessive behaviors.

But not all CBD pet products are effective. What’s even worse, many companies are charging a premium for their pet products — despite their poor value.

On average, CBD oils made for pets cost 16% more than standard CBD oils without adding any additional value.

In this article, you’ll learn how to find value in CBD products and how to use CBD effectively with dogs. Let’s start by providing a few quick recommendations on three top-rated CBD products for dogs this year in 2020.

Top-Three CBD Products for Dogs in 2020

• Royal CBD – Award Winning, Best CBD Oil Overall
• Gold Bee – Runner Up, Quality Product at a Good Price
• Blessed CBD – Potent CBD, But Only Ships to the UK

1. Royal CBD Pet Oil — Editor’s Pick

Royal CBD has two separate pet product types to choose from — a CBD pet oil and CBD dog treats.

The dog treats were developed in three separate formulas to match your health goals for your dog:

• Hearty Treats — formulated with blueberries, flaxseed, hemp seed, & CBD to support the overall health & cardiovascular function of your dog
• Active Treats — formulated with turmeric, boswellia, hemp seed, & CBD to offer joint protection for active or aging dogs
• Calming Treats — formulated with L-theanine, chamomile, hemp seed, & CBD to support the nervous system of your dog and ease stress & anxiety

Royal CBD also makes a CBD pet oil — complete with dog-friendly bacon flavoring and a premium full-spectrum hemp oil. You can find these oils in the following potencies for dogs:

• 125 mg CBD oil — for small dogs
• 250 mg CBD oil — for medium-sized dogs
• 500 mg CBD oil — for large dogs

All Royal CBD pet products come backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

These pet products have already won several awards and have been recommended as the number one CBD products on publications, including Weed News, SF Weekly, CFAH, Observer, SF Examiner, VentureBeat, and LA Weekly.

Pros:

• An award-winning brand with a wide range of pet-specific CBD products
• All products come backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee
• CBD oils come in three distinct potencies to match the size of your dog

Cons:

• Not sold in store (only available on the company’s official website)

2. Gold Bee CBD Oil — Runner-Up

Gold Bee is a small, family-owned CBD company based out of California. Before stepping into the CBD industry, they were selling organic wildflower honey and superfoods. In early 2019 the founder developed an innovative method of hemp extraction aimed at preserving as much of the active terpenes in the plant as possible.

Many of these terpenes have their own therapeutic benefit that serves to support the effects of CBD and other cannabinoids.

While Gold Bee doesn’t offer a specific pet oil in its lineup, the company’s regular lineup of CBD oils works just as well for dogs as they do for humans. These oils also deliver better value than most pet-specific CBD oils on the market today.

Like any CBD oil, it’s best to match the potency with your dog’s size:

• 300 mg CBD oil — best for small or medium-sized dogs
• 600 mg CBD oil — best for medium or large-sized dogs
• 1200 mg CBD oil — best for large to extra large dogs

Gold Bee CBD oils tick all the boxes for quality — they come backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, made from organically-grown hemp, and are completely non-psychoactive. The brand even comes recommended by a variety of other media sources operating out of Orlando, San Antonio, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and various other US cities.

These oils come in two different flavors — a sweet honey flavor and raw, unflavored version. Most dogs respond better to the unflavored option.

Pros:

• Excellent cost to potency ratio for these oils (high value)
• Safe and effective for use with dogs of all sizes
• Made from organic hemp and extracted using supercritical CO2

Cons:

• High demand for these oils means they sell out occasionally

3. Blessed CBD Oil — UK’s Best CBD Oil

Blessed CBD is a popular CBD brand based out of the United Kingdom. It makes a variety of high-potency CBD products — including this full-spectrum hemp oil.

All Blessed CBD products are made from organic hemp and extracted using supercritical CO2. This technique allows the company to avoid having to use any toxic solvents during the extraction process.

Blessed CBD makes three different potencies for its oils — 500, 1000, and 1800 mg per bottle.

What makes them unique is that instead of diffusing the active hemp extract into a standard 30 mL (1 oz) bottle, the company uses much smaller 10 mL dropper bottles. This means the potency is roughly three times stronger than oils with the same total CBD content.

The lowest potency in this range, the 500 mg CBD oil, provides a dose of 1.5 mg per drop. So the active dose for dogs is just a few drops per day.

The higher potencies should only be used by people with very large dogs, or those with a lot of experience using CBD with their animal.

Here are some general dosage tips for using Blessed CBDs 500 mg CBD oil with dogs:

• Small Dogs — dose range is between 1 and 3 drops
• Medium Dogs — dose range is between 5 and 10 drops
• Large Dogs — dose range is between 10 and 20 drops
• Very Large Dogs — dose range is 15 drops or higher

All Blessed CBD oils come with independent lab reports (current), use an unflavored CBD extract, and are guaranteed to contain less than 0.2% THC (the legal limit in the UK).

The legal limit for THC is lower in the UK than the US, which is why most US-based CBD brands won’t ship to this region. You’ll need to order from specific UK-based brands like Blessed CBD, or alternatives such as Crush CBD to get CBD oils delivered to your address.

Pros:

• High potency oil means you only need a few drops for an effective dose
• Full-spectrum extract suitable for supporting a wide range of health conditions
• Made from organic hemp and extracted using supercritical CO2

Cons:

• The 1000 and 1800 mg CBD oils are too strong for most dogs
• No pet-specific flavor options in this lineup
• Only available in the UK

The Benefits of CBD For Dogs

CBD has the same impact on dogs as it does in humans. It’s used to alleviate anxiety, support chronic pain, fight inflammation, and more.

Here are some of the most common reasons why people are using CBD products with their dogs:

• To alleviate separation anxiety while away at work or school
• To ease stress and anxiety caused by loud noises that are out of your control (like thunder, construction, or noisy neighbors)
• To improve joint health and mobility in older animals
• To reduce inflammation and irritation in the digestive tract
• To alleviate eczema and other skin conditions
• To help reduce weight in obese dogs
• To manage pain after an injury or surgery
• To eliminate obsessive behavior caused by PTSD or other forms of stress

How to Find the Value of a CBD Pet Oil

While the initial cost of a CBD product is important, it’s better to look past the price and compare the value of the oil.

The value of a CBD oil is a measure of how much of the active ingredients (CBD) you’re getting for every dollar spent. A cheap CBD pet oil may have a low price, but terrible value for the money.

In most cases, the best value comes from higher potencies or larger bottle sizes.

The best metric for assessing the value of an oil is ‘cost per milligram.’ To find this number, divide the total cost by the total CBD content in the bottle.

For example, if you have a CBD pet oil with 500 mg of CBD worth $63 — you take the total price of $63 and divide it by 500. You end up with around 13 cents per milligram of CBD — which is really good value.

Let’s use another example with a CBD oil that costs $30 (cheap) and provides 100 mg of CBD. The same equation finds this oil has a cost per milligram of 30 cents — which is considered poor value.

Here are some general price ranges you should consider when shopping for CBD pet oils to avoid paying too much for your oil:

• Low-Grade CBD Oil — $0.08 – $0.15 per mg CBD
• Premium CBD Oil — $0.15 – $0.22 per mg CBD

CBD Dog Treats vs. CBD Pet Oils — Which One Should I Use?

There are two types of CBD products optimized for dogs — CBD pet oils and CBD dog treats.

The bottom line is that both products will work just fine, and it ultimately comes down to personal preference. But there are a few advantages and disadvantages of each you should be familiar with before you make a decision.

Cost Comparison

In general, CBD dog treats are more expensive than CBD oils. They contain extra ingredients compared to CBD oils, which brings the cost of these supplements up. You can expect to pay somewhere between 30 and 45 cents per milligram of CBD dog treats, and between 8 and 22 cents per milligram for CBD oils.

Dosing Comparison

CBD dog treats are a little easier to use because they come with pre-measured doses of CBD per piece. If a dog treat contains 5 mg of CBD, you know that every treat you give your dog has the exact same amount of CBD. with oils, you have to figure out how much CBD is in each drop and count the drops to get the right dose.

CBD pets oils have another advantage, however. With a CBD oil, you can administer very specific doses to match the optimal dose for your dog.

If your dog does best with a dose of 8 mg of CBD, this dose is only achievable with a CBD oil. You can only give increments of 5 with the CBD dog treat example. This advantage makes the biggest difference with smaller dogs 15 pounds or less. Above this size, a few extra milligrams of CBD here or there with a CBD treat isn’t going to make a huge difference.

If you’re using terpene extracts alongside your pets CBD oil — most experts recommend using half the recommended dose listed on the bottle. You can get terpene concentrates from manufacturers such as Finest Labs if you live in the United States.

Final Takeaways: What’s The Best CBD Products For Dogs?

CBD is a popular health supplement among dog owners. It’s versatile and offers support where few other health supplements can help.

Most pet owners are using CBD products to help manage pain or anxiety, but there are dozens of other useful applications for this supplement as well.

If your dog has been diagnosed with an underlying medical condition or is taking other prescription medications — you should always speak with your vet before trying CBD with your dog.

When buying CBD products for your pet, it’s important to buy from reputable manufacturers that have a good track record and plenty of positive reviews or brand mentions. You can save yourself a lot of money in the long-run by seeking high-value products — rather than just focusing on initial cost.

For those who want a quick recommendation for a top-notch CBD pet product to use with their dogs — check out the lineup over at Royal CBD. They offer three separate dog treat formulas and three CBD pet oil formulas.