CBD products for dogs are in high demand these days. As more dog parents become aware of the health benefits of natural herbal extracts, they are transitioning from conventional remedies to things like CBD oils or edibles.
Dogs have the same endocannabinoid system (ECS) as humans, meaning they can reap the benefits of CBD oil too.
From anxiety to pain to hyperactivity and gastrointestinal issues, CBD can help your four-legged friend manage a range of symptoms and address the underlying cause of their health problems.
Unfortunately, not every dog out there is willing to swallow earthy-tasting hemp liquid.
That’s why pet parents are choosing CBD dog treats as an alternative to CBD oil.
Here we highlight the best vendors selling CBD dog treats after trying out over 20 popular brands.
We’ve also prepared an all-around FAQ section to help you distinguish between high-quality products and sub-par edibles.
Best CBD Dog Treats: Editor’s Choice & Review for 2022
If you’re looking for high-quality CBD dog treats that will be good both for your dog’s palate and health, here we present the best brands that source their CBD from organic hemp, use CO2 extraction, and test their products in independent laboratories for potency and purity.
1. Royal CBD Dog Treats
Pros:
- Organic, Colorado-grown hemp
- Supercritical CO2 extraction
- Full-spectrum CBD
- 10 mg of CBD per treat
- Suitable for different lifestyle needs
- Non-GMO
- Wheat-free
- All-natural
Cons:
- Priced slightly higher than competitor brands (but still offers the best value for the money)
Why we recommend Royal CBD Dog Treats:
Royal CBD has coined a reputation as a trustworthy manufacturer that uses premium-quality ingredients in its product. After receiving a lot of positive feedback for its product line for humans, the company has taken it one step further and created a selection of CBD pet oils and dog treats. These products contain the full spectrum of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids to evoke the entourage effect and boost the efficacy of CBD.
Royal CBD offers three formulas for its CBD dog treats. They are designed to help your dog with specific health concerns:
- Active – these doggy biscuits are made for dogs who need immune support and have problems with joints and mobility. The treats contain turmeric, a superfood known for its remarkable anti-inflammatory effects and the ability to boost immune functioning. They are the best CBD dog treats if you want to support overall health and mobility in your dog.
- Calming – this option is great if your furry friend is going through anxiety or a lot of stress. They are infused with lavender, chamomile, and l-theanine to help your dog cope with problems linked to mental discomfort. And if your dog fusses over CBD oil, the peanut butter flavor should convince them from the first waft.
- Hearty – true to their name, these treats are formulated to help dogs with cardiovascular dysfunctions. The formula contains flax seeds, which can help prevent heart disease. The blueberry and sweet potato flavor is another reason why your pup will jump on you when you even swish the bag around them.
To wrap it up, Royal CBD makes some of the best CBD dogs treats in the CBD space, both in terms of the quality of ingredients and lab-testing standards. It’s a no-brainer pick if you’re looking for the right edibles for your buddy.
2. Gold Bee CBD Goofy Bones
Pros:
- Organic hemp from California
- Broad-spectrum CBD
- Delicious peanut butter flavor
- 5 mg of CBD per treat
- Third-party tested for potency and purity
Cons:
- Only one formula is available
- There is no full entourage effect due to the lack of THC
Why we recommend Gold Bee CBD dog treats:
Gold Bee is the best choice if you’re looking for low-strength CBD dog treats. At 5 mg of broad-spectrum CBD in each serving, they are great for smaller breeds who don’t need as much CBD as large hounds in their routine.
Gold Bee uses organic hemp from California to ensure clean, high-terpene CBD flowers. Unlike Royal CBD, Gold Bee makes its dog treats with a broad-spectrum extract, meaning there are no trace amounts of THC in your dog’s edibles.
They come in delicious peanut butter & apple flavor and include a formulation that works best for stress and anxiety. Aside from the broad-spectrum CBD, the product contains chamomile and l-theanine; both ingredients are known for their calming and focus-enhancing properties, which can help anxious and hyperactive dogs with their behavioral issues.
Everything You Need to Know About CBD Dog Treats
CBD is the abbreviation for cannabidiol, one of the major active ingredients found in cannabis plants. It has quickly become a popular alternative for conventional supplements and medications due to its high versatility stemming from its interaction with the ECS.
The ECS is a complex network of enzymes, neurotransmitters, and receptors, which helps the body maintain homeostasis between essential physiological and psychological functions.
The ECS controls mood, memory, stress response, immune function, reproduction, sleep cycles, appetite, body temperature, neurogenesis, and more.
CBD enhances the functioning of the ECS by helping it maintain higher levels of its natural endocannabinoids; it also interacts with cannabinoid receptors to produce its therapeutic effects, although it doesn’t directly bind to them.
In total, CBD has over 60 molecular targets, which would explain its versatility as a health supplement.
We already know that CBD can help with many human ailments — but can it improve the well-being of our four-legged friends?
How Can CBD Help My Dog?
There’s a growing body of scientific evidence regarding the health benefits of CBD oil for dogs and cats for a wide range of their ailments.
CBD can improve the health of dogs by:
- Relieving pain associated with neurological conditions and arthritis
- Reducing the frequency of seizures in epileptic dogs
- Increasing the comfort of dogs with osteoarthritis
Why Are People Turning to CBD from OTC Meds?
CBD has become a popular alternative to OTC supplements and medications because it offers a much better safety profile. Not only does it come with a low incidence of side effects, but these reactions are also mild in most cases—even the WHO has acknowledged CBD as a safe and well-tolerated compound by both humans and animals. Many holistic veterinarians start to recommend CBD over medications and supplements such as glucosamine or chondroitin.
How Can I Give CBD to My Dog?
CBD is available in many different forms, including CBD oil, capsules, dog treats, and creams. Most dog parents choose CBD treats instead of the oil because their dogs are apprehensive about the natural flavor of full-spectrum hemp extracts. Topicals are also popular among people who use CBD to treat arthritis and improve joint and cartilage health in their pups.
Will My Dog Get High After Taking CBD?
Although high-THC cannabis and dogs aren’t a good match because they can trigger mental discomfort, increase their heart rate, and cause them to vomit. CBD, on the other hand, is non-intoxicating, meaning it won’t get your dog high. Hemp-derived products contain 0.3% of THC or less, which is nowhere near inducing intoxication.
That being said, if you’re still concerned about any amounts of THC in your dog’s treats, opt for edibles infused with a broad-spectrum extract or CBD isolate.
Differences Between CBD Oil vs. Dog Treats
Some dogs are easy-going when it comes to taking CBD oil. There are even people whose dogs actually enjoy the earthy taste. Unfortunately, not every dog is willing to take CBD this way, even if the parent mixes it into their food. Some breeds are particularly good at picking up specific notes, and if they stumble upon food that smells like hemp extract, they may reject the bowl.
The greatest benefit of buying CBD dog treats is the lack of botanical taste. CBD dog treats are formulated into delicious flavors, such as Bacon, Cheese, or Peanut Butter.
That being said, this isn’t the only difference.
Here’s a brief comparison between CBD dog treats vs. CBD oil.
CBD Dog Treats Are Less Potent
Most dog treats must be baked before giving them to dogs, so CBD can break down and lose some of its potency in the process. Some companies employ slow cooking methods, but even then, CBD is exposed to fractional degradation. Many companies don’t even inform their customers about the baking/cooking methods they have used to make their dog treats.
There’s also a difference in the bioavailability of CBD dog treats and CBD oils. The former need to pass through the digestive system before being released into the bloodstream, while the latter is absorbed directly through tiny capillaries under the tongue.
The bioavailability of CBD edibles has been measured at around 20% at best. Sublingual products such as CBD oil have demonstrated 35% in studies examining the pharmacokinetics of cannabinoids.
CBD Dog Treats Have a Delayed Onset
This applies to all cannabis edibles. As mentioned, sublingual use of CBD delivers the compound directly into the bloodstream, avoiding the first-pass metabolism in the liver. The effects of CBD oil usually take hold after 15–30 minutes.
CBD dog treats need to be metabolized by the liver, hence a delay in onset. Edibles can take anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours to kick in.
For that reason, CBD dog treats are better suited for dog owners who want to schedule their dog’s supplementation ahead.
CBD Dog Treats Are Easier to Dose
That’s perhaps another significant advantage of CBD dog treats over CBD oil. Each serving comes with a predetermined amount of CBD, so if your dog needs 10 mg of CBD in its routine, it usually takes 2–3 treats to satisfy it.
There’s no need to use a dropper and calculate the dosage based on the dropper’s scale. You toss a few treats into a bowl and watch your dog wolf them down.
CBD Dog Treats Last Longer
Despite being delayed, the effects of CBD dog treats last longer than oils because the CBD is released gradually into the bloodstream. CBD can circulate in your dog’s system for up to 10 hours.
CBD Dog Treats Come with Additional Ingredients
Forward-thinking companies like Royal CBD and Gold Bee offer dog treats formulated with supportive ingredients to address specific goals. These ingredients mostly include herbs and plant-based extracts such as chamomile, turmeric, l-theanine, flaxseed, or Boswellia. These compounds are known for their synergistic effects with CBD.
Just make sure to choose brands that don’t include artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives — as they can be dangerous for your dog. Always look into the certificates of analysis from independent laboratories to confirm the product’s composition.
Speaking of which, we’ve prepared a neat buyer’s guide for the dog parents that are buying CBD for the first time.
How to Buy CBD Dog Treats: A Buyer’s Guide for Dog Parents
There’s a large degree of difference when it comes to the quality of CBD products for dogs. No regulations surround the quality and labeling standards, so you need to carefully research your potential vendors regarding their hemp source, extraction methods, transparency, lab testing, and reputation.
Here’s what you can do to ensure a well-informed purchase decision.
Check the Hemp Source
As dynamic bio accumulators, hemp plants can absorb every substance from their environment. Hemp that is grown in clean, nutrient-dense soil and without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers will yield high-CBD flowers that are free from contaminants from their surroundings. On the other hand, mass-produced hemp imported from overseas is often grown in soil contaminated with heavy metals, not to mention the litany of growth boosters and other resources used to meet the demand for hemp biomass.
We always recommend buying your CBD dog treats from companies that use locally grown, non-GMO, organic hemp.
Choose CO2-Extracted CBD
Hemp companies have a few options for extracting CBD. Reputable manufacturers make their products with pressurized CO2, which acts both as gas and liquid, effectively pulling the desired compounds from the plant matter without adding additional heat or hazardous solvents.
Other safe extraction methods include cold-press extraction, alcohol distillation, and steam distillation, although they’re not as efficient as CO2 extraction.
CBD products extracted with hydrocarbon solvents should be avoided because chemicals like butane or propane are difficult to purge from the end product and may leave toxic residue at the bottom of the extract.
Give Your Dog Full-Spectrum CBD
Cannabis plants contain over 400 chemicals, of which more than 100 are active ingredients known as cannabinoids. These compounds work synergistically with other molecules, such as terpenes and flavonoids, to create the “entourage effect,” a phenomenon where the sum of all ingredients is more effective than each of them alone.
So, while CBD isolate is flavorless and odorless, and it gives your dog a higher dose of CBD per serving, this amount may not be as effective as the same dose accompanied by the other phytonutrients.
Read the Lab Reports
Every trustworthy brand should test its products in an independent laboratory for CBD content and purity. A laboratory is considered independent if it’s not affiliated with the manufacturer in any way. There are several such facilities in the country.
The Certificate of Analysis (COA) should be included in the product, either printed on paper or as a QR code. The lab report should include the entire phytochemical profile and results for common contaminants such as heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticides, and residual solvents.
Last but not least, pay close attention to the release date of the certificate. Does it relate to the current batch, or does the company use outdated certificates to mask the flaws of the current batch?
Testing CBD products only once and applying the same certificate to all batches is an unfair practice.
Final Thoughts on the Best CBD Dog Treats
CBD has a lot to offer when it comes to improving the well-being of our canine friends regardless of their breed, size, and age. While it may not be the first-choice treatment for most veterinarians — at least for now — an increasing number of holistic professionals are starting to value its therapeutic potential.
Just remember that buying CBD dog treats in an unregulated market requires you to stay vigilant against scammy companies churning out cheap products. Always check the certificates of analysis to get an unbiased picture of the product’s quality and purity.
If you’re in a rush, feel free to use our recommendations from this guide. Both Royal CBD and Gold Bee make remarkable CBD products for pets that contain premium-quality ingredients and are infused with superfoods to address different health problems.
