Therabis Australia - blog 2017-03-23T23:00:00+10:00 Therabis Australia 2017-03-23T23:00:00+10:00 2019-04-10T16:07:04+10:00 How cannabidiol (CBD) can calm dogs Jim Sharkey, PhD. ﻿﻿The effects of prolonged or constant anxiety are detrimental to the good health of your dog.  Your dog’s brain experiences anxiety and produces body tension, elevated heart rate, panting, chewing and many other behaviors that are destructive to his body and to the world around him. 

Stress starts in the Limbic System

Your dog’s stress starts deep in the Limbic System of his brain, which is responsible for emotions, fear and anxiety.  Nerve cells there can hyperactivate, producing too much electrical current which your dog experiences as stress.  Over time, the brain learns how to respond to the world.  In an anxious dog, too much stress can become associated with things that don’t warrant it, like a smell, a person or another dog.  Then even if their situation changes (like being rescued from an abusive household), the anxious response is still triggered – through learning and by the hyperactivated nerve cells – and your dog’s body reacts.

CBD can calm hyperactivated nerves

Multiple studies in both animals and humans have shown that Cannabidiol (CBD) may act through one or both of the body’s Endocannabinoid and/or Serotonin Systems (an important body system responsible for maintaining mood balance).  CBD can act in multiple areas of the brain associated with anxiety to calm innate fears (spontaneous anxiety), reduce conditioned fear associated with traumatic stress (contextual anxiety), and reduce obsessive compulsive behavior. Cannabidiol accomplishes these effects by changing the behavior of the nerve cells in the brain through a process called cell signaling – providing a calming signal to the hyperactivated neurons.

The benefits of CBD being natural

Another benefit of using CBD to relieve the many forms of anxiety is that it is natural and does not use the neural pathways used by prescription drugs.  This allows Cannabidiol to provide similar levels of relief from anxiety as prescription drugs without the associated side effects.  Furthermore, CBD has been shown to be effective in relieving a broad range of anxieties, instead of being targeted to a specific condition.

Whether caused by separation, thunderstorms, car rides or any other cause, your dog’s prolonged anxiety can have some significant impacts on his health and his quality of life.