A groundbreaking study featured in the Frontiers in Veterinary Science journal this month has revealed that CBD is safe for healthy dogs when administered at a dose of 5 milligrams per kilogram of their body weight. This pioneering research observed 32 beagles—comprising equal numbers of males and females—over a 90-day dosage period followed by a 14-day recuperation phase.

Bill Bookout, President of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC), emphasized in a statement that the study’s findings affirm the long-term safety of various CBD forms for dogs at the examined dosage. He highlighted the unique comprehensiveness of this study, which not only relied on a meticulously designed study protocol but also incorporated a decade’s worth of post-market surveillance data from the NASC Adverse Event Reporting Database. This database represents the most sophisticated system globally for monitoring the safety of such products for pets.

The study methodically divided the beagles into four groups, administering treatments that included a placebo (medium chain triglyceride oil), broad-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum CBD with cannabigerol (CBG), and broad-spectrum CBD with cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), each at a total cannabinoid dose of 5 milligrams. The study concluded successfully with all treatments, including the combinations of CBD with CBG and CBDA, showing good tolerability throughout the 90-day period.

This research underscores the regulatory landscape of pet supplements in the U.S., where such products are considered “unapproved animal drugs” and are regulated at the state level or through the FDA’s enforcement discretion. The study also sheds light on the extensive use of hemp and hemp-derived products in dogs, with over 274 million administrations recorded in 2022, according to NASC data.