Natural Pain Relief For Dogs

“What can I give my dog for pain?” While there are a few options to help manage pain, I always encourage pet parents to look for the root of the problem first, and then help manage pain with safe, natural alternatives. 

Some pets begin to feel pain as a result of a traumatic injury when they are young, while others do not experience discomfort until they are well into their senior years. It’s normal for the body to feel discomfort, but learning how to handle the pain is crucial to maintaining general well-being.

Pharmaceutical drugs are easily available to pet parents. They were chosen because they efficiently and quickly treat pain and inflammation, but they typically don’t solve the root of the issue. They just put a band-aid on top of it until the drug wears off. 

Side effects of prescription pain medications include long-term liver damage, damage to the kidneys, inflammation of the GI tract, chemical dependency, headaches, and nausea. 

So, what can you give your dog for pain relief that’s safe and effective? 

Full Spectrum Hemp Extract offers safe, natural pain relief for dogs, as an alternative to prescription pain medications. Hemp has the potential to wipe out any continuing pain medications your pet is currently taking and replace them with something equally as effective, while improving your pet’s health rather than harming it.

Can Hemp Help My Dog With Pain?

Full spectrum hemp extract offers a wide variety of health-boosting benefits, with specific applications to help ease pain due to inflammation, injury, chemotherapy, age, arthritis, and hip dysplasia in dogs.

Pain Management

Full spectrum hemp extract is great for reducing pain. Hemp has been used as an effective analgesic dating back thousands of years. One of the ways it does this is actually by changing the way the recipients’ central nervous system communicates the sensation of pain to their brains.

For example, when an injury occurs, like a dog hurting his paw on a sharp rock, the damaged tissue tells inflammatory and immune cells to begin repairing the damage. The cells release chemicals and proteins to activate receptors on nerves. These nerves move to the spinal cord up to the brain causing our dog to feel the pain in his paw. Hemp products can be utilized long-term to reduce pain effectively by weakening pain signals.

Not only does hemp help manage pain on a neurological  level, but it also stops the physical conditions that cause pain. How you may ask?

Hemp helps reduce joint pain by providing inflammation relief for dogs.

…which brings me to my next point!

Inflammation

Hemp and the other compounds found in a full spectrum hemp extract are known to reduce inflammation through the body. In many cases, the pain that our dogs feel is a direct result of the inflammation in their joints (Arthritis). When we soothe that inflammation, we are treating the cause of the problem and also preventing the hurt. 

Both animal models and human models have been utilized to determine how hemp works with inflammatory pain. 

Immune – Modulation

Hemp modulates our body’s immune responses. Using the pathways of receptors in the endocannabinoid system, hemp increases communication between cells and allows them to function in a more efficient and proportional way.

In cases where arthritis is a result of an auto-immune response, like rheumatoid arthritis, hemp can help by instructing those defenses to stand down. 

Hemp for Dog Pain Success Stories

It comes as no surprise that dogs who are experiencing pain, whether due to inflammation or neurological issues, turn to Full Spectrum Hemp Extract.  Including my own schnauzer, Odie, who began experiencing joint pain and inflammation in 2016. Odie was having a hard time walking and suffered from debilitating noise anxiety. Within one week of giving him a daily dose of hemp, he was able to walk without difficulty. He was walking so well, in fact, he felt comfortable going up and down the stairs again. His inflammatory response significantly decreased resulting in better overall health.

One customer, Jarrod, using Hemp Dog Health’s full spectrum EASE tincture stated:  “This helps my 15 year old dog so much. She has a lot of joint pain usually but when she takes EASE she seems so much more comfortable. She is able to walk without pain. I can’t say enough about this product.”

Another customer shared her story about her dog using EASE Full-Spectrum Hemp Extract. She stated “I have an elderly dog that has had neurologic issues with wasting of leg muscles along with significant arthritis. It got to the point where I added a vet recommended nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory because I couldn’t stand seeing her so uncomfortable .

I decided to try EASE (18-21 mg daily divided into 3 doses) and began noticing more activity and less pain. Ease seems to be better for her and I have reduced her pain meds to minimal times as needed (i.e travel or just a bad day).

I am pleased with her progress and hope to see it continue. Our walks are a little longer, and she is enjoying playing with her sister mutt as she may chase a thrown ball every now and then.”

Research 

We’re happy to share the scientific studies clarifying that hemp has therapeutic benefits for pets suffering from pain. 

Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine recently conducted pharmacokinetics study on hemp for dogs. This 8-month double-blind study was the first of its kind for Cornell and studied dogs suffering from osteoarthritis. Dogs in the study saw a significant decrease in pain and an increase in activity, with no side effects. In fact, the study concluded the following:

“Pharmacokinetics revealed an elimination half-life of 4.2 h at both doses and no observable side effects. Clinically, canine brief pain inventory and Hudson activity scores showed a significant decrease in pain and increase in activity (p < 0.01) with hemp oil.

Hemp VS. Phamaceuticals 

Over-the-counter drugs, like NSAIDs, AND GABAPENTIN are readily available to pet parents. They’re chosen because they do treat the pain or inflammation quickly, but unfortunately, they don’t get down to the root of the problem and come with some severe side effects. 

NSAIDS

NSAIDs are notoriously known for their ‘not-so-great’ side effects. All NSAIDs have the ability to cause adverse reactions (some of which can be fatal). The most serious side effect is gastrointestinal (GI) ulceration. Other side effects include: Bleeding in the GI tract, ulcers, heartburn, liver problems, kidney problems, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or even death. 

GABAPENTIN

Gabapentin is also an analgesic, which means it relieves pain from chronic and neuropathic conditions. It’s most widely used to treat degenerative joint disease-related chronic pain.

Gabapentin may cause calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B1, and folate deficiency, all of which are essential for nerve repair. This may cause a delay in recovery and lead to other negative health effects. Other common side effects include sedation, lethargy (weakness), and/or trouble with coordination, depression, vomiting, excessive sleep and diarrhea.

Full Spectrum Hemp Extract

On the contrary, there’s nothing to worry about with hemp. Studies and reports consistently show just how safe it is to use for animals. With minimal side effects and no risk of addiction or overdose, it’s an extremely risk-free substance. 

A research review on the safety and side effects of hemp notes that hemp is very safe to use with only minor side effects such as diarrhea, tiredness, and changes in mood and appetite. Studies on pets also have similar results. For instance, a study on using hemp for dogs with Arthritis found no observable side effects. Similarly, clinical trials found that it was safe to use hemp for dogs with epilepsy.

Final Thoughts

Research is continuously showing Full Spectrum Hemp Extract is an effective alternative to pain management,  with no adverse side effects when compared to pharmaceutical treatment options. Natural pain relief is safer for long-term use than traditional medications. What’s more, it is impossible to cause harm by overdose using hemp making it all the more attractive for pet parents wondering  what to give dogs for pain relief.

 

 

About Angela Ardolino

Angela Ardolino is a holistic pet expert who has been caring for animals for over 20 years and operates a rescue farm, Fire Flake Farm, in Florida. She is also the owner of  Beautify the Beast,  a natural pet salon and shop. After getting her certificate in Medical Hemp Biology and Therapeutic use from the University of Vermont School of Medicine, she founded Hemp Dog Health to provide high quality, all-natural medical hemp products designed specifically for pets. Angela has seven dogs, Odie a 12-year-old mini-schnauzer, Nina an 8-year-old Doberman. Jolene a 7-year-old mutt, Maza a 7-year-old mutt, Rhemi an 8-year-old poodle, Potato a 15-year-old shih-tzu, and Miss Daisie a 15-year-old black lab, plus 4-10 more at any time she is fostering or boarding. She uses Full Spectrum Hemp Extract on all her pets at her rescue farm every day, and has since 2016. She is a member of the Society of hemp Clinicians, the Veterinary Hemp Association and has trained hundreds of medical doctors and veterinarians about the therapeutic uses of medical hemp on animals. Visit www.angelaardolino.com for more information.