CBD used to help ease pet anxiety during recent storms

Recent storms have more people seeking ways to help ease their pets, some turning to CBD.

Hemporium, a local CBD shop says they have trouble keeping the products on their shelves. They are selling around 10 bottles of it a week plus pet treats.

“We saw a lot of tired pet parents after last week's storms,” Madison Weiler, a manager at Fetch Pet Supplies & Gifts, told KY3.

Veterinarians are not surprised that dogs are experiencing more anxiety than ever.

“I estimate about 80 percent of my dog patients that come to see me have some underlying anxiety,” Dr. Gary Nie, a Veterinarian at Angel Animal Hospital told KY3.

Dr. Nie uses alternative medicine in his practice often. He says there are other natural ways beyond prescription pills to treat pet anxiety and they work for some but not all pets.

He does warn that not all CBD oils are created equal. If you decide to give the product a try, make sure you are truly getting what you are paying for.

Dr. Nie says he has had patients come in and their owners have oil they spent a lot of money on that is just hemp oil being marketed as CBD. He saw someone charged $80 for a bottle of oil.

“I mean that was a ridiculous price considering you can go to a local health food store and probably get a quart of hemp oil for a fraction of that price,” he says.

He also suggests doing research on the brand you chose buying it. Reach out to the company and find out what is in their product and makes she that list excludes pesticides.

There are skeptics out there, and while the Missouri Board of Veterinarians says they want to see more studies done before vets recommend them, Rachel Lee, co-owner of Hemporium says she is confident they work.

“There’s been more fear than disbelief [from customers],” Lee told KY3. “That’s why we give free samples in the first place. We feel pretty good about them coming back after giving them a try.”

While Dr. Nie says he believes there’s enough evidence to see the benefits of CBD he does stress that it is not a cure-all.

If you are a bit hesitant to give them a try talk to your vet first. There are other options as well including chew tablets and Thunder Shirts to help your furry friend get through storms, separation anxiety, and other stress.

The most important thing is to find what works best for you and your pet.