Mars Petcare Wednesday announced results from a safety study that demonstrated that a daily oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) at the studied concentration and duration was well-tolerated by a cohort of clinically healthy adult dogs.
The study was run by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, part of Mars Petcare, and was published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, adding to a growing body of evidence around the safety of CBD for dogs.
The aim of the randomized, placebo-controlled, and blinded study was two-fold:
- To demonstrate tolerance of a once-daily oral dose (4 mg/kg of body weight) well characterized, broad-spectrum THC-free CBD distillate over a six-month period to healthy adult dogs.
- To quantify the level of CBD in the dogs’ fasted plasma, urine, and feces over the same period.
Study participants included 40 healthy dogs – 17 Labrador Retrievers; 8 Beagles; and 15 Norfolk Terriers – randomised and balanced across two parallel treatment groups: CBD and placebo.
Researchers assessed a broad range of health measures, including biochemistry, haematology and urinalysis, in addition to monthly veterinary examinations, twice daily wellbeing observations, and a daily quality-of-life survey. These measures were taken before, then after two, four, 10, 18, 26 weeks of CBD feeding, followed by four weeks of washout. CBD concentrations were measured at the same intervals in plasma, feces and urine.
“I’m heartened to see this study on the safety of CBD for dog health. We continue to receive questions from pet owners on whether it’s safe to give their pets CBD. We hope, with continued research, to be able to provide science-based guidance our clients expect and rely on.” said Dr. Jennifer Welser, Chief Medical Officer of Mars Veterinary Health.
This CBD safety study is part of Mars Petcare’s long-standing commitment to investing in science, technology and innovation. The company has a well-established history in driving transformative pet health innovation through the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, which has focused on pet health for over 50 years; and through Mars Veterinary Health, a network of 2,500 veterinary clinics and Antech diagnostic labs across more than 20 countries.
