No Fuss CBD Care for Your Animal Patients
There is a popular saying, “There’s always room for improvement.” And at Canna Companion, we wholeheartedly agree. Our teams are committed to providing pets with quality care at the highest standard, and we’re constantly pushing the limits of what’s possible.
Canna Companion is proud to launch our new Joint & Neurological Supportive capsule lines. Emotional, Immune System, and Gastrointestinal Support products will hit shelves in 2023.
These new pet CBD products follow the same rigorous standards and veterinary principles as our current Regular & Extra Strength capsules. The new products provide tailored support to pets needing specific endocannabinoid system support.
With this dialed-in approach, we aim to strengthen our hemp-derived products and consultation services for practicing veterinarians and concerned pet parents.
Learn more about the changes we’ve made and how you, as a licensed veterinarian, can partner with us to give your patients premier care products.
The Endocannabinoid System and Dosage Form Units
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) interacts with, moderates, and regulates normal physiological processes. It’s a retrograde signaling system, where endogenous cannabinoids like 2-AG (end. CBD) & anandamide (end. THC) serve as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, and immunomodulators. Known normal interactions include:
- Vanilloid receptors
- Dopamine receptors
- Serotonin receptors
- Adenosine & muscarinic receptors
- Gabaergic & opioid systems
- Nuclear factor transcription compounds
The ECS is vital to embryonic development, juvenile growth, adult maintenance, and management of normal aging processes. It responds to chemokine signaling throughout an organism’s lifetime. (Cannabis in Veterinary Medicine offers more detailed information regarding cannabinoid pharmacology.)
Exogenous support of the ECS helps provide additional compounds for its normal functioning, improving the quality of life of your patients.
Canna Companion has taken the guesswork out of the equation when it comes to supporting your patients’ ECS confidently. To reduce the risk of adverse events like sedation or GI upset, and to improve the ECS’s overall response via the entourage effect, our CBD products for pets contain multiple compounds in specific combinations and at certain quantities per dosage form unit (DFU).
The DFU is equivalent to the labeled recommended administration guidelines per product. For example, a 10 lb cat would need 0.1 ml Feline Whole Plant Hemp Oil twice daily or 1 feline formulation capsule once daily; 0.1 ml and 1 cap are the DFU/product.
DFUs were determined after an extensive review of our living database and current ECS literature, and utilize bracketing dosing techniques to determine DFU/weight range. As a general rule, smaller patients have higher metabolisms and often need larger mg/DFU relative to body weight. Species differences (cat vs. dog) and labeled recommendations account for the frequency of administration guidelines.
Following these same principles, while also adhering to our environmental commitment, we split our current Regular & Extra Strength CBD capsule formulations into five new products. Each supports a different aspect of the body. Our oils complement the lineup and can be used alone or in combination with a capsule formulation.
In 2023, Canna Companion will phase out the existing CBD capsules. We’ll offer a strong lineup of oils and capsules so you can tailor cannabis therapy for each animal patient.
How to Use Canna Companion’s Pet CBD Products
As a general rule, we recommend administering CBD products to pets during or after mealtime to reduce GI upset. In some cases, direct oral administration is more appropriate, e.g. situational anxiety.
For most patients, CBD capsule products are preferable to oil for long-term ECS support. Capsules have slower absorptive and metabolic rates which increase circulating beneficial secondary and tertiary metabolites.
Oils are ideal for patients needing short-term support, like recovery from stressful events (hospitalization, holidays, family vacations). Oils are also ideal for dogs and cats weighing less than 5 lb (2.3 kg).
And there are times when using capsules and oils together is quite beneficial, especially where there are known GI sensitivities present. For example, patients with separation anxiety induced vomiting may respond best to a combination of GI capsules during mealtimes as maintenance support, plus direct administration of an oil ~30-60 min prior to the pet parent leaving.
Similarly, if the patient needs mobility support and also exhibits noise phobia, our Joint Support formulation can address the former on a daily basis, while a bolus administration of oil can assist with phobias.
How to Transition to the New Pet CBD Product Line
No matter what CBD capsule product your patient is taking, choose the new formulation which fits their current needs the most.
For example, if taking Regular Strength for joint mobility, change immediately (no transition needed) to Joint Support.
If a patient has multiple areas of imbalance and is taking our Extra Strength formulation, simply pick the area of support in most need (e.g., Joint vs Neurological system) and change immediately to that formulation. The amounts to administer are the same; no change in the number of caps/day is required.
The New Lineup of Canna Companion Pet CBD Products
Joint Support
Originally from our Regular Strength product, the Joint Support formulation has balanced total CBD:THC and CBDA:CBD with moderate levels of minors to support healthy joint mobility and comfort.
This CBD supplement is designed to assist in normal joint mobility in aging pets, as well as during temporary joint tenderness in younger pets as a result of aggressive play.
Neurological Support
The first neuro-supportive iteration (Extra Strength capsules) spawned in 2015, helping maintain normal nervous system functions in thousands of patients.
This formulation is the next evolution and encompasses higher CBD:THC, more decarboxylated CBD than CBDA, and aggressive minor cannabinoid content to support the entire nervous system.
Emotional Support
Canna Companion is a science-based company relying on scientific method principles. We hypothesized that higher CBD:THC would be beneficial for emotional stability, but our pet patients taught us otherwise. Such ratios only sedated the vast majority, rather than letting their personalities shine through.
Balanced for healthy emotional support, whether in a reactive or separation anxiety patient, this Emotional Support formulation offers lower levels of CBD:THC, slightly higher decarboxylated CBD than acid (we still want a calming effect), and low to moderate amounts of minor designed to gently soothe emotional strife.
Immune System Support
Similar to the emotional needs of our patients, the immune system also prefers a more balanced approach in total CBD:THC and in acid:decarboxylation.
Where this differs greatly from other formulations is in the higher concentrations of CBG & CBC combined with lower levels of potentially sedating compounds (CBN, THCV). The entourage effect thus enhances the immune system to promote homeostasis.
Gastrointestinal Support
A truly special formulation combines moderate total CBD:THC, moderate minor cannabinoid support, and a higher CBDA concentration than any other formulation.
The higher acid content helps spread out the absorption of the compounds throughout the gastrointestinal tract, increasing direct and indirect ECS activation even in secondary digestive organs like the gallbladder and pancreas. Sedation is unlikely and healthy appetites are expected.
Give Your Patients Premier CBD Care
Join our Partner Program as part of a veterinary hospital for patients or stand-alone veterinary professionals for personal pets. We also offer free consultations with licensed veterinary professionals (LVT, VCC, DVM).
Contact customer service for questions.
All Canna Companion blogs are approved by veterinary professionals, including the product development veterinarians.
