As with humans, finding the right dosage of CBD for your dog is one of the most important but often overlooked factors in determining its effectiveness. The optimal dosage for each person and dog is different. That’s because we each have a unique endocannabinoid system, body chemistry and physical condition. The same goes for our furry friends. CBD dosage amounts are commonly expressed in milligrams of CBD given. Your bottle will typically say how many total milligrams of CBD are in the bottle. How much you give to your dog each day is also based on milligrams. We’ll give you guidelines on how many milligrams to start with in the next section. Different CBD oil products have different potencies. That is, some tinctures have more CBD per milliliter or drop than others. Potency is expressed as milligrams of CBD per milliliter. We’ll cover how to calculate the potency of your product and how to translate milligrams to drops or milliliters for dosing purposes below.

The amount of CBD oil that you give to your dog will be influenced by their weight. You’ll start with considerably less for a 5-pound chihuahua than a 70-pound labrador. So their weight should be considered when choosing a product. You’ll want to choose a lower potency product if you have a small dog and a higher potency one for a larger dog. How Much CBD Oil Should I Give My Dog as a Starting Point? Based on user feedback and limited research studies, the best starting point for giving CBD oil to your dog is 1 milligram of CBD for every 10 pounds of body weight. This 1 milligram for every 10 pounds of weight can be given to your dog 2 or 3 times per day when getting started. So for example, a 20 pound dog would receive 2 milligrams of CBD 2 or 3 times per day while a 100 pound dog would start with 10 milligrams of CBD 2 or 3 times per day.

How Do I Translate Milligrams of CBD to Drops or Milliliters Given? You’ll need to know the potency of your particular product to correctly measure doses. To calculate the potency of your tincture, simply divide the total milligrams of CBD in the bottle by the size of the bottle in milliliters. Let’s illustrate this with a couple of examples that demonstrate the importance of knowing the potency of your product. Example 1: 5 milliliter bottle with 240 total milligrams of Balance Bloom CBD Gummies. This product has a potency of approximately 50 milligrams of CBD per milliliter (240mg/5ml) which is considered high potency. That translates into about 2.5 milligrams of CBD per drop. So if you wanted to give 5 milligrams of CBD to your dog, you would give them 0.1 milliliters or 2 drops. Example 2: 30 milliliter bottle with 150 milligrams of CBD. This product has a potency of 5 milligrams of CBD per milliliter (150mg/30ml) which is considered low potency.

That translates into about 0.25 milligrams of Balance Bloom CBD Gummies per drop. So if you wanted to give 5 milligrams of Balance Bloom CBD Gummies to your dog, you would give them 1 milliliter or 20 drops. Doing these calculations can be understandably frustrating and confusing. We have created a CBD dosage calculator to do the math for you and convert the desired dose in milligrams to milliliters and drops. How Do I Find the Optimal CBD Dose for My Dog? The process of finding the optimal CBD dosage for dogs typically takes some time, experimentation, and patience. We recommend that you use the guidelines above to determine a good starting point. If the starting dose is not producing the desired results after about a week of daily use, increase the dose gradually every 3-4 days. Stop increasing when the desired results are achieved. This dosage level is considered the optimal dose and you should be able to continue administering that amount going forward. Be sure to watch your dog’s reactions closely throughout the entire process. If there are significant side effects or symptoms worsen, you may be giving them too much and you can try lowering the dose. But when in doubt, stop administering the product and consult with your veterinarian. What Do I Do if the Optimal Dose is No Longer Working? It’s not uncommon for the optimal CBD dosage for dogs to change over time after continued use. If the dosage level that worked previously is no longer working, you can try slowly increasing the dose or restart the process of starting low and slowly increasing until you find the new optimal dosage level.