So, you’re excited to give your pet CBD for the first time. Maybe you heard from a friend about how CBD has helped their pet. Maybe your vet suggested you give it a shot. Or, maybe you’re a long-time pet CBD user and have tried out several different brands on your pet. Either way, you may be wondering, “How do I buy high-quality pet CBD?”.

The market has been flooded with CBD products in general, and the pet market is no exception. There are hundreds of new pet CBD companies out there, and with the lack of regulation around the pet supplement industry, how can you tell which CBD pet products are quality?

In this article, we’ll be discussing ways to make sure your pet CBD is legit. 

The Risks and Signs of a Bad Pet CBD Product

When it comes to good pet CBD vs. bad pet CBD, there are risks associated with bad pet CBD. Thankfully, there are a few ways to tell if you have a bad pet CBD product. 

1. What are some of the risks of giving your pet a poor-quality CBD product?

There are three main risks when it comes to giving a poor-quality pet CBD product to your pet. 

  • Your pet won’t get the benefits of CBD. While this is less of a “risk”, per se, it is a definite downside to choosing a poor-quality CBD product. CBD may be very helpful for a lot of health issues, and it may improve your pet’s overall health. If you’re using a low-quality product, there could be little, if any, active and intact plant compounds.
  • There could be more than .03% THC in the product. Low-quality CBD products are likely not tested for quality and safety. This means it’s possible a low-quality product could be contaminated with THC. THC is toxic to dogs and could make your dog sick. A product like this could be considered “fake pet CBD”.
  • It’s possible that low-quality CBD products could have chemical byproducts from farming and production. Conventionally grown hemp will have been exposed to toxic pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers. And, some extraction processes use chemical solvents. All of these could leave toxic traces in the final product. 

2. Signs of a poor-quality CBD product

How do you know if you have a low-quality pet CBD product?

a. Low price. If the product didn’t cost very much, especially if it’s big, it’s likely low-quality.

b. If the company doesn’t offer a certificate of analysis proving how much CBD is in their product. 

c. If there aren’t any third-party seals of quality, such as USDA Organic or the National Animal Supplement Council. 

d. If the extraction process involved chemicals or solvents. 

e. If the hemp wasn’t grown in the U.S. It’s possible it still could be good quality, however, U.S hemp farmers must be certified by the State Department of Agriculture before they sell any of their hemp. 

What Does It Mean for a Pet CBD To Be High Quality?

When it comes to pet CBD, quality starts with the seeds the hemp is grown from. From there, farming practices come into play. What is the quality of the soil the hemp is grown in? Did the farmers use organic farming practices, or did they use synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides? Then, there is the manufacturing and production to consider. What kind of extraction process was used? Are there quality controls in place at the production facilities? And finally, are there any 3rd party audits or tests done on the product? 

A high-quality pet CBD is made from safely grown, healthy hemp plants. Then, it is made using the whole plant with a solventless extraction method that doesn’t use any heat or chemicals to extract the hemp compounds. Next, it is produced in a facility that has standard operating procedures to ensure the safety and quality of the final product. 

A high-quality CBD product will contain the richness of hemp plant compounds, including terpenes and cannabidiol, be free of toxic chemicals, and be under the legal amount of THC. 

How To Pick a High-quality Pet CBD Product?

Here are eight things to look for when choosing CBD for your pet

1. Pay for quality

Like with any natural health supplement, quality is often indicated by price. This is because quality plant materials, safe manufacturing processes, and other quality control measures take resources. You are much more likely to be purchasing a low-quality pet CBD product if it’s on the cheaper side. And, not only does this likely mean that your pet won’t be benefitting from CBD, it could contain contaminants and other harmful materials like THC or chemical solvents. 

2. Look for USDA Organic

For a plant product to be labeled USDA Organic, it means that the farm where the plant was grown hasn’t used any forbidden, non-organic chemicals for three years. USDA Organic is one of the most stringent organic certifications in the business. For a product to be labeled USDA Organic, 95% of the ingredients used need to be fully organic. Other organic labels permit up to 30% of the ingredients to be non-organic. A USDA Organic seal shows that organic seeds were used to grow the hemp that a pet CBD product is made from. USDA Organic also means that no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides were used when growing the hemp. USDA Organic farms practice crop rotation to preserve the nutrient levels in the soil. 

And, this label also goes beyond the farms that grew the hemp. A USDA Organic seal also indicates that the facilities used to manufacture the pet CBD are certified organic. This means that there are no toxic or non-organic substances being used in the facility that does the manufacturing. 

3. Look for National Animal Supplement Council seals

You’re in good hands when there’s a National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) seal. A company with an NASC seal has an audited quality control manual in place that provides written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for production process control. This helps ensure that the company is making a consistently quality product. An NASC seal also guarantees an audited adverse event or reaction reporting and a complaint system is in place that monitors and evaluates products in real-time. Companies with an NASC seal must comply with stringent labeling guidelines for all products and all forms of labeling. To be NASC certified, a company needs to include on the product label any specific warnings or caution statements for particular ingredients that are recommended by the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and the NASC Scientific Advisory Committee. 

One of the most important reasons that the NASC seal ensures quality products is that all of its members must submit to random product testing by an independent lab. This ensures that a company’s products meet its label claims. Also, you can find many NASC-certified products in veterinary offices around the country. 

4. Look for Full-Spectrum or Whole Plant

Full-spectrum means that the whole hemp plant was used to make the CBD product. This implies a couple of things. One, it means that your pet will be receiving all of the beneficial compounds found in hemp. Many of these compounds work together, maximizing the effects of the CBD. If a CBD isn’t full-spectrum, it either means that chemical solvents were used to isolate the cannabidiol or CBD, or that only part of the hemp plant was used. 

5. Look for lot numbers

Lot numbers mean that there are quality control practices in place. Quality control allows a company to know which products came from which batch. That way, if there was a problem with a particular batch of CBD, they know which products were affected. 

6. Ask for a certificate of analysis

Reputable companies will have a certificate of analysis on their website, which will show exactly how much CBD is in their product. Or, they will be able to send you a copy. If they don’t have an analysis or won’t send you a copy, then that’s a good indication of a poor-quality product.

7. Look for a solventless extraction method

Terpex technology is a cutting-edge way of extracting the full cannabinoid profile from hemp. This method is all-natural and uses no heat, chemicals or solvents in its process. It is also the most environmentally friendly method of hemp extraction. 

8. Find out where the hemp used was grown

Hemp farmers in the US are certified by the State Department of Agriculture, which ensures high standards of farming. 

Let Your Pet Experience the Pet Releaf Difference

You can relax after choosing Pet Releaf pet CBD. Pet Releaf is a company full of pet lovers and they think that pets are members of the family, just like you do. They are dedicated to making the best pet CBD in the world. The hemp they use is grown here in the United States using regenerative farming practices. This means that their hemp is grown in healthy, happy soil. Try Pet Releaf’s hemp oil, which is certified USDA Organic and by the NASC. Your pet will feel the difference Pet Releaf quality makes.