Dosing Your Dogs: An Introduction to Cannabis for Pets

July 10, 2026
By Riley Kirk

This article first appeared in the Pets edition of Fat Nugs Magazine, published June 2024

Our pets are our family, and when our pets are sick or in pain, we want to help them in the same ways that we help our sick grandma, brother, or ourselves. Although our pets deserve the same love and care as our human family members, they react differently to drugs than humans and should be treated differently.

All pets, including our dogs, cats, ferrets, hamsters, and fish, have endocannabinoid systems. The endocannabinoid system is the system within the body that cannabis acts on to provide therapeutic and relaxing benefits. This is an ancient and conserved system that is seen in almost every animal on earth. Regardless if an animal ever sees cannabis in their life, they still have an endocannabinoid system necessary for their survival.

There are obvious differences between our pets and us: the size difference, fur, or the presence of hooves or claws rather than toes; but further than that, there are also differences we do not see with the naked eye. Our pet’s nervous system (the way their brain is wired) is different from how our nervous system is designed and distributed within the body.

It is not safe to assume that a dose of THC that is therapeutic for your problems can be translatable to your pet’s experience, even if you correct for weight. The distribution of receptors in the brain is different than a human’s and so is the experience of the animal.

The Endocannabinoid System in Animals

The distribution of receptors in the brain and body is incredibly important for understanding the overall safety of cannabis and cannabinoid products. This is one reason why cannabis is so safe compared to other drugs like heroin: because of where the cannabinoid receptors are located in the brain and what areas of the brain those regions control for us.

The best example to fully understand this is to look at opiate receptors. There is an abundance of opioid receptors located in the brainstem of humans; which is what makes opiates so dangerous. Our brainstem controls essential functions like our heart beating and lungs breathing. If the receptors get overwhelmed in this region of the brain by administering too many opiates it can prevent these essential functions from happening, leading to overdose and potentially death.

In contrast, if we look at the distribution of cannabinoid one (CB1) receptors in the brainstem, the receptor on which THC acts, there are very sparse amounts in humans. Even if these receptors get overwhelmed, they will not shut down the region of the brain that keeps us alive.

The Endocannabinoid System of Dogs

Although not all animals have been studied to understand the exact distribution of CB1 receptors in the brain, dogs’ cannabinoid receptors have been studied by the US government and other research institutions in pretty great detail. The research found that dogs have a higher abundance of cannabinoid receptors in the hindbrain, cerebellum, brainstem, and medulla oblongata compared to human counterparts (Herkenhan, 1990).

Between these research studies and the unfortunate regular occurrence of dogs accidentally being dosed with THC products, it has been shown that there is a unique neurological reaction that occurs with dogs taking in large amounts of THC called ‘static ataxia’ which is essentially temporary paralysis of the dog.

This condition is thought to be due to the high concentration of cannabinoid receptors in the cerebellum; the portion of the brain that controls functions like balance, posture, motor control, and bladder control (Silver, 2019).

Acids versus Activated Cannabinoids

Luckily, not all cannabis products are going to make your animal sick when eaten. The bud needs to be heated up or smoked to get the psychoactive effects.

Cannabis flower is still the most popular product purchased from dispensaries and if we just eat a fat cannabis nug, we won’t get high. If your animal eats a nug, it won’t harm them and they probably won’t want to eat it anyway (although you never know).

Conversely, products like edibles are the most dangerous to your pup, especially if it is something like a brownie or chocolate that also contains chocolate which is harmful to dogs. Dogs can get high from eating half-smoked cannabis joints (aka roaches) because the flower is being activated as it’s being smoked and therefore will have available THC.

If you’re someone who likes hotboxing your car, make sure you’re leaving your pup inside: your dog will absolutely feel the effects of hotboxing.

Remember, your dog does not know what getting high is so it is not a fun experience for them, it is likely scary because they don’t know why they’re feeling that way.

The Safety of Cannabis for Pets

This information may lead you to two questions:

Is it safe to give my animals any cannabis products?
What do you do/what happens if they do get into some?

If your dog does end up eating a cannabis-infused gummy, they can often become very disoriented, lose bladder control and as mentioned previously, be temporarily paralyzed (worst case scenario). Most veterinarians will recommend essentially the same thing that your stoner friends would tell you if you got too high: get comfortable and wait it out. If your pet does get into some products, give them some water, and a nice bed to sleep on, monitor their reactions, and wait it out.

Not all cannabis is bad for animals, however. You will often see bacon-flavored CBD oils, CBD-infused dog treats, salmon CBD tinctures, and a multitude of other creations meant for your pets. CBD has been scientifically shown to be well-tolerated in dogs at doses of 4 to 20 mg/kg of body weight per day for 6 to 12 weeks (Corsato, 2024).

We are greatly lacking scientific data on other relevant animals like horses, cats, and rabbits. In general, it is always recommended to discuss changes in your pet’s diet and supplements with your veterinarian.

If your animal has joint inflammation or pain, many respond well to CBD. When you introduce CBD for the first time:

Introduce the product slowly and note how your pet responds.
If they need a higher dose, try more the next day.

Many CBD products have up to the legal limit of 0.3% THC present and this microdose will likely be fine for your animal but it is not recommended to increase the dose of THC more without further consultation.

Overall, cannabis is a safe medicine and has medicinal value for both you and your pets. However, keep in mind that animals react differently to cannabis than we do. Still, they have endocannabinoid systems that cannabis products can act on and provide therapeutic value.

About the Author

Dr. Riley Kirk is a cannabis research scientist, cannabis educator, and daily consumer. She obtained her Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences, specializing in natural product chemistry, where she studied the traditional and contemporary uses of hundreds of medicinal plants. She has worked as an immunology scientist in the biotech industry, is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Rhode Island, and works in the cannabis industry on the medicinal value of the chemical synergies within the plant at the nonprofit she co-founded called NAP (the Network of Applied Pharmacognosy).

References:

Herkenham M, Lynn AB, Little MD, Johnson MR, Melvin LS, de Costa BR, Rice KC. Cannabinoid receptor localization in brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Mar;87(5):1932-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.5.1932. PMID: 2308954; PMCID: PMC53598.
Silver RJ. The Endocannabinoid System of Animals. Animals (Basel). 2019 Sep 16;9(9):686. doi: 10.3390/ani9090686. PMID: 31527410; PMCID: PMC6770351.
Landa L, Trojan V, Demlova R, Jurica J, Hrib R. Cannabidiol and the possibilities of its use in veterinary medicine of dogs and horses: A brief review. Vet Med (Praha). 2022 Jun 17;67(9):455-462. doi: 10.17221/127/2021-VETMED. PMID: 38715968; PMCID: PMC11071133.