CBD Study Results: CBD Calms Pets

In July 2022, Earth Buddy completed its first pet CBD calming study. The study focused on analyzing CBD’s effects on pet stress, and found that CBD was statistically significant in calming pets. Keep reading to see the results of Earth Buddy’s CBD for pets study.

Why a CBD Study for Pets

It has been found that cannabidiol (CBD) may help support pets with seasonal allergies, detoxification, stress, as well as support the body’s innate response to pathogens and normal inflammatory response, and more. 

This is mostly because of CBD’s effects on a fascinating internal system within the mammalian body called the endocannabinoid system.

While many of these benefits are reported anecdotally from veterinarians, consumer reviews, or are interpretations from human/animal studies, the Earth Buddy team noticed there are not a lot of clear, study-based findings related to CBD’s effects on domesticated dogs and cats.

As a CBD company dedicated to revolutionizing the pet wellness industry, the Earth Buddy team tends to find such gaps-such as lack of transparent data, shortcuts in manufacturing products and subsequent quality issues, etc-and aims to close them.

“Once we realized there was this lack of objective data regarding CBD’s calming effects on pets, we did what we normally do,” states Earth Buddy co-founder, Sean Zyer, “We set out to close the gap and make something happen; we began looking for a research partner to help us create a study of our own and get this data out there.”

How We Performed the CBD Study for Pets

In July 2022, Earth Buddy partnered with research organization MoreBetter Ltd. to not only strategize and serve up a study, but also perform in-depth analysis of the data with specialized methodologies.

The duo crafted an at-home study participants could easily join online, and made it easy for them to answer a few questions a day via text message. 

The study also gave pet owners 50% off of two, select Earth Buddy products in order to participate-which in some cases amounted to a $100 value.

“Because pets can’t tell you if something is working for them or not, there’s a lot of supplements being pushed to pet parents without any proof of quality. Data like this from Earth Buddy will finally provide pet parents with some assurance that they are purchasing a product that has some evidence of effectiveness,” explains Tyler Dautrich, COO at MoreBetter (Releaf App), “This data becoming available to pet owners everywhere is a win for the industry.”

CBD Study Quick Facts:

• • Goal: to determine the efficacy of three unique Earth Buddy products in helping “calm” pets, specifically dogs
  • Study duration: 26 days
  • Participant demographics: 50 pet parents (new and existing Earth Buddy customers) observed 75 pets
    • # cats
    • # dogs
  • Products used: 
    • Hemp Extract Tincture
    • Hemp Hearts (Pumpkin, Blueberry, & Extra Strength)
    • Quick Calm
  • How data was collected: pet parents observed the effects of CBD on their pets, and answered a series of questions each day via text message
  • How data was interpreted: MoreBetter utilized technologies and tests such as Shapiro-Wilk’s tests, QQ plots, Levene’s tests, Box’s M-tests, ANOVA analyses, Pairwise t-tests, and various other charting methods to determine objective significance of data
  • Major findings/results: 
    • Approximately 92% of pet parents reported that Earth Buddy’s CBD products reduced daily stress levels in their pets
    • 72% of pet owners agreed that Earth Buddy’s CBD products were effective at reducing their pet’s stress severity

The Results

Earth Buddy’s CBD products were statistically significant at reducing stress score of pets (92% of pet parents reported that the products reduced daily stress levels in their pets, and 72% of pet owners agreed that the products were effective at reducing their pet’s stress severity).

In addition, a majority of pet parents agreed that their pet seemed to have a better overall quality of life while using Earth Buddy’s CBD products compared to when not using them.

Pet owners also reported that Earth Buddy’s products were more efficacious at managing their pet’s stress than other products.

Stress Score

Earth Buddy’s products were statistically significant at reducing stress scores of pets. Across all Earth Buddy products, the mean stress score at enrollment was 9.53 and significantly decreased to 6.02 on Day 26 after using Earth Buddy products. (N=49) 

Although not statistically significant, the per product decrease is as follows:

• Tincture: 10.00 (Day 0), to 8.34 (Day 5), to 5.65 (Day 26) N=23 
• Hemp Hearts: 8.57 (Day 0), to 7.50 (Day 5), to 4.79 (Day 26) N=14
• Spray: 9.75 (Day 0) to 9.50 (Day 5) to 8.17 (Day 26) N=12

Stress Severity

There was a significant decrease in score between baseline measurements and before vs after treatment. (N=49)

On average, Earth Buddy products reduced pet stress levels from 6.06 (Day 0), to 4.29 (Day 26). Per Earth Buddy product: 

• Tincture: 6.04 (Day 0), to 5.17 (Day 5), to 3.87 (Day 26) N=23
• Hemp Hearts: 5.64 (Day 0), to 5.21 (Day 5), to 4.00 (Day 26) N=14
• Spray: 6.58 (Day 0), to 5.17 (Day 5), to 3.87 (Day 26) N=12 

Daily Stress Reduction

There was a significant increase in the overall proportion of pet owners who indicated a reduction in stress on Day 6 (62.16%) to Day 25 (91.89%). (N=37).

Treats had the most immediate and overall highest proportion of “yes” responses. Per Earth Buddy product:

• Tincture: significant increase from 50.00% (n=18) to 86.36% (n=22)
• Hemp Hearts: non-significant increase from 88.89% (n=9) to 100.00% (n=8)
• Spray: non-significant increase from 50.00% (n=18) to 86.36% (n=22)

For additional study findings or a complete press release, please contact us.

CBD as a Promising Supplement

Cannabidiol (CBD) is the most abundant of over 100 cannabinoids found in the hemp plant’s flowers and leaves. For the growing interest of pet parents looking for more natural options for their pets, a botanical extract that is less processed and provides relaxation, like CBD, is a natural fit. 

Earth Buddy’s 2022 Pet Calming Study provides the first, game-changing data around the impact full-spectrum CBD pet products had on stress levels in dogs and cats. 

“Our goal since 2016 has been to provide transparent resources on hemp-derived compounds and other natural ingredients for our pets. I am extremely excited to share the data considering dog and cat stress is one of the primary reasons pet parents are using CBD products.

There was something great in it for everyone, and we hope the benefits live on to those who will be reading this article, looking to discover benefits of CBD as a holistic option for their pets.”  states Zyer.

Please visit our CBD Calming Study page for more details. To be notified about or participate in Earth Buddy’s next study, please submit your email address on our Industry Studies page.