Cannabis sativa L. may reduce aggressive behaviour towards humans in shelter dogs

Abstract

Among the phytocomplex components of Cannabis sativa L., cannabidiol (CBD) has a recognised therapeutic effect on chronic pain. Little is known about the veterinary use of CBD in dogs. Even less is known on the effects of CBD on dog behaviour, especially in shelters. The purpose of this study was to determine if CBD affects stress related behaviour in shelter dogs. The sample consisted of 24 dogs divided into two groups that were created by assigning the dogs alternately: 12 dogs were assigned to the treatment group and 12 to the control group. Extra virgin olive oil, titrated to 5% in CBD was given to treated group; the placebo consisted of olive oil only, dispensed daily for 45 days. Behavioural data were collected using the ‘focal animal’ sampling method with ‘all occurrences’ and ‘1/0’ methods for 3 h: before (T0), after 15 days (T1), after 45 days of treatment (T2) and after 15 days from the end of the treatment (T3). Treated dogs showed reduced aggressive behaviour toward humans following the treatment (Friedman Test: χ2 = 13.300; df = 3; N = 12; p = .004; adj. sig. p = 0.027), but the difference in the decrease of aggressive behaviour between the two groups was not significant (Mann–Whitney U test, T2–T0: Z = − 1.81; N = 24; p = 0.078). Other behaviours indicative of stress, such as displacing activities and stereotypes, did not decrease. Despite some non-significant results, our findings suggest that it is worth doing more research to further investigate the effect of CBD on dog behaviour; this would be certainly valuable because the potential for improving the welfare of dogs in shelters is priceless.

Pharmacokinetics of Cannabidiol Following Intranasal, Intrarectal, and Oral Administration in Healthy Dogs

“…Therapeutic applications of CBD in humans include epilepsy ( 1 , 19 – 21 ), Alzheimer's disease ( 22 ) and multiple sclerosis ( 23 , 24 ). In the veterinary medicine, therapeutic applications of CBD in dogs include osteoarthritis-associated pain ( 6 , 25 , 26 ), aggressive behavior ( 27 ), and epilepsy ( 7 , 28 ). CBD is generally administered orally, but its low bioavailability, which is estimated to be <10% in humans ( 19 , 29 ), continues to be a main issue in clinical trials ( 30 ).…”

Use of cannabis in the treatment of animals: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials

“…The characteristics of the six RCTs included in this systematic review are summarized in Table 1. Studies were conducted in the USA ( n = 4) (Gamble et al ., 2018; McGrath et al ., 2019; Verrico et al ., 2020; Mejia et al ., 2021) and Italy ( n = 2) (Brioschi et al ., 2020; Corsetti et al ., 2021). All studies were published in English and reported between 2018 and 2021.…”

“…All studies were published in English and reported between 2018 and 2021. RCTs had parallel ( n = 4) (McGrath et al ., 2019; Brioschi et al ., 2020; Verrico et al ., 2020; Corsetti et al ., 2021) or cross-over design ( n = 2) (Gamble et al ., 2018; Mejia et al ., 2021). All RCTs were conducted in different breeds of dogs (e.g.…”

How Different Personalities Affect the Reaction to Adoption of Dogs Adopted from a Shelter

“…The former is based on the fact that some behaviors are observed in some contexts but not in others and therefore have a function related to those contexts, while the other criterion is based on grouping together behaviors that have the same function [ 28 ]. These criteria have been used in previous studies [ 6 , 26 , 29 , 30 ].…”