Anyone who's ever had a dog has dealt with them eating something they weren't supposed to — whether it was your pooch snatching a steak off a dinner plate, or scarfing a pot brownie. Our furry friends' thieving ways may be amusing and infuriating, but sometimes what they steal isn't good for them to eat. Now that cannabis edibles are becoming more commonplace in American homes, the question is: are cannabis edibles safe for dogs?
The answer is: no.
The idea of your dog being high might be funny, but THC is toxic for dogs. You should be extremely careful about edibles being left out where a dog can get into them. It isn't poisonous in the sense that there's anything about it that will directly cause death due to something like organ failure. It's more that there is no documented safe dosage for a dog. Because dogs can vary in weight, height, percentage of body fat, etc., there's no way for you to know how much is too much for your canine without experimenting.
Another reason that a correct dosage is difficult to determine is due to the fact that dogs have more cannabinoid receptors in their brains than we do! This makes the effects of cannabis edibles more potent for them than for us. And if your dog eats a chocolate edible, that's extra worrisome — chocolate is toxic for dogs.
Dog Cannabis Intoxication Symptoms
Many of the symptoms of overconsumption that humans experience also present in dogs. The clinical effects of THC ingestion in dogs can include:- depression
- listlessness
- loss of motor coordination and balance
- vomiting
- hypothermia
- agitation
- diarrhea
- drooling
- urinary incontinence
- seizures