ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1632868
Treats containing cannabidiol (CBD), L-Tryptophan and α-casozepine have a mild stress-reducing effect in dogs
Provisionally accepted
- Waltham Petcare Science Institute, Melton Mowbray, United Kingdom
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Demand for stress-reducing products aimed at pets has risen in recent years, demonstrated by an ever-growing market of nutritional and odor-based products. Previous research has demonstrated an effect of Cannabidiol (CBD), L-tryptophan and α-casozepine on stress-related behaviours in a variety of animal species, including dogs. The objective of this study was to explore the efficacy of a treat product containing two different doses of CBD (2 mg/kg BW and 4 mg/kg BW) in addition to a 2mg/kg BW dose of CBD combined with L-Tryptophan and α-casozepine (blend) in comparison to a placebo. A blinded cross-over study was performed in which 54 dogs received a single dose of each treatment two hours prior to exposure to a previously developed stress paradigm (10 min. car travel). A range of behavioural and physiological measures were collected pre/post (plasma CBD levels, serum cortisol) or during (heart rate, heart rate variability, surface temperature, activity, posture, stress-related behaviours, qualitative ratings) the stress paradigm. Results indicated that all treatments resulted in elevated post-test CBD levels in the plasma in comparison to placebo (p<0.001), and the 4mg/kg BW CBD had higher post-test CBD levels in comparison to the 2mg/kg BW CBD without the blend (p=0.002). Furthermore, the 2mg/kg BW CBD combined with the blend treatment resulted in a significantly smaller increase in cortisol from baseline to post-stress (p=0.016) in response to car travel in comparison to the placebo. However, no other significant effects of treatment were observed, and CBD plasma levels were highly variable between individual dogs, which may have impacted results. Further exploration of the efficacy of CBD in reducing stress and anxiety, including interactions with different active ingredients and individual differences in absorption and metabolism are warranted.
Keywords: Cannabidiol, cbd, Tryptophan, α-Casozepine, dog, stress, Transportation, Animal Welfare
Received: 21 May 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Flint, Weller, Hunt and King. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hannah Elizabeth Flint, Waltham Petcare Science Institute, Melton Mowbray, United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.