Cooper’s Journey – Getting Old
A little about Cooper.
Cooper’s journey with CBD began with a call in April of 2021. At that first meeting, Kelley, Cooper’s Mom explained that she had been using a CBD infused treat to help with pain and mobility. Cooper was 14, approximately 30 pounds and was suffering arthritis that was affecting his mobility, he was also blind and beginning to exhibit signs of anxiety.
Kelley had been giving him one 2.5mg CBD treat daily for quite some time and it seemed to help some with the pain, but Cooper’s anxiety was beginning to worsen, especially at night with constant pacing & panting. That’s when her vet suggested she talk with us.
Sometimes changing brands is a good idea.
As Cooper had been using the same brand for some time with limited success, I suggested switching to a tincture that met specific criteria for dementia type symptoms and for better absorbability into his system. In this case I recommended the Myriam’s Hope Daily 25. Because Cooper wasn’t very cooperative about taking the tincture, she would use a treat to administer it.
Cooper’s night time anxiety was getting worse.
By September, Cooper’s anxiety at night, specifically, was getting worse. He was doing a lot of pacing, getting up 2-3 times nightly. Kelley reported that she was giving Cooper 6 drops of the CBD oil at night, but none during the day and asked for guidance to help promote more night time sleep.
My suggestion was to increase the dose and give 6 drops in the late afternoon and another 6-10 drops about an hour or so before bed. Continue to increase by 2-4 drops at a time until she found the amount that was helping Cooper to be more restful, but not overly sedated. I also reminded her it was ok to give a dose at the first middle-of-the-night waking to see if it would settle him faster so everyone could get back to sleep.
Don’t be afraid to increase the dose or layer in other cannabinoids.
A few days after increasing the dose, we received this message from Kelley, “OMG. He slept through the night. This is the first time he slept through the night for a very very long time. Oh, besides that, he is improving with more mobility. I think it is the combination of food, supplements, and CBD. I cant think you enough for your help.”
In mid October, Kelley wrote to let me know that “Cooper was doing better, but was up to 20 drops”. She had also added melatonin to the mix. At this point, we sent a sample of CBG for her to layer in with the CBD and melatonin. The goal with the CBG was to try to reduce the volume of CBD, while increasing the overall positive effects that Cooper needed to be comfortable.
In late October 2021, Kelley reported, “He is better, but he still gets up twice in the night and sleeps all day. At least he is not pacing and panting. When he wakes up he has to go outside, so at least he is letting me know. I am giving the CBD, CBG and 6 mg of melatonin.”
Saying Goodbye.
Sadly, in late January 2022, Cooper passed. While it always breaks our hearts when a beloved pet crosses over, we take gratitude in knowing that we were able to help Cooper have a better quality of life -and- for Kelley to get the rest she needed to give him the best care. In our book, sleep is not overrated, especially when caring for a senior dog.
Cooper is a good example of a pet who needed lots of adjustment to his regime. I always say that cannabinoids are not one size fits all and while Kelley was a bit nervous about increasing the dose at first, her commitment to adjust the dosing to fit Cooper’s changing needs was exactly the right approach. In the end it resulted in lessened anxiety and more comfort for Cooper, which directly translated to better time together.
from Kelley.
“Thank you for all that you did for us. I am so glad my vet recommended me to you.”
