Same Dose, Different Dogs: What a New 90-Day Hemp Study Says About Dosing

Same Dose, Eight Dogs, Eight Different Results — What a New 90-Day Study Says About Hemp Dosing

If you have ever wondered why the dosing chart on a hemp product feels like a guess, a study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science in February 2026 gives you the most honest answer available: because dogs are not interchangeable.

Researchers gave eight beagles the exact same hemp extract, at the exact same dose, twice a day, for 90 days. Every dog was the same breed. Every dog weighed within a pound of every other dog. They lived in the same facility and ate the same food. And when the researchers measured how much of the hemp compounds actually reached each dog's bloodstream, the results differed by roughly seven to eight fold from one dog to the next.

That single finding is more useful to a pet owner than almost anything else in the paper. Here is what it means, what the study can and cannot tell you, and why we are telling you about research a competitor paid for.

What the researchers actually did

The study was authored by Monique M. Koll, Robert Menardi, Daniel Hughes, Wayne S. Schwark, and Joseph J. Wakshlag, with affiliations at a Texas veterinary sports medicine and rehabilitation practice, ElleVet Sciences, and Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. It appears in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, published February 25, 2026.

Eight beagles, one to four years old and weighing about 10 kilograms each, received a whole hemp extract in soft gel capsules. The dose was 1 mg/kg of cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) plus 1 mg/kg of cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) — 2 mg/kg total — given twice daily for 90 days. The team drew blood over the first 24 hours to map absorption, then checked blood levels, complete blood counts, and full chemistry panels again at days 27, 57, and 90. Dogs were weighed and examined every two weeks and watched daily for appetite changes and digestive upset.

Finding one: acidic cannabinoids absorb well — and they are not CBD

Both compounds showed up in the blood quickly, peaking around 1.2 hours after dosing. CBDA reached an average peak of 621 ng/mL; CBGA reached 428 ng/mL.

The detail worth pausing on: CBD itself was not detectable. That is not a flaw in the study — it is the point. CBDA and CBGA are the acidic forms of cannabinoids, the way they exist in the living hemp plant before heat converts them. This study tested acidic cannabinoids specifically, and the dogs' bodies treated them as their own distinct compounds rather than converting them into CBD.

So this paper is not evidence about CBD products. It is evidence about acid-form cannabinoid products, which are a different category from most of what is on the shelf — including most of ours. Anyone using this study to sell you a CBD oil is misreading it.

Two minor acidic cannabinoids rode along in the whole extract and behaved more interestingly than their small doses would suggest. THCA peaked at an average of 66 ng/mL and CBCA at 145 ng/mL, and at the monthly checks both were still measurable in the 5 to 75 ng/mL range. Relative to how little of each was actually given, they were absorbed several times more efficiently than CBDA and CBGA were — something the authors themselves flagged as "unexpectedly high systemic availability." It is a reminder that a whole-plant extract delivers more than the two compounds named on the front of the box, which is exactly what a certificate of analysis is for.

Finding two: the same dose landed very differently in each dog

This is the takeaway with real-world teeth. The authors reported that peak concentrations and total exposure varied about seven to eight fold across the eight dogs, and they flagged it plainly as "wide variability." At the monthly steady-state checks, CBDA and CBGA levels across the group spanned roughly 10 to 175 ng/mL.

Remember the conditions: one breed, nearly identical body weights, same food, same schedule, same capsules. That is about as uniform a group of dogs as you can assemble. If variability is that large under those conditions, then across a real household population — a 9-pound terrier and a 95-pound shepherd, different ages, different meals, different metabolisms — a printed dosing chart is a starting point and nothing more.

The practical translation is the advice good veterinarians have been giving for years, now with a number behind it: start low, go slow, and judge by your own dog rather than by the label. Two dogs on the identical dose may not be having anything like the same experience internally. If you want a starting point to work from, we keep a dosage guide by weight — and this study is the best argument we know of for treating it as a floor to adjust from, not a prescription.

Finding three: routine safety markers held steady over 90 days

Across three months, the researchers reported no significant changes in complete blood counts and no significant shifts in liver enzymes or kidney function markers. Electrolytes and glucose stayed within normal reference ranges. Heart rates and rectal temperatures were stable.

Two small movements were noted and are worth reporting honestly. Serum creatinine rose mildly by days 57 and 90 but stayed well inside the reference range, and serum calcium rose at days 27 and 57 before returning to baseline by day 90. The authors' own explanation for the creatinine is worth repeating, because it cuts against the easy assumption: the study dogs were fed twice daily instead of the colony's usual once, gained about half a kilogram on average, and the researchers suggest the creatinine rise may simply reflect added muscle rather than anything to do with the extract.

On the digestive side, vomiting was observed once each in five dogs across five separate days of the 90, and loose stools turned up on scattered days in five dogs. The authors judged this to be within the normal range for this colony of beagles.

The researchers also noted that the dogs showed no gross positive or negative behavioral changes over the three months, though no veterinary behaviorist formally assessed them. With no placebo group, there is no way to know how much of any of this was the extract and how much was three months of being a beagle in a study. That is a real limitation, not a technicality.

The part most articles will leave out

The study was funded by ElleVet Sciences. Two of the authors are ElleVet employees, and a third is a paid ElleVet consultant. The paper also states that the funder was involved in the study's design and analysis and in the decision to publish. The authors disclosed all of it, which is the correct thing to do.

Industry funding does not make a study wrong. Most veterinary cannabinoid research in existence is industry funded, because almost nobody else pays for it. But it does mean the findings deserve the same scrutiny you would give a claim on a label, and it means independent replication matters more than usual. The authors themselves list the limits: eight dogs, one breed, a controlled environment, no control group, dosing about eight hours apart rather than a clean 12-hour interval, and 90 days — long enough to be reassuring, not long enough to define a true safety ceiling.

We are a hemp company writing about a competitor's funded study, and we are telling you it is a level 3 with real caveats rather than a breakthrough. That is the standard we hold our own research to as well.

Where our own studies sit on the same ladder

HempMy Pet has commissioned two university studies, and honesty means grading them the same way.

Our 90-day canine study followed 30 dogs with chronic joint discomfort under Dr. Robin Downing, DVM, with Lori Kogan, Ph.D. and Peter W. Hellyer, DVM of Colorado State University. The researchers reported that more than 93% of dogs showed benefit and 94% of owners reported improved quality of life. That is a prospective clinical study — level 3, like the study above, and larger — but it was not placebo controlled either, and owner-reported outcomes carry expectation effects.

Our equine study at Tarleton State University, part of the Texas A&M System, was led by Dr. Kimberly Guay, Ph.D. The researchers reported reduced measures of stress during transport, with 0.6 mg/kg outperforming 0.3 mg/kg and effects peaking around four hours.

Both sit at level 3. Neither is a randomized controlled trial. We would rather tell you that than let you believe our evidence is stronger than it is — most of this industry markets from level 8, which is anecdote. You can read both in full on our clinical trials page.

What to do with all of this

If you take three things away:

• Dose is a starting point, not a prescription. Blood levels varied seven to eight fold among nearly identical dogs. Begin at the low end, hold there for a couple of weeks, and adjust based on what you observe.
• Know which cannabinoids you are actually buying. Acidic cannabinoids like CBDA and CBGA behave differently in the body than CBD, and a study on one is not a study on the other. Your product's certificate of analysis tells you exactly what is in the bottle.
• Talk to your veterinarian, especially about safety monitoring. This study checked bloodwork at 27, 57, and 90 days. That is a reasonable model for any long-term supplement conversation with your vet.

If you are looking at daily hemp support for your dog, our full-spectrum hemp oils and treats for dogs are formulated in-house and third-party tested — and every batch's lab report is published, so you can check the numbers yourself instead of taking anyone's word for it.

Frequently asked questions

Does this study mean hemp is safe for my dog?
It means that in eight healthy beagles, over 90 days, at 2 mg/kg per day of acidic cannabinoids, routine blood counts and chemistry panels did not shift significantly. That is genuinely useful information. It is not a safety guarantee for every dog, every dose, every product, or longer time frames — and with no placebo group, some findings are hard to attribute. Talk to your veterinarian, particularly if your dog takes other medications.

What is the difference between CBDA and CBD?
CBDA is the acidic form that exists in the raw, living hemp plant. Heat converts it to CBD. This study found that when dogs were given CBDA, CBD was not detectable in their blood — meaning the body treats them as distinct compounds rather than converting one into the other.

Why did the dogs' blood levels vary so much on identical doses?
The authors did not identify a single cause, and with eight dogs there was not enough data to. Individual differences in gut absorption, fat content of the meal, and liver metabolism are the usual suspects. The honest answer is that it happened, it was large, and it was not explained.

Should I switch my dog to a CBDA or CBGA product because of this?
No — this study measured absorption and safety markers, not outcomes. It reported nothing about how any dog felt, moved, or behaved, because those things were not formally measured. There is no basis in this paper for choosing one product over another.

How much hemp research is actually high quality?
Less than most marketing suggests. Very few veterinary cannabinoid studies are randomized, blinded, placebo controlled trials, and almost none are systematic reviews. That is exactly why we grade every study we write about on an eight-level evidence ladder, including our own.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not veterinary advice. HempMy Pet products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your veterinarian about your pet's health.