We’re all familiar with stress and anxiety these days, and it’s not just a human problem. Unfortunately our animal friends can’t use their words to tell us what’s wrong. We know they’re unhappy, but why? And more importantly, what can we do?

Some stressors are easy to resolve. Are they hungry or thirsty? That’s easy-peasy: just get them a snack or drink. Sometimes we take Mary Puppins out and meet another human with their fur baby, and often it goes over great! But sometimes . . . it goes less great, and suddenly little Puppins is a bundle of nerves.

And then, of course, the universal stressor: physical stress. Being sore or injured – those problems aren’t as easy to solve, as much as it hurts our hearts.

But that’s okay! We’ve got just the thing to help.

Calm is an all-natural essential oil blend made with pet health and happiness in mind. This is the oil supplement for anxiety and stress relief, and if you’ve read our FAQ, you know we’re committed to simple ingredients with real results. There’s nothing we’d put in our products that we wouldn’t give our own pets. That’s just love.

Our Calm essential oil supplement contains three hard-working ingredients: MCT oil, full spectrum CBD, and valerian root. Stick with us a little while longer and you’ll find out exactly why!

Valerian Root

You may notice we’re going out of order, but bear with me. MCT oil and CBD are best friends, and it just feels bad to separate them. For now, let’s talk about valerian root.

You’ve probably heard of it before, especially if you’re into fantasy books or games. The valerian herb is native to Asia and Europe, and has been used for sleep and relaxation purposes for thousands of years. It’s often referenced as the key ingredient in the village alchemist’s sleeping potion – it’s just that well known.

These days people around the world take valerian root supplements in capsule or pill form, steep and drink it as a tea, and even cook with it. It’s been in use since before the 400s BCE, and for good reason! But you want to know why it’s been in use that long, right?

So here’s the deal: valerian root contains several compounds that can reduce anxiety and promote better sleep. It was in use as far back as ancient Greece and Rome, prescribed as a remedy for insomnia. Valerian is still used as a natural medicine all over the world now, and its spread has a lot to do with the fact that it works extremely well as a natural remedy.

You can guess where we’re going with this: in addition to working on humans, tests have shown the calming and sleep-inducing effects of valerian root work on animals as well. And we’re upgrading the wheel, not reinventing it, so of course we decided to use it in our Calm oil blend.

MCT Oil and Full Spectrum CBD

Okay, so we put it off for a hot minute, but now it’s time to talk about the BFFs in this supplement: MCT oil and full spectrum CBD.

If you’re anything like me, you see abbreviations and gloss over them immediately: it’s just letters! Who needs to unpack all of that! (This is a trick question: the answer is PawsiVibes. We need to unpack all of that, and maybe even learn a little something along the way.)

So let’s talk vocab. MCT stands for medium-chain triglycerides, a type of fat that is more easily digested by the body because, on the molecular level, the pieces that it’s made of are smaller. This doesn’t seem like much, but put a pin in it for now, ‘cause this detail is one half of the friendship necklace our wonder duo is wearing.

CBD stands for cannabidiol, and is one of many chemical components known as cannabinoids found in plants like hemp and cannabis. THC is the other really famous cannabinoid, but there are dozens of others, each with a different effect.

CBD is also fat-soluble, which is its half of that friendship necklace. That means oil is the ideal carrier for this supplement – you can just plop it right in and it mixes perfectly.

If you’re wondering about the phrase ‘full spectrum,’ what you need to know is that it’s the alternative to ‘isolate’ and ‘broad spectrum,’ and it is the least processed of the bunch.

Isolate is what you get if you strip away everything else and keep only the CBD. It’s heavily processed and generally produces CBD crystals that are 95-99% pure.

Broad spectrum CBD is what you get when the base crude cannabis oil gets processed down to strip out all THC. It contains most everything else, but this is normally used by folks who need to be absolutely sure THC won’t show up on a drug test.

Full spectrum CBD contains all the natural chemicals in the plant – this includes some of those other cannabinoids as well as the essential oils. It contains nondetectable amounts of THC too, but nowhere near enough to affect even the smallest animals. But where full spectrum CBD shines is the entourage effect.

It’s easy to think that the ‘pure’ isolate form of CBD is the best choice, but cannabinoids also behave in a way that scientists call the entourage effect. This fancy term basically just means that if you have all of the natural cannabinoids in one place, they work better together. The whole is more than the sum of the parts; as a group the cannabinoids do more than if they were digested separately.

Check out this article from Medical News Today if you’d like a further breakdown of the differences between isolate and full spectrum CBD.

MCT oil is a fat that’s absorbed super quickly, and CBD is a chemical that gets soaked up into fat, and together they hold hands and skip into the bloodstream to do their work on the body. That’s why they’re BFFs. Even though MCT oil isn’t doing the chemical work in the body, it’s crucial to getting the CBD quickly into your (and your pet’s) endocannabinoid system.

Speaking of “the chemical work,” let’s talk science.

The Work

That word ‘cannabinoid’ got thrown around a lot in the previous section, and it’s one vocab term we didn’t break down. That’s okay, though, because now is its time to shine.

Scientists have known for some time now that humans have what is called an endocannabinoid system (ECS for short). This system is what is responsible for maintaining homeostasis in the body, for keeping your sleep and appetite and stress at normal levels. If you’re more stressed than usual or if you haven’t been sleeping right, your ECS kicks in to help get things back on track.

But who helps your endocannabinoid system? Sometimes our ECS needs a little push just like we do, and that’s what the cannabinoids are for. Cannabinoids stimulate the ECS and get things working like they should, sort of like unkinking a water hose to get things flowing again.

Recent research shows that more than just humans have an ECS, or we wouldn’t be talking about it. (You know how we are here: a one-track mind focused on lil’ furballs.) Almost all animals have an ECS of their own, which means they can benefit from cannabinoids in their system as well.

The cannabinoids in full spectrum CBD include not just CBD, but also CBN, CBG, and CBC, with no detectable amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis). Together this quartet targets pain, lowers anxiety, and relieves insomnia. They really are a fantastic four!

The Action

Now that you know what you’re getting into with our Calm oil blend, you need to know what to do with it. Good news: you have lots of options.

Does Mittens only get stressed out when you go somewhere new? Maybe when your neighbor unexpectedly drops by? Use Calm occasionally for bouts of anxiety.

If they’re wound up tight like a spring all the time, though, consider making it part of your everyday routine for your pet, adding it to their breakfast! That way, you can rest easily together.

High energy cats or pups fighting or playing through the night when they should be sleeping? Try adding a healthy dose to their dinner or as a direct supplement before bed.

Finally, if your pet has been diagnosed with arthritis, have other joint pain, seem sore etc, apply Calm topically to the affected area to help soothe the aches.

You know your pet and their needs best, so we leave the choice in your capable hands. You got this!

We’d love to hear your thoughts and stories! Send us an email at info@pawsivibes.com any time.

Care to pay the “pet tax”? One of our favorite things is getting pictures of our customers’ pets. We’re suckers for cute animals (that’s why I work here, let’s be real). Email us at blog@pawsivibes.com - we’d love to see them. With your permission, we may even showcase your pet on our Instagram or Pinterest board! Catch them posing around some PawsiVibes merch or products and we’ll absolutely feature them in a post, and get you 20% off your next order. How cool is that?