CBD for dogs in France: legal, but not as a medicine
Yes, a CBD product for dogs can be sold in France as complementary feed or a pet cosmetic, provided it promises to treat nothing. No CBD-based veterinary medicine is authorised, and the options a vet can prescribe do not include an oil bought in a shop. For a dog, the main risk is the THC in full-spectrum products.
Key takeaways
- Regulation (EU) 2019/6 classes a product presented as curing an animal disease as a veterinary medicine, which is banned without authorisation.
- Complementary feed containing CBD may not claim to prevent, treat or cure any disease.
- The veterinary cascade only covers medicines, and Epidyolex is the one authorised human medicine based on CBD.
- In the reference trial on canine osteoarthritis, 16 dogs took 2 mg/kg of CBD twice a day, and 9 of them had a raised liver enzyme.
- Among healthy dogs, the oils containing THC caused most of the moderate or severe side effects.
Is CBD for pets legal in France?
Yes, within narrow limits. A product's status depends on two EU texts, and above all on how the product is presented.
Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products defines a veterinary medicine, in its article 4, as any substance "presented as having properties for treating or preventing disease in animals". A CBD oil whose label or website mentions arthritis, epilepsy or anxiety thus becomes a medicine by presentation, and it cannot be sold without a marketing authorisation.
To our knowledge, France has authorised no veterinary medicine based on cannabidiol. You can check in the index of summaries of product characteristics kept by the French Agency for Veterinary Medicinal Products (ANMV, part of ANSES).
The remaining route is complementary feed, a product added to the diet that does not replace it. Article 13 of Regulation (EC) 767/2009 forbids stating that a feed "has the property of preventing, treating or curing a disease". Paw balms come under pet cosmetics. Either way, a hemp-derived product must also stay within the 0.30% Δ⁹-THC threshold, explained in our article on the legal THC level.
What a vet can do: the cascade
You often read that a vet "can prescribe CBD off-label". The rule is narrower. Article 112 of Regulation 2019/6 covers the case where no veterinary medicine is authorised for an indication in an animal not kept for food. The vet may then treat the animal by way of exception, "under their direct personal responsibility", in this order:
- a veterinary medicine authorised for another species or another indication;
- if there is none, an authorised human medicine;
- if there is none, an extemporaneous preparation made up on prescription.
All three options are medicines, and a shop oil does not qualify. For CBD, Epidyolex is the only authorised human medicine, and in humans it is restricted to rare epilepsies; our article on Epidyolex describes its trials. A vet may also refuse responsibility for a product whose exact composition and strength they do not know.
The same texts apply to cats and horses, with issues specific to each species: see CBD for cats and CBD for horses.
What research has measured in dogs
Dogs have an endocannabinoid system, as humans do. In 2017, a team at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover mapped the distribution of CB1 receptors in the canine nervous system, from the cortex to the cerebellum and spinal cord. The general workings of the system are covered in what is the endocannabinoid system. Having the system tells you nothing, on its own, about what a product does.
Three controlled trials are cited again and again:
| Study | Dogs | Protocol | What was measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gamble et al., 2018, Cornell University | 16 analysed out of 22 enrolled, osteoarthritis | 2 mg/kg of CBD every 12 h, 4 weeks, vs placebo | Better pain and activity scores on CBD; alkaline phosphatase up in 9 of 16 dogs |
| McGrath et al., 2019, Colorado State University | 26 enrolled, 16 analysed, drug-resistant epilepsy | 2.5 mg/kg twice a day, 12 weeks, on top of existing medication | Median seizure reduction of 33%, but no more "responder" dogs than on placebo; 2 dogs withdrawn for ataxia |
| Vaughn et al., 2020 | 20 healthy beagles | Rising doses of CBD, THC or mixed oils | CBD oil well tolerated up to about 62 mg/kg; moderate or severe effects mostly with THC |
Sources: Gamble et al., Frontiers in Veterinary Science, McGrath et al., JAVMA, Vaughn et al., Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
These studies involve a few dozen dogs over short periods. The maker of the tested oil funded the Cornell trial, and the authors of the 2020 trial worked for a cannabis company. The trials are too thin to set a dose, and no French or European authority has derived an indication for dogs from them. Two of the three trials found a rise in alkaline phosphatase, a liver enzyme, which is one more reason for veterinary follow-up. CBD also changes the activity of the enzymes that break down many medicines, as explained in the grapefruit effect.
THC, the real danger for dogs
In the Vaughn trial, the moderate to severe effects (lethargy, hypothermia, ataxia, meaning poorly coordinated movement) appeared mostly in the two groups given THC. The mixed CBD/THC oil stopped at the fifth dose, while the CBD-only oil went up to the tenth.
A compliant full-spectrum product contains up to 0.30% THC. That is a trace for a human. For a small dog given a concentrated oil, the THC per kilo of body weight stops being negligible. Three further risks come on top:
- Mislabelled products: in June 2025, ANSES reported several hundred human poisonings linked to products sold as CBD that held too much THC or synthetic cannabinoids. The agency cites analyses in which 8 products out of 10 did not display their actual CBD content.
- Banned cannabinoids: according to ANSM decisions, HHC has been a controlled drug since 13 June 2023, and H4CBD and THCP since 3 June 2024. The risks of these molecules are covered in synthetic cannabinoids in CBD.
- Products made for humans may contain xylitol, a sweetener toxic to dogs, or essential oils. Their strength is designed for an adult, whereas the dog may weigh only a few kilos.
Store bottles out of your dog's reach. If your dog staggers or seems unusually flat or cold after swallowing a hemp product, call your vet or a veterinary poison centre straight away and keep the packaging to hand.
Assessing a product if your vet considers it
If, after examining your dog, your vet thinks a trial makes sense, the product should meet these conditions:
- A batch certificate of analysis from an independent laboratory, showing the CBD content and a Δ⁹-THC line reading "not detected". Our guide to reading a certificate of analysis goes through each line, and the laboratory page describes the measurement methods.
- An isolate in preference to a full-spectrum product. What an isolate guarantees is explained in CBD isolate: what 99% means.
- No HHC, H4CBD or THCP in the results, where the laboratory looked for them.
- A concentration in mg per ml and a graduated dropper, so you can work out a dose in mg per kilo.
- An ingredient list free of xylitol and essential oils.
- No promise of treatment: a product that claims to treat anxiety or arthritis is breaking the law, which says little for the seller's seriousness.
Restlessness, stiffness, separation: what comes before CBD
Most owners turn to CBD for a dog that is restless at night, an older dog stiff when it gets up, or a dog that handles being alone badly. Each of these cases starts with a veterinary examination. A calm dog that has recently become restless may be in pain, and stiffness can have causes other than osteoarthritis.
Veterinary behaviourists know the groundwork well: exercise suited to breed and age, a stable routine, a bed away from busy areas and, for separation anxiety, gradual desensitisation to departures over several weeks. Authorised veterinary medicines exist for some anxiety disorders and for arthritic pain, and they have been assessed in dogs; a shop oil has not. CBD is no substitute for these measures or for a prescribed treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, as complementary feed or a pet cosmetic, as long as it claims nothing about any disease and stays within the 0.30% Δ⁹-THC threshold. No veterinary medicine based on CBD is authorised.
Under the cascade in Regulation 2019/6, a vet may, by way of exception and on their own responsibility, use an authorised human medicine or a preparation made up on prescription. Epidyolex is the only authorised human medicine containing CBD. A shop oil does not count as a medicine.
Better not. It may contain THC, xylitol or flavourings that are toxic to dogs, and its strength is calculated for a person. Ask your vet first.
No authority has validated a dose. The trials used 2 to 2.5 mg/kg twice a day for a few weeks, under veterinary supervision, and some dogs showed a rise in a liver enzyme.
CBD on its own is not psychoactive. Signs of intoxication such as staggering or lethargy come from THC or from a synthetic cannabinoid in the product.
Written by the Phytogrammes team
Each journal article draws on cited primary sources: ANSM, EFSA, EUR-Lex and peer-reviewed publications. Product profiles are distinguished from documented laboratory results. Our approach.
Article published on . CBD is not a medicine.