With her powerful reputation and muscly appearance, I’m sure your Dobermann gets plenty of stares.
Rated as one of the strongest breeds, she’s a natural guardian and probably protects you and your family like a soldier.
And while she might seem big and tough, she has no problem showing endless love to those closest to her.
But no dog is invincible, and I’m guessing a recent health concern has brought you here.
In fact, your research has likely lead you to learn about CBD, a supplement made from cannabis and hemp.
But did you know that pet owners across the country are using CBD to help manage their pet’s pain?
Today I’ll explain how CBD can help your Doberman, and share our family’s success with CBD.
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Enter The Dobermann
The Doberman Pinscher, also known as simply the Dobermann, was bred in Germany towards the end of the 19th century.
Bred by Louis Doberman (a tax collector) to accompany and guard him on his trips, the Doberman is a loyal, alert guard dog.
In fact, their alert nature and strong stature means that Dobermanns were favored as police dogs and even fought alongside US Marines in the Pacific campaigns of WWII.
Despite their intimidating appearance, however, Dobermanns can make for great family dogs.
They tend to be very protective of their owners and families, and are especially easy to train.
Given their size and background as working dogs, these dogs love exercise and will gradually accompany their owners on daily walks or even strenuous runs.
Common Health Problems Affecting Doberman Pinschers
The Dobermann is a healthy dog breed and can live for roughly 10-13 years.
Nevertheless, this breed isn't immune to disease, and there is a handful of conditions that seem to affect Doberman Pinschers more than other breeds.
Below is a list of some common ailments and conditions that might affect your dog:
- Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy is a kind of heart disease. It is a chronic condition that causes the muscles in the walls of the heart to weaken over time, affecting the heart’s ability to contain the pressure of blood passing through it. As a result, the heart becomes enlarged and struggles to pump blood around the body, causing a loss of circulation.
- Dancing Dobermann Disease: This is a neurological condition seen only in the Dobermann. Its cause is unknown. The condition tends to affect nerves in the gastrocnemius (which forms part of the calf muscle in the hind legs). Dogs with this disease tend to flex and straighten their hind legs when standing, making them look like the are dancing. Over the years the condition can lead to muscle wasting in the hind leg.
- Hip Dysplasia: Hip dysplasia tends to affect larger dog breeds and is very common among Dobermanns. It is caused by a genetic malformation of the hip joint, causing the joint to grind and degenerate faster than normal. Hip dysplasia generally leads to arthritis, especially in the later stages of a dog’s life, which leads to further degeneration of the affected joint.
- Hyperthyroidism: Like many other dog breeds, Doberman Pinschers can suffer from hyperthyroidism. Dogs with hyperactive thyroids deal with a constantly hyperactive metabolism and are at risk of developing thyroid cancer in the future.
- von Willebrand’s Disease: von Willebrand’s disease affects the blood's ability to clot. While it is not unique to this breed, it does affect them more than others.
- Wobbler Syndrome: Also known as cervical spondylomyelopathy or cervical vertebral instability, Wobbler Syndrome affects the neck, causing it to become compressed. This causes neck pain for the dog and leaves them with a wobbly gait (walk).
How Can CBD Help Your Dobermann?
A few years ago, I found myself in a similar position to yours:
My dog Rosie, a beautiful Golden Retriever, was diagnosed with hip dysplasia which, as she got older, left her dealing with crippling arthritis of her hip joint.
But it didn’t stop there.
A few years later, my vet also diagnosed Rosie with cancer.
As you can imagine, I was heartbroken.
The vet told me there was nothing she could do for Rosie and that my focus should be “palliative” so as to make her remaining years with us as enjoyable as possible.
Seeing Rosie deal with her arthritis and tumor was devastating.
As the conditions progressed, she went from being a happy, energetic dog to lounging around the house all day, barely gathering the strength to go outside to use the toilet.
She’d avoid going on walks and would physically struggle to lay down or get off her bed.
In my search for supplements and methods to help improve Rosie’s quality of life I soon stumbled on CBD, a natural supplement made from hemp and cannabis plants.
And, like you, I immediately opposed giving my dog “weed.”
But as I started researching CBD in more detail, I learned that all kinds of people and pets were using this substance to treat a wide variety of medical conditions.
Then, once I realized that CBD is 100% safe and completely non-psychoactive (meaning it doesn’t cause the “high” we associate with “pot”), I voted to give it a shot.
And I am so glad I did.
CBD helped me greatly improve Rosie’s condition and even lead her to live long beyond our vet’s estimates.
I can honestly say that using CBD helped me improve Rosie’s quality of life in her final months with us.
Since then, I’ve built this website where I aim to educate pet owners about the benefits of CBD pet supplements.
So, without further ado, here are 2 ways CBD can help your Doberman Pinscher.
But remember:
CBD has many health benefits. If the ailments I discuss here do not apply to your dog, then please visit my 7 amazing CBD benefits for dogs page for more information.
CBD for Dobermanns With Wobbler Syndrome
Cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM), or wobbler syndrome, is a condition affecting the cervical part of the spine (neck).
It is characterized by the compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots in the spine.
This can cause a variety of symptoms, including severe neck pain and a distinct “wobbly” walk.
The condition is usually caused by slipped discs in the neck region of the spine and tends to affect large or giant dog breeds more than others.
The Doberman Pinscher is especially prone to slipping discs, but some dogs may also suffer from wobbler syndrome due to a bone malformation of the spine.
Apart from a wobbly gait and neck pain, Doberman Pinschers with this condition might show some of the following symptoms:
- Weakness in the neck and front limbs
- A short-strided, slightly “spastic” walk, especially in the front legs
- Partial or even complete paralysis
- Muscle loss or wasting near the shoulders
- Scuffed toenails from uneven walking
- Increased extension of all four limbs
- Difficulty getting up when lying down
Wobbler syndrome is usually treated with surgery, although it isn’t always possible/logical to operate on all dogs.
If your Doberman deals with wobbler syndrome, I suggest looking into CBD for a number of reasons.
The best reason of all is that CBD is a known painkiller.
Studies show that CBD is able to suppress pain signals in your dog’s brain.
In fact, CBD is an increasingly popular pain medication used by a growing number of human patients as well as pet owners to manage all kinds of painful conditions.
Hence, by using CBD supplements like oil, for example, you may be able to help your dog deal with the pain associated with wobbler syndrome.
Secondly, CBD might also help your dog recover from the surgery used to treat the affected part of their neck.
The surgery used to treat wobbler syndrome is intense and often leaves dogs needing at least 2-3 months of rest to recover as well as physiotherapy.
It is not uncommon for dogs that have been operated on to be lethargic and lazy.
In some cases, surgery can also leave dogs with neuropathic pain if the surgery causes other complications.
Luckily, thanks to CBD’s wide variety of health benefits, it may help your dog recover from wobbler surgery.
For example, I used CBD with my dog Rosie and saw huge improvements in her condition almost instantly.
Thanks to the pain of her arthritis and cancer, Rosie had become super lethargic.
She’d generally just laze around the house and sleep, and avoided any kind of exercise or movement.
As soon as we started her CBD treatment, however, her condition changed.
First of all, we saw that the CBD greatly reduced her pain and sensitivity, especially around her hip area.
My vet explained that this was due to CBD’s strong anti-inflammatory properties, as well as its ability to suppress pain signals.
But it didn’t stop there:
We also saw huge changes to Rosie’s attitude and energy levels once we started the CBD treatment.
Within a few days, Rosie became more active around the house.
After her first week on CBD, Rosie was almost back to normal, joining us on walks and actively playing with us and other dogs.
The CBD supplements we used also seemed to help improve Rosie’s mood and energy levels after her chemo sessions, which sometimes left her acting a little “under the weather.”
Having witnessed the way CBD improved Rosie’s condition, I’m confident it can help your dog, too.
Not only can it help suppress the pain caused by wobbler syndrome, but it may also help your dog recover post surgery.
CBD for Doberman Pinschers With Hyperthyroidism
The thyroid is a small gland located close to the trachea that releases hormones which control growth, metabolism, brain development, and more.
When this small gland doesn’t function properly (as is the case in people and pets with hyperthyroidism), the results can be devastating for the body.
The symptoms of hyperthyroidism vary greatly and can include everything from over eating and rapid, unwanted weight loss, to intense mood swings, restlessness, tremors, and much more.
Because these symptoms are so varied, hyperthyroidism is notoriously hard to diagnose, and tends to go un-diagnosed for quite some time.
In dogs, hyperthyroidism tends to cause the following symptoms:
- Overactive metabolism
- Rapid weight loss, despite no changes to exercise or diet
- Increased appetite and overeating
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Increased thirst and urination
- Hyperventilating and rapid breathing
- Dyspnea (difficulty breathing)
- Rapid heart rate and an abnormal heart rhythm
- Hyperactivity and agitation
- Enlarged thyroid gland
The causes of hyperthyroidism can vary.
The most common cause of an overactive thyroid is thyroid cancer.
However, it can also be caused by autoimmune conditions which cause the body’s immune system to attack healthy tissue in the thyroid gland, causing it to become inflamed and overactive.
If your pup suffers from any of the symptoms I listed above, make sure to get his/her thyroid checked.
If your vet diagnoses your dog with a hyperactive thyroid, I recommend learning more about CBD as a possible treatment option.
A 2002 study found cannabinoid receptors in rat thyroids.
Better yet, the study found that these receptors could help modulate the release of specific thyroid hormones.
When introducing cannabinoids to these CB receptors in the thyroid gland, the researchers noted a 30% reduction in thyroid hormone release, suggesting cannabinoids like CBD can help drive down thyroid activity.
At this time, the research definitely looks promising.
Are Other Large Breeds Successfully Using CBD?
I’ve talked a lot about my personal experience with CBD in this article.
But I’m not alone.
My sister in law has a Dobermann, and she's seeing really good results from CBD. I plan on sharing her case study in the future.
But there are many more dogs seeing positive results:
Rascal, for example, is a 7 year-old Dobe using CBD to treat respiratory distress, fatigue, lack of appetite, and fluid build-up caused by a malignant tumour and heart disease.
Rascal was not looking good, but his owners have said that within a short period of time using CBD, his energy and appetite improved. And after 3 months, Rascal's health improved so much that he started acting like a puppy again!
Lacey has also seen great results from CBD.
Lacey's owners report that she's gained a lot of energy and looks and acts much healthier since starting with CBD.
Try CBD for Yourself Today
If your Dobermann suffers from something we covered here, I highly recommend using CBD. Keep in mind there are other issues CBD can help with which we may not have covered.
But if you're ready, here's my top picks:
Our family uses and recommends products from King Kanine. Their most popular product is the King Kalm CBD 300mg RX. It's also the best bang for your buck.
Alternatively, I’ve also used Canna-Pet's Advanced MaxHemp Liquid, which I can highly recommend as well.
You can save over $20 on these brands if you order through the links above.
If you start using CBD, I really hope you see some great results!
For more articles like this, remember to check out my blog.
