“It’s been a really amazing reception from our customer base,” she says. “We were prepared with our customer service team to really answer any negative concerns. We didn’t know how everyone was going to receive it, and we got unsolicited emails and chats from our customers just thanking us for bringing this to the market for them, because they’re so excited to find ways to make their dogs more comfortable.”
Seligmann says that the RxCBD products will be back in stock on March 29.
From Alaska to Massachusetts, brick-and-mortar dispensaries and pet shops have spent the last few years increasing inventory and cashing in on the CBD dog treat trend, according to Leafbuyer, an online cannabis deals database. Because the active CBD in the products is derived from hemp, it’s safe and legal to purchase these treats and extracts online and nationwide.
With U.S. consumer attitudes in mind, BarkShop entered the game. (BarkShop, an a la carte online pet product shopping platform, is the sister company of BarkBox, the popular subscription service for dog toys and treats delivered by mail.)
After vetting 15 brands, BarkShop partnered with RxCBD for its CBD dog products. The company’s organic hemp is sourced from Colorado farms.
As this niche in the pet products business grows, competition among vendors will undoubtedly increase. RxCBD’s emphasis on “data-driven processes for analysis and quality control, including full laboratory testing,” as their website states, led BarkShop to select them. “I was really excited that they were so focused on the science behind it,” Seligmann says. “They just seemed like the right fit for us—a company that was focused on the education, but also the equality of the products.”
RxCBD products come in biscuit and extract form. Biscuits are available in two dosages—1.75-mg. and 5-mg. They’re emblazoned with little insignias: a cannabis leaf, the word “HEMP.” The CBD extracts are offered as 150-mg. bottles or 300-mg. bottles. They come with a dropper that can be used to add the extract to a dog’s dinner, for instance.
Dosage is key, Seligmann points out. The extract dropper makes it easy to administer the proper dose to a dog’s meal; any “extra” is expelled through sweat or urine. Each BarkShop order comes with an education insert on dosage-weight ratios.
Some of Bark’s top brass use CBD dog products, including Seligmann, for a spectrum of reasons. Most commonly, she says, consumers are using CBD dog treats to ease older dogs’ joint pain and inflammation. For her dog Gus, the CBD extracts have been a “miracle product” in treating the 25-lb. pup’s anxiety.
And when it comes to the anxiety of debuting a new product to consumers, Seligmann says that interaction is key. Her company keeps an open chat dialogue with shoppers while they’re on the website and reiterates that differentiating between various CBD products’ particular qualities and dosages is vital information.
“It’s a new product on the market, and it’s something that takes a little bit of education,” Seligmann says. “And it’s also not necessarily right for every dog, as it serves a particular concern or need. It’s not really a one-size-fits-all.”
Top photo courtesy of BarkShop
