CBD used to be one of those things I could give Freya without thinking too hard about it. These days, things are a little more complicated.
Freya recently turned 10, and she also has heart disease now. Since some of her medications lower her blood pressure, I have to be much more careful about anything else that could potentially lower it further, including CBD. That hasn’t completely taken CBD off the table for us, but it has changed how and when I use it.
So, when Paw Origins sent us its Full-Spectrum (1,000mg) Happy-Furever CBD Oil and Jumbo Full-Spectrum (1,200mg) Happy-Furever CBD Chews to try, I looked at them a little differently than I might have a few years ago.
And in our particular situation, the oil is definitely the product that stands out most.
Paw Origins Happy-Furever CBD comes in full-spectrum oils and chews for dogs, with multiple strengths to fit different needs. Products are third-party tested, made in a cGMP-certified facility, and backed by a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Quick Overview
Paw Origins Happy-Furever is a line of full-spectrum CBD products developed for dogs, with both oil and crunchy chew options available. We tried the 1,000mg oil and 1,200mg Jumbo Chews, both of which give you different ways to adjust the amount based on your dog’s size and needs. The products are made in a cGMP-certified facility and third-party tested for potency, purity, and contaminants.
Top Features
- Full-spectrum CBD rather than CBD isolate
- 1,000mg CBD in the Happy-Furever Oil
- 1,200mg CBD in the Jumbo Happy-Furever Chews
- Third-party laboratory tested
- Certificates of Analysis (COAs) available
- Made in a cGMP-certified manufacturing facility
- Clean CO2 extraction process
- USA-grown hemp
- Oil uses MCT oil as its carrier
- Multiple administration options for the oil
- Chews can easily be broken into smaller pieces
- Relatively short chew ingredient list
- Cruelty-free
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Formulated with veterinarian Dr. Kathryn Dench, MA VetMB, MRCVS
Quality & Transparency
Quality is one area where I’m particularly picky about CBD. There are far too many products out there that give you a pretty bottle and a lot of promises without giving you much evidence about what’s actually inside.
Paw Origins does considerably better here.
According to the company, Happy-Furever is produced in a cGMP-certified manufacturing facility using CO2 extraction. Paw Origins also says its products go through three rounds of third-party testing at the batch and product levels, with a Certificate of Analysis issued after testing.
Those COAs matter.
CBD isn’t something I’d give Freya based solely on what the front of the bottle tells me. Independent testing gives you a way to verify cannabinoid content while also checking for contaminants, rather than simply trusting that what’s inside matches what’s printed outside.
Paw Origins also uses full-spectrum CBD. That means you’re getting CBD along with other naturally occurring cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids from hemp rather than isolated CBD alone.
The company talks quite a bit about what it calls its “Golden Ratio,” or getting those different hemp compounds into specific proportions. That’s part of Paw Origins’ formulation philosophy, and while I’m not going to pretend I can independently verify that there’s one magical perfect ratio for every dog, I do appreciate the emphasis on the complete cannabinoid profile rather than CBD concentration alone.
The oil itself has a refreshingly short ingredient list: MCT oil, the hemp extract, and natural organic bacon flavoring.
There is one transparency quirk worth mentioning. Paw Origins describes that flavoring as a trade-secret natural organic bacon flavoring.
Normally, “trade secret” isn’t exactly my favorite phrase to find on something I’m giving my dog. I like knowing exactly what’s in things.
But there’s a little more information here than the phrase initially suggests. Paw Origins specifies that the flavoring comes from plant-based, non-protein sources, meaning the bacon flavor isn’t derived from animal protein. That’s actually more information than you get from plenty of labels that simply say “natural bacon flavor.”
Would I still prefer to know every component? Sure. But I also understand why a company isn’t particularly eager to hand competitors its flavor formula.
The Jumbo Chews are similarly straightforward, with almond butter, applesauce, coconut oil, oat flour, potassium sorbate, sodium propionate, and water in addition to the active hemp ingredients.
Overall, between the relatively simple formulations, cGMP manufacturing, CO2 extraction, and especially the independent lab testing, Paw Origins checks most of the boxes I want checked when evaluating a CBD product.
Pros and Cons at a Glance
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Our Real-World Experience With Paw Origins Happy-Furever
My experience with Happy-Furever is a little different from what it would have been even a year ago.
I used to give Freya CBD much more regularly for anxiety. Now that she has heart disease and takes medications that affect her blood pressure, CBD is something I use much more selectively and conservatively.
That’s also why I prefer the Happy-Furever Oil over the chews for Freya.
The dropper gives me much more control over how much she’s getting. I don’t have to decide whether she needs half a chew, three-quarters of one, or start doing fractions before I’ve had enough coffee (who am I kidding, I can’t even do fractions after a pot of coffee!). I can simply measure a smaller amount of oil.
That same advantage works in the opposite direction for really big dogs. Rather than figuring out whether your dog needs two treats, two and a half treats, or some other combination, you can measure the appropriate amount directly.
You also have a lot more options for actually getting it into your dog.
You can put the oil on food, mix it into something particularly tempting for picky dogs, give it directly in the mouth, or even rub it onto the soft skin of the inner ear flap. Paw Origins specifically lists that last method as an option for dogs that won’t take the oil orally.
For Freya, having both precise dosing and alternative ways to administer it is a big deal, especially since she won’t eat when she’s scared.
At this point, I think of CBD more as one of the tools available to me for particularly bad anxiety days rather than something Freya automatically gets every day.
Thunderstorms are a good example. Fireworks are another. Then there are the people nearby who occasionally seem to believe the Poconos aren’t loud enough and apparently require explosives. And no, I’m not being dramatic. We have neighbors that set off dynamite. DYNAMITE! Why????
Anyway, when she gets truly terrified, she doesn’t just lie there looking worried. She shakes, paces frantically, jumps on and off the sofa, and generally stops paying much attention to where her 10-year-old legs are landing.
With her heart condition, that level of panic and physical exertion worries me for reasons beyond anxiety itself. Her heart medications can only do so much if she’s sending her adrenaline through the roof while simultaneously doing frantic sofa parkour.
Those are the situations where calming her down becomes more important to me than avoiding every conceivable risk.
Because CBD can potentially lower blood pressure and she’s already taking medication that does the same thing, I’m conservative with it and use less than what would otherwise be her normal full amount. That’s a decision based on Freya’s individual medical situation, though. If your dog takes prescription medications or has a heart condition (or any other significant health condition), talk to your veterinarian before adding CBD.
The Happy-Furever Oil makes that conservative approach much easier because I can control the amount so precisely.
As for the Jumbo Happy-Furever Chews, they’re definitely more convenient if you have a dog who can simply take the standard amount as a treat.
They’re crunchy rather than soft, but they break apart easily when you need a smaller piece. The downside is that I wouldn’t choose them for a dog with significant dental problems or trouble chewing hard treats.
I do like the ingredient list. There’s no giant paragraph of ingredients requiring a chemistry degree to decipher, and they’re easy enough to give without messing around with a dropper.
Between the two, though, I’d personally buy the oil for Freya.
Not because there’s anything wrong with the chews (they actually smell really good!), but because flexibility matters more to me now than convenience. I can give her exactly the amount I’m comfortable with, hide it in something delicious when she’s feeling picky, give it directly, or even use the topical option if I don’t want her ingesting it.
When you’re dealing with a senior dog whose medical chart has become considerably more interesting than you’d prefer, having that kind of control is worth quite a bit.
Paw Origins Happy-Furever CBD comes in full-spectrum oils and chews for dogs, with multiple strengths to fit different needs. Products are third-party tested, made in a cGMP-certified facility, and backed by a 45-day money-back guarantee.
