How to Read a CBD COA for Dogs in South Africa: 7 Checks

Straight answer: To read a CBD COA for dogs, match the batch number on the report to your bottle, confirm the lab tested the finished oil, compare each cannabinoid in mg per mL with the label, work out total THC, and check that heavy metals, pesticides, solvents and microbes were tested and passed. The oil we recommend, Pure Majesty Pets Vet-Strength CBD Oil for Dogs, lists 30 mg CBD + 25 mg CBDA + 5 mg CBG in every mL and comes with a certificate of analysis on every batch, so each of those checks has a clear number to look for.

A COA (certificate of analysis) is the only document that tells you what is actually in the bottle, rather than what the front label promises. If you are still deciding which oil to buy, our guide to the best CBD for dogs covers labels, evidence and safety in one place. This page answers one practical question: how do you read the lab report itself?

Why the COA Matters More Than the Label

Pet CBD is not approved by the US FDA for animals, so no approval process has checked what is in the bottle before it reaches you. Independent testing shows why that matters:

• Pet products specifically: a 2020 analysis of 29 over-the-counter veterinary hemp supplements found that only 10 were within 10% of their label claim for total cannabinoids. Two contained no detectable cannabinoids at all, and 4 contained heavy metals, with lead found in 3. Only 19 of the 29 makers supplied a COA for the finished product.
• CBD products in general: in an FDA sampling study reported to Congress in 2020, almost 55% of products that stated a CBD amount were off by more than 20%, and just under half contained THC or a related compound.
• Online CBD extracts: a 2017 study of 84 products bought online found that only 31% were labelled within 10% of the CBD they actually contained.

The authors of the veterinary study gave owners the same advice we give here: get the COA before you start, because without it you cannot work out a dose. Our CBD dosage chart for dogs depends on the mg per mL being real.

The 7 Checks, in the Order They Appear on a Typical COA

Checks 1 to 4: Is This Report About Your Bottle?

The lab. Look for a third-party lab named in full, with an address and an ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, the international standard for testing laboratories. Accreditation is method-specific, so the cannabinoid and contaminant tests should fall within its scope. Many reports carry a QR code or a link that opens the original on the lab's own website; use it, because a PDF passed from seller to buyer can be cropped or edited.

The batch number. This is the check most owners skip, and it is the one that matters most. A COA proves something only about the batch it tested. Find the lot or batch number on your bottle or box and make sure it appears on the report.

The sample type. Some brands post a test of the hemp they bought or of the isolate powder they started from. That tells you nothing about the oil after it was mixed, flavoured and bottled. The sample description should say oil, tincture or the product name. This matters even more for oils made from isolates, because the isolate test cannot show how evenly the cannabinoids were blended into the carrier.

The date. A report should be recent enough to belong to the bottle you hold. If the product is a year old and the COA is three years old, ask why.

Check 5: Reading the Cannabinoid Potency Table

The potency table lists each cannabinoid the lab measured, usually CBD, CBDA, CBG, CBGA, CBN, CBC, delta-9 THC and THCA, sometimes delta-8 THC. Each row gives a result in one or more units. Three things to do:

1. Find the unit. Oils are usually reported in mg/mL, mg/g or % (percent by weight). 1% means 10 mg per gram. To get from mg/g to mg/mL you multiply by the density of the oil in g/mL; good reports print the density or give mg/mL directly. If they do not, ask the seller for the mg/mL figure.
2. Compare each cannabinoid with the label, one at a time. A label that says "3,600 mg" is a bottle total; the COA should let you see how that total splits between CBD, CBDA and anything else. Our guide to CBDA for dogs explains why CBDA should be listed as its own row and not folded into "CBD."
3. Judge the gap. Researchers who test CBD products commonly treat a result within 10% of the label as accurately labelled. A large gap in either direction changes the dose you are actually giving.

Here is what that looks like for Pure Majesty Pets oil. The label figures come from our product page; the "within 10%" column is simply the label plus or minus 10%, the window you can use when you read our batch report.

If you are comparing oils made in different ways, a full-spectrum COA will show more rows with small amounts of minor cannabinoids, while an isolate-based oil shows only the cannabinoids that were added. Neither layout proves better results; our full spectrum vs isolate CBD guide explains what the dog studies do and do not show. And if a product's COA shows almost no cannabinoids at all, you may be looking at hemp seed oil, which our hemp oil vs CBD oil guide covers in a 30-second label check.

Check 6: Working Out Total THC

Dogs are more sensitive to THC than people, which is why this row deserves the most attention. Our guide to whether CBD is safe for dogs covers what THC exposure looks like and when to call a vet.

• Use total THC, not delta-9 alone. THCA turns into THC when heated. The USDA hemp rule calculates it as total THC = delta-9 THC + (0.877 × THCA). A report showing low delta-9 but a THCA result still has THC to count.
• Read "ND" with its limit. ND means "not detected": below what the method could detect. The report should show the limit of detection (LOD) or limit of quantitation (LOQ) next to it. "ND" with a very low LOQ tells you much more than "ND" with no limit printed.
• Do not stop at "<0.3%." The 0.3% figure is the dry-weight limit used to define hemp, not a dog-friendly dose. On a 60 mL bottle, a percent figure can still mean milligrams of THC, so look for the actual mg/mL result.
• In the US, the rules are tightening. Under Section 781 of US Public Law 119-37, the US federal hemp definition will count THCA in total THC, and finished hemp-derived cannabinoid products will be capped at 0.4 mg total THC per container. That cap now takes effect on 11 December 2026. For a 60 mL bottle, 0.4 mg works out to under 0.007 mg per mL, which only a low-LOQ test can confirm. In South Africa, CBD products fall under SAHPRA’s scheduling rules — talk to your vet before you start.

Pure Majesty Pets oil uses CBD, CBDA and CBG isolates with no intentionally added THC. An isolate formula on its own does not prove zero THC, which is exactly why the batch COA is the document to check.

Check 7: The Safety Panels Most Owners Never Open

Potency tells you how much CBD you are giving. The safety panels tell you what else you are giving. A complete COA for a finished oil usually includes:

• Heavy metals: lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Hemp can take up metals from soil, which is why the veterinary study above found lead in 3 of 29 pet products.
• Pesticides: a screen of dozens of compounds, each reported as below its limit or Pass.
• Residual solvents: leftovers from extraction, such as ethanol, butane or hexane.
• Microbial contaminants and mycotoxins: yeast and mould counts, harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli, and aflatoxins.

Each row should show the result, the limit it was judged against and a Pass/Fail. The 2020 veterinary study did not test pesticides or solvents, and its authors recommended asking manufacturers about them. A COA that covers potency only is half a report.

Turning the COA Into a Dose

Once you trust the mg per mL, the maths is short: dose in mg divided by mg per mL equals mL per dose. With Pure Majesty Pets oil at 60 mg of total cannabinoids per mL, the 2 mg/kg twice-daily reference used in the dog studies comes to about 0.33 mL per dose for a 10 kg dog. Your veterinarian sets the actual amount and may start lower. If the COA showed a different concentration from the label, the mL would change, which is why the order is COA first, dose second.

That same COA is also worth taking to the appointment. A vet weighing CBD for joint stiffness, anxious behaviour or another plan needs to know exactly what is in the bottle. Our condition guides cover CBD oil for dogs with arthritis, CBD for dog pain, CBD for dog anxiety, CBD for allergies and itching, CBD for dog seizures and CBD for dogs with cancer. If your dog already takes gabapentin, read CBD vs gabapentin for dogs before starting, and if you are deciding between calming options, see melatonin vs CBD for dogs.

Comparing Two Brands' COAs Side by Side

Line the two reports up and compare like with like: CBD per mL, CBDA per mL, total THC with its LOQ, and the safety panels. Then divide the price by the total mg of CBD + CBDA to get the cost per mg. Our ElleVet vs Pure Majesty Pets CBD oil label comparison shows this method on two real labels.

The habit carries over to other supplements too. Collagen and joint products also publish lab results, and our collagen buying guide, our liquid collagen report and our joint supplement guide show what to check on those labels.

Why Pure Majesty Pets CBD Oil Fits Owners Who Check the COA

• A certificate of analysis on every batch, covering cannabinoids, THC and contaminants, so the checks above have a report to work from.
• Every cannabinoid listed separately on the label: 30 mg CBD, 25 mg CBDA and 5 mg CBG per mL, so each COA row has a number to compare against.
• Made from isolates, with no intentionally added THC. The batch COA shows the residual THC result.
• Simple ingredients: coconut-derived MCT oil (C8/C10), sunflower lecithin, mixed tocopherols and natural bacon flavour, with no added water or glycerin.
• Made in North America under GMP standards.
• R540 for 60 mL (3,600 mg) with free shipping, duties and taxes included, about R16.36 per 100 mg of CBD + CBDA, or about R6.00 a day for a 10 kg dog at the study-reference amount.

Our formula has not been tested in a clinical trial, and published dog studies used other products. If your vet agrees, see Pure Majesty Pets CBD Oil for Dogs → and ask our team for the COA that matches the batch number on your bottle.

Red Flags on a CBD COA

• No batch number, or one that does not match your bottle.
• A test of the raw hemp or isolate instead of the finished oil.
• Potency only, with no heavy metal, pesticide, solvent or microbial panels.
• THC shown only as "<0.3%" or "ND" with no LOQ.
• Results far from the label, or a single "total cannabinoids" figure with no breakdown.
• A report you cannot verify: no lab name, no accreditation, no QR code or link to the lab's own copy.
• Treatment claims on the product, since no CBD product is approved by the US FDA for animals.

The Bottom Line

Reading a CBD COA for dogs comes down to seven checks: the lab, the batch match, the sample type, the date, potency per mL, total THC with its LOQ, and the safety panels. Do them before the first dose, and keep the report with your dog's records for the vet.

If you want an oil built to pass those checks with clear numbers, Pure Majesty Pets Vet-Strength CBD Oil for Dogs lists 30 mg CBD, 25 mg CBDA and 5 mg CBG per mL and has a COA on every batch. For a nutritional option that works alongside a vet's joint plan, we also make liquid collagen for dogs; ask your veterinarian before combining products.