Vets beat owner self-research by just six points in a supplement seller's survey

Six points. That is the margin by which a veterinarian's recommendation beats owners' own research when pet parents choose a new supplement, according to a survey released September 29th.

The survey comes from a company that sells pet supplements, including CBD. That makes it vendor-sponsored data, and its most useful finding may be how little of the vet's trust advantage shows up at the point of purchase.

A CBD seller's survey puts vet influence at 35.3%

Lillie&Lee, a Salem, Oregon, pet and human wellness brand, published its Pet Wellness Consumer Trends Report 2026 with two headline numbers. When choosing a new supplement, 35.3% of respondents follow their vet's recommendation, and 29.2% research and decide entirely on their own.

The same survey found 72% of respondents trust their vet, against 58% who trust their own doctor.

The release omits sample size, method and fielding dates. The full report on the company's site fills in some of it. It counts 4,095 qualified responses out of 5,000 collected, fielded over two weeks in early June 2026 across the Asher House community.

Respondents skew 96% female with an average age of 63. Participation came with a disclosed completion coupon, and no outside research firm is named. The report page also describes the self-research group as "a third" of pet parents, which does not match the release's 29.2%.

This is a brand's own audience answering a brand's questionnaire. Treat the figures as directional for that audience, not as a read on U.S. pet owners.

A certificate of analysis does not prove a supplement works

By our math, the vet leads self-research by 6.1 points, a ratio of roughly 1.2 to 1. Together the two groups account for 64.5% of respondents. If the question allowed only one answer, which neither the release nor the report page says, 35.5% chose some other route the company did not break out.

Lillie&Lee sells CBD next to calming, allergy and joint products marketed on natural ingredients, and its respondents come from the community around that brand. Do buyers like these lean away from conventional vets to begin with?

The best data we found is mixed. In a 2017 survey of 1,068 dog owners led by Colorado State University researchers, 47% said they preferred hemp products to conventional medicine. Yet 74.9% had talked to their vet about those products. The researchers recruited largely through pet cannabis Facebook pages, so that sample leans toward believers too.

If we had to guess, these owners have not left the vet. They keep the vet for diagnosis and skip the vet on the supplement call. Lillie&Lee's own numbers fit that pattern, with 72% trusting their vet and only 35.3% letting the vet pick.

That split tracks with how the category is regulated. The FDA decided in 1996 that the federal dietary supplement law for humans does not apply to animal products, so pet supplements are regulated as animal food or animal drugs depending on ingredients and intended use.

CBD sits further out. In an April 2025 warning letter to another pet CBD seller, the agency said no food additive regulation authorizes CBD in animal food and called the products at issue unapproved new animal drugs.

Industry self-regulation covers part of the gap. The National Animal Supplement Council runs an audit program tied to its Quality Seal and an adverse event reporting system that monitors more than 6,000 products.

Founder Lee Asher says owners are still deciding solo, and the company's answer is a published third-party certificate of analysis behind every product.

A COA confirms potency and purity. It says nothing about whether a joint chew changes a dog's mobility. The company's homepage labels its products "Vet & Dr Approved" without saying who approved them or on what evidence.

The next supplement winner brings outcome data to vets

The category is growing either way. The Business Research Company, which the release cites, projects global pet supplement sales rising from $2.43B in 2025 to $3.57B by 2030, a third-party estimate.

Growth like that rewards whoever gives a clinician something to recommend. The Dogist formulated its first chew with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, which is a real credential. But formulation is not proof. We found no published trial behind the chew's health claims, and outcome data is what a vet needs.

The next test is whether any supplement brand publishes a controlled study a vet could weigh.

Source: Lillie&Lee via PR Newswire