Apple Cider Vinegar For Dogs
As written in an excellent 1997 article by Wendy Volhard:
"...If your dog has itchy skin, the beginnings of a hot spot, incessantly washes its feet, has smelly ears, or is picky about his food, the application of ACV may change things around. For poor appetite, use it in the food - 1 tablespoon, two times a day for a 50 lb. dog. For itchy skin or beginning hot spots, put ACV into a spray bottle, part the hair and spray on. Any skin eruption will dry up in 24 hours and will save you having to shave the dog. If the skin is already broken, dilute ACV with an equal amount of water and spray on.
Taken internally, ACV is credited with maintaining the acid/alkaline balance of the digestive tract. To check your dog's pH balance, pick up some pH strips at the drug store, and first thing in the morning test the dog's urine. If it reads anywhere from 6.2 - 6.5, your dog's system is exactly where it should be. If it is 7.5 or higher, the diet you are feeding is too alkaline, and ACV will re-establish the correct balance.
If you have a dog that has clear, watery discharge from the eyes, a runny nose, or coughs with a liquid sound, use ACV in his or her food. One teaspoon twice a day for a 50 lb. dog will do the job.
After your weekly grooming sessions, use a few drops in his or her ears after cleaning them to avoid ear infections. Other uses for ACV are the prevention of muscle weakness, cramps, feeling the cold, calluses on elbows and hock joints, constipation, bruising too easily, pimples on skin surfaces, twitching of facial muscles, sore joints, arthritis and pus in the urine. There are also reports that it is useful in the prevention of bladder and kidney stones.
Fleas, flies, ticks and bacteria, external parasites, ring worm, fungus, staphylococcus, streptococcus, pneumococcus, mange, etc., are unlikely to inhabit a dog whose system is acidic inside and out. Should you ever experience any of these with your dog, bathe with a nice gentle herbal shampoo -- one that you would use on your own hair -- rinse thoroughly, and then sponge on ACV diluted with equal amounts of warm water. Allow your dog to drip dry. It is not necessary to use harsh chemicals for minor flea infestations. All fleas drown in soapy water and the ACV rinse makes the skin too acidic for a re-infestation. If you are worried about picking up fleas when you take your dog away from home, keep some ACV in a spray bottle, and spray your dog before you leave home, and when you get back. Take some with you and keep it in the car, just in case you need it any time. Obviously for major infestations, more drastic measures are necessary. ACV normalizes the pH levels of the skin, makes your dog unpalatable to even the nastiest of bacteria and you have a dog that smells like a salad, a small price to pay! "
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Fleas 1 Reader HAS NOT found success. Simon, from Victoria, Australia has written us that he tried bathing his 10 dogs religously in Apple Cider Vinegar (as prescribed above) for days to get rid of fleas. No luck.
7 Readers HAVE found success. Deirdre, from Los Angeles has discovered that she doesn't need to use flea dips in the winter when she adds a tsp of organic apple cider vinegar to her dogs' meals (2x a day) every day. This doesn't work so well in summer months though!
Vickie, from Tampa Florida writes, "I have found great success with ACV ...My Boxer has no fleas or ticks & a shiny coat."
Katie, from Emporia, KS writes, "If ACV doesn't seem to work on fleas, try Brewer's Yeast vitamin tablets and cedar chips for bedding. Most dog beds have cedar chips inside them, but you can also buy them straight for dog houses and such."
Lyn, from Jeannette, PA writes, "I just wanted to comment on the fleas section. It is true that any shampoo will kill fleas, but it needs to be left on for 30 min. Also, if you have a flea infestation in your house, just spraying your animal wont help. You must treat where the fleas live. See, they only feed on your animal. I have tremendous luck using table salt and food-grade diatomaceous earth all over the house to kill fleas and prevent. The salt (I prefer organic unprocessed sea salt) cuts into the body of the flea and then allows the DE to dehydrate the animal. Salt by itself does seem to work also, I just like a faster approach. Keep in mind though that this means of defense does take up to 2 months to work as some fleas are still hatching. In really bad infestation, it could take longer. I think flea eggs can survive up to 280 days. I would also like to recommend quadruped pet products. I work at a holistic pet care center and this is what we use to bathe the animals. They do not contain(unlike most pet shampoos) any harsh chemicals. Also, all their products are concentrates so it is much cheaper than buying the harmful stuff from pet shops or grocery stores."
Hot Spots - cures 1 Reader has found so-so success. While the ACV seems to work, dogs have a tendency to lick the vinegar off as soon as they get a chance.
BETTER REMEDY: Another remedy is to apply the gel from a fresh aloe leaf clipping as soon as you notice your dog may be getting a hot spot. The bitter taste of the aloe deters dogs from licking the area and as such the hot spot heals extraordinarily quickly. We have a friend who applies Neosporin first, and then fresh aloe vera and has excellent results.
Allergies stops itchy, weeping eyes. 4 Readers have found success. (Note: 1 TBLS mixed in with food, twice a day. Also see conjunctivitis note below.
Conjunctivitis (caused by allergies) 1 Reader has NOT found success using ACV.
What does work, she tells us, is "keeping your dog's eyes clear of discharge by using your clean index or thumb finger pad to clear the eye of discharge as often as possible. Be very gentle! At first your dog may not particularly like this being done. However, if you are very gentle with the process, your dog will soon allow you to clear his/her eyes and will be forever grateful for this ritual."
We agree. Even if your dog doesn't get conjunctivitis, this simple ritual is a very beneficial one.
Arthritis - eases 4 Readers have found success. (Note: give 2 TSP daily mixed in food, along with other supplements like Glucosamine/Chondroitin.) Also, like people, dogs don't have as much calcium absorption ability as they age, so calcium supplementation is very important.
Urine - fewer UTI's and Crystals 1 Reader has found success.
Urine - fewer yellow marks on the lawn! 4 Readers have found success.
Incontinence 1 Reader has found success.
Ear & Eye Infections - heals 2 Readers have found success.
Carolyn, from Gallon Jug, Belize writes:
"I use a few drops of ACV solution (1 part ACV, 1 part water, 1 part rubbing alcohol)applied with an eyedropper in my dog's ears after a bath. It cleared up her dark ear discharge completely. We use it on ourselves as well since ear fungus is common in this humid part of the world."
Here is some fantastic feedback from Anna, who lives in Ottowa, Canada:
"Our 13-month old female Black Lab-Rotty mix dog Maya has been suffering from recurrent eye and ear infections for the last 7 months. When we first took her to the vet 7 months ago, the diagnosis was ear mites. We treated her with Revolution - twice. The infection seemed to get better at first, but then returned quickly. I then treated her ears with Yellow Dock for a few months, it seemed to keep the infection under control, but had not cleared it. Last month, Maya got a very severe ear infection and we took her to emergency - the test showed NO MITES - YEAST infection! It meant that I have been treating her all this time for the wrong cause - thanks to the vet who did not perform any tests the first time around and simply "guessed" that Maya had ear mites.
To cut the long story short, the emergency vet gave us some antibiotic cream, which helped at bit at first, but then we saw no improvement, especially around the eyes, so I found this website and decided to treat Maya with an organic ACV (half and half with water). I sponged her back (she had a few lesions there as well) and her ears twice a day, I let her shake and then wiped her ears dry. I sponged her eyes gently as well. Her eyes were circled by an elephant-like skin with no hair, and it seemed that like would never go away! Within 2 days we noticed a great improvement. I continued the treatment for a few days twice a day, and her conditioned improved 99%. I've read that it takes 3-6 weeks for it to clear up completely and that it is suffice to do it three times a week.
I measured her pH balance and noticed that it was too alkaline (around 8). This helps yeast to grow, so we started adding a bit of vinegar to her food to stabilie her ph balance. We've also implemented other dietary restrictions that are typical with yest
Overall, we've definitely found success with ACV, and I hope that other dog owners would be able to learn from us to help their furry kids."
Thank you so much, Anna!
Pesticide Poisoning - cures Ted writes, "My dog was dying, perhaps from old age, he's about 12 years old. It refused to eat for 3 days and was dying. What I did was instead of using apple cider vinegar, I used ordinary vinegar about 2 tablespoon on the water and bathed the dog with pure vinegar. Within 2 hours, the dog defecated ... and was back to normal within 2-3 hours. I recommended my friend's dog who was dying from some kind of insecticide poisoning and recommended the same, the dog licked some vinegar and vomited, and was cured. So ordinary vinegar works just as well."
Poisoning from bad water - cures Connie, from Eugene, Oregon writes us, "My friend's dog drank some bad water and she believed she needed to take both of her dogs to the vet which she could not afford, so I recomended she give them some ACV to drink and it helped them almost immediately."
Skin Ailments - cures Mae, from Maumelle,AR writes, "My 8 month old dachshund has really bad skin allergies and sores that just wouldnt heal at all. I tried putting flax seed grains in her food and a little acv in her water she was better in 2 days...its a ritual now... I drink it too every morning with honey and lemon and 2 tbs acv."
Shiny Coat - gives
10 Readers have found success. Also try adding flax seed oil.
Urinary Infections - cures 2 Readers have found success.
Denise, from Conrad, Ohio, writes, "I have a diabetic schnauzer and he gets a tsp. of ACV in each home made meal. Diabetics are prone to urinary infections and he hasn't had one since the day he was diagnosed 3 years ago. His coat is also in great shape and some diabetics get really dried out hair. I love it! I like using something for my dog that I also use for myself."
Rachel, from St. Louis, MO writes, "My parent's dog had horrible kidney stones and a urinary tract infection. He could not hold his urine sometimes and other times he could not release it. He was in a lot of pain. The vet reccomended surgery. My mom was reluctant because she believes in natural cures and the fact that there is a 40% chance of it repeating in a year. She put him on a special diet and it didn't work. After two days of putting him on the Apple Cider Vinegar, he appears to be cured! They put a little in his drinking water and a few drops in his food. It worked like a wonder drug! He is happy and energetic again and is no longer having accidents or in pain. He is back to his old self. Highly Recomended!"
http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvfordogs.html
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