[YEA]  03/11/2013: Steve from Labelle, Florida: "Apple Cider Vinegar works for me! My Chow mix has had "flea allergy" ??? for years. Two vets, same thing, try benedril, etc. etc. I've tried everything you could think of, nothing worked. Constant scratching, sore on leg that won't heal. Bald spots by tail that come and go. Couldn't find the organic ACV at w-dixie, but got a bottle of "natural" ACV. Everything they have on the shelf is "filtered". But mixed some up 1/2 and 1/2. Poured it on her, and I could tell a difference RIGHT AWAY! Dabbed some more on her leg sore, and her belly this morning, and what a difference! Thank you all for this information."

05/18/2013: Diane Peace from Hudson Oaks, Yexas replies: "How often do I have to spray my dog?"

10/10/2012: Wendy from Columbus, Oh/usa replies: "To Lynn from Elmira, NY: Please make sure you're using ORGANIC Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). The organic kind has the nutrient-rich sediment at the bottom of the bottle; you just shake the bottle before using it.

Then, you can put a teaspoon into her food and mix it all up. Do this every time you feed her. It should clear up any rashes she now has, and will help prevent future rashes.

You can get more info about ACV's uses by searching here on earthclinic."

02/12/2012: Jeff from Ballstonspa, Ny replies: "hi my name is jeff and we have the same breed dog and I am nervous that it might burn or bother him he is always licking and biting himself and wears the fur off in spots. Will it sting him or anything like that?"

EC: Hi Jeff,

Apple cider vinegar must ALWAYS be well diluted with water: 1 part acv to at least 3 parts water. Never apply straight as it can cause a very painful sting.

[YEA]  06/09/2012: Kelley from Palm Springs, Ca replies: "My mini doxie has been furiously licking her rear end and biting her back leg for months. I tried changing her diet to a single novel protein and this did not work. The vet wanted to put her on a steroid which I am against. I started to give her ACV 3 days ago over a little food and applying it with a cotton ball to her back leg and rear area.... BINGO!!! 3rd day straight and no crying and itching at all. Its AMAZING and I recommend!!!"

10/02/2011: Clay The Cat from Tallahassee, Fl replies: "RE: ITCHY CAT

Its probably WHEAT FLOUR/GLUTEN! Check his cat food, it is in almost everything. It is in the cat treats, even the pill pockets you give them to be able to take the medicine to help with the itchness. Once I cut this out of my cat's diet, the sores and itchyness went away. Iams wet food, salmon/tuna flavors don't have it, also those Appetizers don't have it, there are some brands out there, just read the labels. Good luck!"

04/02/2011: Diamond from Salisbury, Ma.usa replies: "Alabama; You might want to try small amounts at first, try using the Apple Cider Vinegar which is natural, I use _____s with(mother) organic, no one animal or human likes the smell because it's so strong, I use fish oil capsules and put it on top of the dogs food. Then try by putting some vinegar on the back of their neck. Because vinegar is all pure and natural I don't think it to be a problem of over dosing other than an issue with their organs, where that would take years to affect organs. Also it could be their dog food. I use Newmans own at big market basket but the vets also sell good can food;dogs need can for their coat, oils etc. Good luck."

[YEA]  07/06/2011: Jayne from Astoria, Ny replies: "WOW WOW and again WOW!! I love my cat soo much and I couldnt bear seeing her licking and biting at her shoulder. When I would scratch it for her she was in heaven.. Anyway if you need a quick remedy for itching... Apple cider vinegar (1/2 water 1/2 apv). Literally, within seconds my cat stopped tearing at her itchy skin. I put the combination in a spray bottle and gently sprayed it on her itchy area then I just gently rubbed it in a bit. wallah!! Many thanks to all you peole who advised of this remedy (well I heard it is a temporary fix, but for now its great) and to the ones who responded after use.

love ninja ** MEOW"

08/29/2011: Atomiconion from Montgomery, Alabama replies: "on the itching dogs, rub the dog down firmly with diatomaceous earth every few days, put a pinch of cat claw powder in the water put powder at bottom then airrate when you put water in so it mixes and every time you change it they may not like at first but will aquire taste soon enough and most important put a slice of onion on forehead you may need a dog hat but until you can get it to stay on forhead find a way to put in something like a sock with holes in it tied around collar on back of neck I think there is a mycoplasma that feeds on frontal lobe and onion on forhead is only thing that kills mycoplasma all the other things just treat symptoms the mycoplasma allows the mites to live and breed kill the mycoplasma and the mites will go to. This will work and it takes time but the de earth and cat claw will give relief until you can kill mycoplasma. avoid ammonia and acids if you smoke go to organic because the ammonium nitrate in regular cigs makes this worse."

01/31/2010: Tracey from Timberville, Va replies: "She is not depressed! she is exhausted from itching, and when she doesn't have to itch she is resting peacefully. imagine your whole day itching uncontrollably, and all the sudden you don't have to itch anymore. You would feel like whew! im exhausted! Shes clean just had a nice bath, warm, fed, and thankful. let her sleep."

04/30/2010: Steph from Marietta, Georgia replies: "I have a chihuahua that licks, and bits all her hair of her tail where it irritates her. I saw it closely and looks like she has little bumps. I am wondering if its an allergic reaction, because she gets this itch every spring. please help me to figure out what this cause of itch is from and how I can heal it. Please and Thank You!"

EC: Did you test the area with a flea comb? If you find black droppings, it may be a reaction to flea bites!

09/10/2012: Diz2ydez from San Pablo, Ca, Usa replies: "Hi , I just wanted to let people know that my dog was always itching , after a bath, after I put her drops in. I Never tried Apple Cider Vinegar cause I was afraid of how she might react to it. I bath her with her shampoo and conditioner. After I used her shampoo and rinsed her with warm water more on the colder side, I used my shampoo, I used a small amount of "head and shoulders 2 in 1". I dont know if the Head and Sholders will do any harm but I noticed she hasn't been itching as much. Just thought I should put that out there."

09/07/2009: Janet from Manchester, United Kingdom replies: "One of my four cats has had a skin problem on and off now for quite some time. It seems to come on every six months and I usually have to take him to the Vet for a steroid injection which does help but I have to do this every six months and as I have four cats it is quite expensive. At the moment Ginger is going mad scratching and pulling his fur out. His back is red raw but at the moment the Vet is not affordable. I have heard about rubbing with ACV but I was a little concerned that it would burn his raw skin so have been afraid to do this. Has anyone out there got the same problem and knows of a natural remedy please?"

09/08/2009: Angela from Sacramento, Ca replies: "For raw hairless fur rub an anti-fungul cream on your dogs back. hair will grow back. it works on my dog. rub it on entire area where hair is missing and watch how fast it clears the skin."

09/09/2009: Janet from Manchester, United Kingdom replies: "In reply to Angela, many thanks. I just wondered what type of anti-fungal cream you use?, as I am in the Uk. Do you use cream for people? I have purchased an 'anti itch' cream but so far it does not seem to have helped much. I feel so sorry for my poor cat... he will be bald before long! Any more suggestions please?"

12/23/2009: Stephanie from Eugene, Or replies: "I have a 7 month old puppy (a St. Bernard/Black Lab mix, coming in at roughly 95 pounds now), and over the past 2 months or so has been nibbling, furiously, at his backside, around his haunches and the start of his tail. My boyfriend and I noticed it and took a look at his skin, and he started getting small scabs around those areas he was nibbling. The vet attributed it to fleas, but Duke didn't have any fleas; someone suggested changing his food, but that didn't help either; I rubbed plain, unscented moisturizing lotion to the affected areas, and it seemed to help temporarily, but eventually the nibbling started all over again. I feel so bad for him, because it keeps him up at night, and I can tell it irritates the heck out of him. Any suggestions for stopping whatever is itching him, or does anyone know what could be causing it? Thanks!"

12/23/2009: Sarahc from New Canaan, Ct, Usa replies: "Hi, yes one of my dogs when through this about a year ago. Same small scabs on his rear end, top of tail. I bathed both dogs, worked temporarily, changed the food of the itchy and scratchy one. I also flea combed both dogs every day and never saw one flea dropping! A friend told me her dog was infested with fleas and it was a really big issue for everyone, so I figured possibly he had one flea running on him that I couldn't find. Even though I hate to put chemicals on him, I applied 1/2 a bottle of Advantage to his neck and a small spot on the top of his tail and the obsessively scratching stopped within 12 hours. I put the other half of the bottle on my other dog just in case. It worked. I'd guess you have a flea issue!"

[WARNING!]  01/27/2011: Ambercleveland from Indianapolis, In replies: "Specifically in regards to pets that look like they are scratching to the point where they have scabs, if you are feeding and watering them out of plastic bowls, switch to stainless steel. I had a dog that had a similar problem, turns out she had an allergy to something leaching into the water from her plastic dog dishes."

08/09/2011: Danielle S. from Duvall, Washington, Usa replies: "My name is Danielle and I have a 11 year old pug and for months now is constantly itching his chest and chewing on his front legs. There are huge hairless spots on his chest and are sometimes bleed and are really raw. They are also forming scabs. Recently I noticed he is getting it behind his ears too! I dont think its flees or ticks cause he is an inside dog. I have tried to regrow his hair and it started to work but he kept itching it and it didnt help much after that. I havent tried much and I need some advice on what to do!!!! Something to stop the itching and regrow the hairless areas. I dont know if its because of his old age or something else but I need some advice to ease the ithcing and scabbing PLEASE."

08/28/2011: Julie from Coventry, England replies: "HI, has he recieved any shots in the last 3 months if so that could be the reason give him homeopathic Thuja 30c to detoxify. If not it could be mites, sometimes ear mites are transfered when the dog scratches his ear. Either way I would use Thornit powder. We have it here in England. It is simply wonderful. I advise all my clients to use it. If you can't get any email me and I will try to sent you some."

[YEA]  09/30/2009: Laurag003 from Escondido, Ca: "What a difference 2 days makes! I have an 11 year old airedale, Oliver who has had a "skin condition" that I can trace back to February of this year. I too spent over $2000.00 getting my vets oppinion. Sterriods were the next stop and I truely debated this to atleast make him comfortable but the side effects are awful and could shorted his life - but what kind of life is suffering with this itching?! Nothing has helped until I read this site. I started Ollie on 1/4 c plain organic yogurt 1x daily. In his morning meal, I put the contents of 2 acidophilus tabs, pulled apart just inside contents along with his mixture of "avoderm" wet and dry food.(Great for Omega 3/6.) I also spray him with a mixture of 50/50 acv and plain water every night. He does NOT like this at all and I put a collar on him to keep him from licking/scratching. It takes him about 3 - 5 minutes to stop running around but the best part is - HE SLEEPS without chewing!! I also put 1 tlbs acv in all his water bowls. Everything I use is made for humans so if I start itching, I'd do the same thing. Thanks for a great site that allows feedback and imput from us moms and dads. I also let his vet know about the site and the treatment success. She was very happy not only for Ollie but will also let her other patients know about the success."

08/08/2010: Lori from La Mesa, Ca replies: "Read your site a few months back suggesting apple cider vinegar (ACV) and acidophilus for skin problems tied to ear troubles. I tried it and am a believer. We have a female curly coated retriever (rescue) that is about 5 yrs old that has had itchy balding neck & shoulders and stinky infected ears since she was a puppy. We took all of the vet's suggestions the last few years and she "kind of" got better but never completely - and the problems always recurred. I went to the grocery store and bought a bottle of the house brand ACV and to Target for a bottle of acidophilus capsules. I open a capsule of the acidophilus and sprinkle it on her food in the morning, and pour a tablespoon of ACV on her food at night. (I'm not gonna lie, Curly was a little startled the first time I put the vinegar on her food, but when she eats, it's an olympic sport, so she dove right in. )

I also started using Nizoral shampoo (ketoconazole 1%) once a week on her.

So there you go. This in what is working for us quite well thank you. Maybe it will work for you."

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  07/15/2010: Traveler from Santa Barbara, Ca, Usa: "Dog's Itchy Skin

So with the summer-time and my dog spending a lot of time out in the backyard, and the dog park, he has gotten itchy skin. I've checked him for bugs and haven't found any, yet one of his nipples was scratched raw, his armpits were all dark pink, and he had several hotspots which has sebum around the scabby parts. I did two things, and he's almost all the way better but not all the way cured:

1. I took apple cider vinegar (not with the mother, the store didn't have it) and cut it half and half with water and put it in a spray bottle. This he got sprayed with a couple times a day all over in the belief that it would keep the bugs away and maybe help the spots.

2. I grabbed virgin coconut oil and added some tea tree oil to it and rubbed him down and tried to hit his hotspots. I did this two times with as full of a full-body rubdown as I could, and then two or three more times just spot applying. The next day after applying it the first time, his armpits were hardly pink at all. A week later, I've checked his hot spots and his scabs are now in chuncks around his hair, but no longer attached to his skin. I brushed his coat and skin really well with a hard bristle brush trying to stimulate the skin and pull up the chunks and then went through and did it by hand. He's itching a lot less but he's not all the way cured. I'd probably put him at maybe 85% better."

[WARNING!]  07/23/2011: P from Covina, Ca replies: "Please be VERY careful, anyone who is considering using tea tree oil on their dog. I tried this once and will never use it on my sweet dog again. It almost killed her! Some dogs have very severe allergic reactions to this topical oil."

[YEA]  02/09/2011: Nelson from Farmington, Connecticut: "our mixed chow started with nibbling and chewing his paws.. He worked his way up the legs and within two months was hairless in his paws, legs and belly.. He was given steroids, 4 twice daily pills and a shampoo. We changed his diet to freshly cooked chicken and sweet potatoes. Nothing worked. Omar crawled everywhere to satisfy the belly itch. Scratch and chew.. Night and day. Spent close to one thousand dollars. I decided to try the Apple Cider Vinegar and yogurt.. In one day.. He is itching less and wagging his tail.. I sprayed a 50/50 water-acv onto the skin and worked it into the skin. I also now give him several tablespoons of plain yogurt.. He likes it.. I think this is going to help.. He has an appointment with a dermatologist that will be a few more thousand.. But I am banking on the acv. I will use this intill our appointment.. This has been his first night in many months that he appears happy and not so itchy.. G-d bless.. this has been a g-d send."