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How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar for Bladder Infections in Dogs

| Modified on Jan 13, 2024
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Apple Cider Vinegar is an excellent home treatment for bladder infections (UTI's) in dogs. Pet owners have happily found relief for their pets within a matter of hours of administering the first dose!

How Much Apple Cider Vinegar Do I Give My Dog for a UTI?

The following are approximate amounts of apple cider vinegar to give a dog with a bladder infection. Usually the dose is given twice a day, though occasionally our readers give the dose 4 times a day, depending upon each individual situation.

  • 1 teaspoon for small dogs
  • 1 tablespoon for medium dogs
  • 2 tablespoons for large dogs

How Do I Get My Dog to Take Apple Cider Vinegar to Cure his UTI?

Our readers have used a variety of ways to to get their dogs to take apple cider vinegar.

  • mix it with equal parts plain Greek yogurt (which helps with healing, too!)
  • mix it with equal parts peanut butter and honey
  • used apple cider vinegar capsules and hide them in peanut butter

Some pet owners give some apple cider vinegar daily to their pets for maintenance. This also can help with fleas and allergies as well!

Topical Application of ACV for Bladder Infections in Dogs

Another effective method for bladder infections is to apply diluted Apple Cider Vinegar to the scruff of the neck or to the paws.

Watch Earth Clinic's video demonstrating two effective methods to apply apple cider vinegar topically. We'll also show you how to make an apple cider vinegar solution.

Read on to see how our readers have used apple cider vinegar to help their four legged friends with bladder infections. Please let us know if you have tried this natural remedy for your pet!

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Posted by Theresa (Daly City, Calif.) on 09/16/2022
 ★★★★★

My 14 year old pom has long hair which sometimes gets poop on her tail, which in turn causes a urinary tract infection. She was peeing with blood, frequent puddles all over. I looked on your web site and came across the apple cider vinegar remedy. I diluted it 1 tsp. ACV and 1 tsp water. Gave her some every couple hours until gone. Also diluted 50/50 ACV and water. Put it on all four paw pads with a cotton ball for a total of 3x. 24 hours later, she's peeing normal. No excess peeing and no smelly urine. Blood is also gone. Worked like a charm. She's feeling so much better. Great remedy 👏

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Haila (Oxnard, California) on 08/22/2022
 ★★★★★

I used ACV for my spayed 11 year old pittie - 2 tablespoons- one in am & 1 in pm. Amazing results! She slept thru the nite just like she used to, after 5 nites of getting up at 2 3 4 5 am with 6 pee success & nothing coming out each time. I am a believer. I will give a couple more days then see. Good luck pet lovers!

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Deirdre (CT) on 09/07/2021
 ★★★★★

One of my dogs got a bladder infection last week and there was a little bit of blood. I popped on Earth Clinic to see what everyone suggested. Over 50 people suggested ACV so I immediately applied a 50/50 solution of organic ACV and water and: wiped it on her paw pads, the scruff of the neck, and later gave 2 teaspoons in her dinner. She went from peeing every hour back to normal peeing intervals within an hour or two. Highly recommend. I gave her another 2 teaspoons of Apple Cider Vinegar once a day for the next few days.

There's a reason Apple Cider Vinegar is the most popular remedy for bladder infections in dogs, cats and people! It really works fast.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Guinandmela (Los Angeles) on 03/16/2018
 ★★★★☆

This isn't a review but I was looking for help/advice. I noticed a week ago that on a long walk, her pee started out fine but throughout, she would squat and dribble pee. The pee was sometimes cloudy, sometimes clear, I think somewhat pink at times. Not like her to mark so many times (girl). I assumed UTI. I tried something I bought on Amazon with good reviews. I may have been inpatient and stopped and started using ACV (about 2 TBSP mixed with 3TBSP of organic beef broth). It's been about day 3 of using ACV and noticed a slightly less peeing on a 40 minute walk today. (about 6 times in total... didn't notice pink but these things are always so hard to see! ) I was wondering how long it took for people to notice a change. She isn't straining to pee. I do notice she is drinking a little more water than normal. Last night I felt a wet puddle spot on the rug. It didn't smell like pee or had any color to it so I'm not sure. I am doing my best to take her out as often as I can as I'm sure that is helpful to getting any bacteria out. I hope I'm doing this right. I will take her to the vet to do a culture test if I have to but would prefer not to put her on clavamox. Another thing I noticed today was that she had diarrhea. Could this be from too much acidity in her stomach? thank you in advance. (her recent bloodwork in January was normal)

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
03/20/2018

Hey Guinandmela,

If this were my dog I would take her to the vet for a diagnosis. AND I would stress that I did not want Clavamox, that I wanted to try other options first. Your nutritional approach seems to be addressing symptoms -let the vet know that. But you really need to rule out any other hidden issue that may be causing the increased thirst, diarrhea and blood in the urine. Good luck and please report back.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Tina (Slovenia) on 02/27/2018
 ★★★★★

I am so happy I ran to this page. My 4 month old puppy suddenly couldnt hold her peeing - she wet her own bed three times. Since it was saturday evening, I couldnt take her to vet and started googling and found ACV helped some of you. I decided to get some ACV and yougurt first thing next morning and try giving it to her. So next morning I gave her ACV - she wouldn't eat it mixed with yougourth though. So I mixed one teaspoon to her food and added some pork fat with it - she cant resist that. So she ate that and I repeated treatment at noon and evening. In the evening she felt a looot better and next morning she was like a new dog. No signs of any illness. So I am very grateful to those who posted this cure. It also saved me trip to vet.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Jamila (St Thomas, Usvi) on 08/27/2017
 ★★★★★

Your Website and the Pet Video Apple Cider Vinegar for UTIs in Dogs, Cats, etc truly came to our rescue Friday night. My husband and I have 2 dogs. Our 6 year old, 75 Lb Shepard Ratwiler mix, by accident, one came into contact with a toxic bug spray in the face Friday. By evening she displayed symptoms of a UTI. Frequent urination, then 10-12 attempts at urination immediately following; a fever and accelerated breathing rate. By midnight, we knew we were in trouble. Your Website article 11 Ways to Heal Dog UTIs and the Video Apple Cider Vinegar for UTIs in Dogs, especially the how to apply to the Paws in a bowl of water, was a dream come true! The next morning we gave her a warm bath, Apple Cider Vinegar with blueberries in water with her grain free food and by afternoon she was almost her old self again. No VET, No $Hundreds of $Dollars and No Antibiotics! Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Janet (North Carolina) on 07/02/2017
 ★★★★★

I have been giving my 12 lb min pin 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar mixed w/tsp lowfat greek vanilla yogurt and peanut butter for about 3 days now. She had tested positive for a uti but with no signs of blood, just leaking on us and pet beds. Antibiotics worked at first but 2 days later was still leaking. After 3 days with Apple Cider Vinegar am and pm she's acting like old self again. You would never know she's 12. So how long should I continue giving her acv? Or is this a good health balancing thing to continue

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Karen (Crown Point, In) on 04/25/2017
 ★★★★★

I'm beside myself because my Speed Racer has a UTI, 103.5 temp and won't eat. I did just see him drink water with his paw. Went to the vet last night, $400 later. He has an oral antibiotic and a product called Rebound (also orally); however he keeps vomiting. Worried that his meds won't help I ran to GNC and bought the ACV wth the Mother. Gave him the emergency dose of 5ml. He spit a little up because it does taste nasty (I tried it). I also added a little honey to it. Anyway, he seems okay now, but only time will tell. I will keep you all posted and a big THANK YOU for this site and recommendations!

Replied by Cindi
(Oak Grove)
04/26/2017

Karen,

Wonderful news! Thanks for sharing.

If it happens again, you can probably dilute the 5ml in water before dosing to make it easier for your dog to take. Maybe 5ml of Apple Cider Vinegar and 30 ml of water...

Cindi

Replied by Sue
(Toronto)
05/09/2017

I have a now 5 month old cane corso who has had reoccuring bladder infections for a longggg time now. we have done the vet route several times, medications over and over again, and this morning she started squatting repeatedly. we are now going to try ACV and yogurt. Any suggestions on amounts for a large puppy (73 lbs). She is on a grain free kibble and also gets an immuno support and omega 3.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
05/09/2017

Hey Sue!

A few thoughts for you. Read the pages on ACV for dosing ideas. I tend to go heavy and hide it in canned tuna, while others have smaller doses in water. Chronic infections make me think your girl is constantly being exposed to something that disagrees with her. It may be helpful to have a log or journal and record everything she takes by mouth - all treats, chewies, and human food. Consider the grain free diet you are feeding may also be the culprit and consider changing protiens. So if you are feeding a chicken based diet try a beef based diet and give it 6 weeks while you record results. Also consider on a rotating basis alkalizing her drinking water with baking soda, and also Ted's Borax protocol for dogs - another water treatment. Finally consider her conformation - if she has an 'inny' vulva this may be something she has to out grow and innies usually resolve with the first heat cycle. Please keep us posted!

Replied by Debbie
(East Sussex Uk)
05/10/2017

It's important to get her PH levels right, using baking soda/bicarbonate of soda. If you look on here, you will get the information on that. If she's been having antibiotics, you will need to balance her gut flora. I would start giving her doses of colloidal silver. Daily. Again, info on here.

Replied by Ana
(New York)
05/17/2017
15 posts

Make sure you get her checked out for worms too, sometimes pups can get that and it just makes them pee more because they are sensitive to that, most importantly get your dog off of commercial dog food. Please see Dr Dobias (Canadian Veterinarian) for his products, articles and videos, also join their community. Feeding a dog raw especially for a puppy is crucially important, if you do research on the commercial food industry you will cringe that you allowed a bag of that food open in you home, I know I did and thus our journey to a better simpler life began for our dog and us, and it turns out its cheaper in more than one way and you get smaller less smelly poops and a happy healthy dog. To make the transition cook your food and mix it for 2-4 days there should be no issues, then just go full speed ahead with just cooked food, there are many support sites out there find a few and look at the reviews until you find what suits you.

A must have is Dr Pitcairn's (American Veterinarian) book(he will walk your through a lot of questions on feeding and illness), even the old version is priceless. As long as there is nothing medically wrong you should see a lot of improvements just with a diet change almost immediately, please get support for this and be patient. A vet you can talk to that is not trying to sell you their commercial dog food is so important, a holistic one is priceless but not so easy to find let alone afford. Good luck and do keep posting here, I find lots of great ideas and resources here.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Ceg (Pa) on 03/17/2017
 ★★★★★

My dog seemed to have a UTI or bladder infection (frequent urination, blood in the urine, etc.) Of course, these symptoms show at the start of a major blizzard...4' of snow and no plow on our road for 3 days. Needless to say, we could not get to the vet. Desperate, I searched for home remedies and found this site. Used 1 teaspoon of organic ACV twice a day. NO more signs of blood after first day, less frequent urine after day 2, totally back to normal by day 3. Thank you!

Replied by Chanel
(Buford, Ga)
02/02/2021

Music to a desperate fur mama's ears. My old baby girl (12/13yrs old she's a rescue) has been peeing pretty bloody for about two days now. Took her to a second opinion vet today and she had a good blood report, but her urine test wasn't so good. Bacteria and blood in the urine(obviously). We are going back Thursday morning for a sonogram to see if what the vet is seeing in her bladder is a clot or crystals.

She did send me two prescriptions and an anti inflammatory, but I would love to try adding the ACV to her water in addition.

Yalls thoughts?

Maggie
(Id)
07/31/2021
36 posts

Research D-Mannose and see if that's something that might work for you. It worked wonders for one of my dogs and it's easy to give.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by David10118 (Aubrey, Tx) on 01/23/2017
 ★★★★★

Our poodle mix Lola is experiencing a UTI that started last night. I just gave her some organic ACV mixed it in with about 4 oz of raw goats milk. Hollywood Feed and other holistic based stores will carry it. I'll see if it works for her. I can tell she's in pain and she's shaking. Her tail is between her legs as if she's quite uncomfortable. I fed it to her the last time she had a UTI along with the meds the vet gave me. She sprung back to herself within a few days. I'm hoping this works. The vet's bill was outrageous for the diagnosis.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Robynne (Frisco, Tx) on 08/28/2016
 ★★★★★

Although most of these posts under the topic appear older, last night I followed the advice of many dog owners who have posted about the wonderful effects of ACV for dogs with a UTI. I adopted 3 year-old sister Aussiedoodles 4 months ago. One of them has a hooded vulva, which unfortunately puts her at risk for UTI's. She had her first UTI within 2 weeks of adoption. Vomiting, frequent and bloody urine, licking her private area constantly, and lethargy were her symptoms. She spent a day at the vet with a IV because she couldn't hold anything down. The bill was $300.

Last night she started running around nervously, had to urinate frequently, and threw up. Of course it's Saturday night and the vet is not open on Sunday. I came to this website and felt it was my best option until I could get her to the vet. My husband is a physician and felt that trialing the ACV + yogurt could not hurt her. I used 1 tbsp ACV to 2 tbsp of plain yogurt for both dogs, who lapped it up immediately. I anticipated being up with her to address frequent urination and vomiting all night. My dog slept the whole night and no more vomiting. She lapped up her morning dose of ACV + yogurt and her grain free dog food. She has perked up today and is wagging her tail. Although she is not 100%, she certainly is much better and appears to be on her way to being well again. I must say I am pleasantly shocked that she is doing so well 12 hours later. Thank you Earth Clinic, you may have saved me a serious vet bill!

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Sherry (Venice, Fl) on 07/18/2016
 ★★★★★

My three yr old doxie mix had some blood in her urine. She's had bladder stones before that resulted in an expensive operation. Thinking it was either that (again) or a uti I started searching the internet for natural resources, because a expensive vet bill was just not in the card right now. I came upon this site, read many reviews, and started giving her ACV. WOW! In one day it was nearly cleared up. In two days, so far, I've seen no blood. Thank you all for the good advice!

Replied by Christie
(Ontario)
08/08/2016

I have my maltese on antibiotics for struvite kidney stones and a UTI infection. Just found this site and gave her some ACV. She didn't want to take it mixed in water or food, so I gave it to her straight with a syringe, followed by water and a raw treat for being so good. My question is should I be giving it to her while she's on an antibiotic or wait until she finishes her meds?

Replied by Suseeq
(Sydney Australia)
08/08/2016

Christie, it won't hurt.

Replied by Lisa
(Fl)
10/07/2017

Hi Sherry,

I have a pie bald doxie and she too has had the operation less than 10 mos. ago for bladder stones. I have had her on a raw diet and watch her weight and add a chicken or beef broth to her raw food along with ACV in the broth. I think its helping to impede the what I fear is some sort of genetic predisposition to stones. She is having some symptoms again like frequent urination and what appears to be longer attempts at peeing. Sometimes, like tonight her pee, she peeped in the house was VERY pungent and foul smelling. How is your dog doing now? Does anyone else have what appears to be development of recurrences of bladder stones. She's quite young --about 3 now(rescued at about age 1)and had the stones at about 2 so I fear this is kind of a congenital problem that will be a life long struggle.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Lori (Benicia, Ca) on 05/31/2016
 ★★★★★

I'm so glad I came upon your website. I have an almost 3 year old dog that had blood in her urine the other day. Although she didn't exhibit any other signs like straining, pain, etc. I knew I couldn't let this go. I can't afford to take her to the vet and ended up on the website. I tried 2 tablespoons of ACV mixed in boiled chicken and waited until she went on the pee pads. Not only was there no blood, she was comfortable urinating. Even though her urine is free of any blood, I'm going to continue with the ACV for a couple more days to be safe. Them goodness for your site, you probably saved me thousands of dollars I don't have. She would of had to be sedated prior to going as she is fear aggressive.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by San and Jack (Bath, Uk) on 05/27/2016
 ★★★★★

My 9 and a half year old golden retriever suddenly started weeing non stop - outside - crying and barking as he weed. - he was very unsettled indoors - crying and whining - I was v worried about him. - I knew that it was highly likely to be a UTI - he's had it once before and was treated with antibiotics. It was 7:30 in the evening - I came across this site and WOW - Apple cider vinegar worked amazing. - I used 2 heaped tablespoons of ACV and equal quantity of water pulled it up through a syringe and jetted it down his throat. (he would not eat it any other way) - I also gave him about 3 tablespoons of natural greek yogurt. Within 45 minutes he was not weeing constantly and settled. - He slept all through the night. I have given him the same dose this morn. He seems absolutely fine -however because its a bank holiday wknd - I have decided to take him to vet and get antibiotics as a standby.

Replied by Maggie
(Idaho)
08/11/2016
36 posts

You might try D-Mannose. After trying several of the remedies listed on Earth Clinic, including ACV, D-Mannose finally cleared up a UTI in my dog. It's not bitter so I just opened the capsule and mixed it with her food.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Kristen (Fl) on 05/09/2016
 ★☆☆☆☆

Was wondering if there is anything out there for my 15 pound dog who has a uti I can't get rid of. I have been using ACV and it not working . I did take her to vet they did all the test and no stones just UTI. I hate to put her back on antibiotics. Trying Nature's Way Kidney & Bladder. How about D-Mannose - can you give that to dogs?

Replied by Suseeq
(Sydney, Australia)
05/10/2016

Hi kristin, I looked in my notes for a answer that should help with your problem, 15 drops of each sarsaparilla, red clover and barberry orally twice a day for two weeks also a tablespoon cod liver oil, 1 teaspoon liquid vit c once per day. Good luck.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
05/10/2016

Hey Kristen!

You certainly can give D-mannose to dogs and some folks find it very helpful.

One other thing to consider is diet; a grain based diet has been linked to UTI's in pets. Please read your dog food label and check for corn and grains. If you see them in the ingredients it is time to change to a grain free brand as corn and grains may be the culprit.

Replied by Maggie
(Idaho)
08/11/2016
36 posts

D-Mannose worked for my dog. I tried the other remedies but they didn't work.


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