Replied By Joyce (Brookings, OR) on 02/15/2009
My yorkie has been suffering with a skin condition since getting fleas about a year ago. She wakes us up almost every night moaning as she rubs her back against whatever she can rub it on until areas are sore or inflamed. I found this site last night while researching her condition and just a bit ago tried the ACV. I used a dilution of 1 part ACV to 3 parts water in a spray bottle and sprayed it on her after her bath ( I bathed her with Relief shampoo and let it sit about 5 minutes) as she has always had sensitive skin and reacts adversely to most shampoos. She had one area on her back in particular that she had rubbed until it was inflamed and had a few small sores, which is also why I used a 1:3 dilution. Anyway, I blotted off the excess water after her bath, but she was still quite wet, and started spraying her. Almost immediately she started trembling and I started to notice that a few of the worst spots in the inflamed area were exuding a white foam - similar to what an open sore looks like when you put hydrogen peroxide on it. I grew immediately concerned with the foaming and her (by this time) almost violent trembling, and quickly rinsed off the ACV mixture, blotted her wet coat with a towel and blew her dry. She did not stop trembling until I she was dry and I applied a Tea Tree and E Antispetic cream that i have been using with some success to treat open sores. itching. She seems fine now, and the reaction doesn't seem to have been allergenic, but the area is still somewhat inflamed. My concern is that the ACV, even with a 1:3 dilution, burned her skin. Before applying the cream, the skin in the inflamed area was clearly worse - course and puffy - so now I'm a little hestitant to use it again. In reading some of the other comments, it sounded like some people just spray it on their dogs when they are dry - and used it when their dogs had sores and inflamations...I really wanted - NEEDED - this to work but...does anyone have any insight to offer? Should I dilute it further next time? Should I have not allowed the shampoo to sit for 5 minutes (your supposed to leave it on for 10)? HELP!Replied By genla (Baton Rouge, La) on 07/30/2009
Pls try for topical use on itchy paws or hot spots Burrows solution wish i could give the brand name.You can buy in the astringent section of your drug store. It is powder u mix with water. You can place paws in solution in bowl long enough to get wet or pour on hot spot or apply solution with saturated cotton ball. It doesn't sting!!! MIRACLE my vet gave me this cure about 14yrs ago (before anibiotics and steroids took over) for my Great Pyrenees that had a huge hot spot - dried it up in a day or so. Also great for people for poison ivy!
EC: More info about Burrow's solution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burow's_solution
Replied By Megan (Warner Robins, Ga) on 10/29/2009
This message is for Joyce. If ACV will burn your stomach if you have an ulcer, I am sure it would burn an open sore on the skin, though I would not want to find out. Try healing the sores from the inside first by starting out with a very tiny amount either in their water or food, by tiny like 1/4 teaspoon for one or two days. Increase from there to what the recommended dose is. I am not sure but my dogs are 50 & 100lbs so I use 1 tablespoon/day with them. Smaller dogs I am sure do not need so much. Once the sores are healed on the skin then you can do the spray treatment if needed.Replied By Minpinlover (Chicago, Il Usa) on 05/15/2013
ACV is a mild antibiotic/antiseptic/antifungal solution. The foaming from your dogs sores was probably the ACV cleaning out the infection. ACV really helps when you are trying to fight off infection. Even in humans :)Replied By Linda (Clearlake, Calif.) on 07/03/2013
I don't understand so many people having flea problems. I have two dogs, live in a highly infested flea area, but we have no fleas. I use, on a monthly basis, year around, " Revolution", which is a drop you get from your vet, which also keeps the heart worms away, which is caused from mosquitos. you use the drop by putting it on between their shoulder blades. My younger dog does get an itchy problem when the weather turns hot, even though I keep them in out of the heat, his skin still suffers. I have tried the vinegar just today, I hope that works. Thanks for the advice. I know that Apple cider vinegar is good for many things. LindaReplied By Word-to-the-Wise (California) on 09/23/2013
Do not, under any circumstances, take Linda from Clearlake's advice and use "Revolution" or "Advantage" or similar flea products on your pet, unless you want to kill both the fleas and your pet. These drops are extremely toxic chemicals, quite literally neurotoxins. Fleas are robust, it takes a strong poison to kill them quickly, and guess what? While that poison usually doesn't kill your pet immediately, it will kill them over time. Luckily for the companies that sell these products, people can't make a connection between using these products and their pet dropping dead or dying from cancer a few years later. Anyone smart enough to be using EarthClinic should be smart enough to know this.Replied By Lou (South Africa) on 12/10/2016
You must never use the ACV on broken or inflamed skin.Replied By Rhonda (Cartersville, Ga) on 10/04/2017
Did u use the natural Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother in it? Don't know if makes a diff. But I use organic and raw brand apple cider vinager only. Hope it helps.