There is a great (old) book extolling the effects of ACV, honey, garlic, etc. and their benefits to us, and a wide variety of animals. I'm not sure if it can still be purchased, but it is so worth it! If anyone would like the title, I can check on it later today or tomorrow.
Incidentally, years ago I was part of a Cairn Terrier rescue group. Rather than giving itchy, dry skin dogs frequent baths, they recommended dusting them with Gold Bond powder and gently working that in. Also, it was suggested that itchy dogs and those that chew their skin be sprayed with equal parts of Listerine and water ... very soothing. ACV, being more natural, that the Listerine, would IMO be a better choice. (I don't have a bottle handy, but I would think Listerine has sugar as an ingredient.)
Lola (Australia ) on 10/27/2015:
Ok, so my poor pooch has terrible allergies, which we have been trying to solve for the last 3 years. With constant visits to the vet for allergy shots, steroids and anti bacterial tablets, nothing has worked. The steroids have made her lethargic and constantly hungry and thirsty, and I really don't want to continue with them as I see no improvement. I have recently found this site, so as a last resort, and from much research on the subject, I have decided to try an holistic approach, to help my poor girl.
I have changed her diet, to totally grain free, making my own dog food, with fresh meat and vegetables, small amounts of turmeric and garlic. I have read it can be quite common for dogs to have an allergy to chicken, so my plan is to try only beef for one week, then only lamb for one week and so on, to see if she improves on a certain diet and then stick to that one. I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on that?
I give her some yogart every day which she loves. Also a bath in ACV, and non scented baby bath, which seems to stop her itching her feet, which is a terrible problem, she bites them constantly, and they are very red and sore, most of the time. I have tried the ear wash of ACV, she hates it, but after a few minutes, she seems to calm down, and I have found it helps.
I really feel she is improving, but we still have a long way to go, to getting her 100 percent.
I will let you know how she goes.
Christy (Fair Oaks, Ca) on 08/11/2011:
I just wanted to say that I have a shit-zu that I got when she was 1&1/2.she was surrenderd due to allergies. Thoughout the years I tried EVERYTHING... Every quality food and even things made with a novel protien source like kangaroo and bush baby. she would either have a reaction within a few hours or be ok for a couple days then really react bad. I have even made her food myself from things like goat. Like most others here docs always just said its allergies. So we do the whole protocal of meds. Allergies would always come back.
I think she has been doing the yougert/probiotic and Apple Cider Vinegar spray on her coat for a week now and shes a different dog. Shes ALWAYS had hot spots and flaky skin with sores on it. And her skin was always red like a tomato and hot, now it alsmost as pale as mine!!! No flakes, no sores. I have her on nonstarchy veggies & olive oil right now with calcium added and in another week I will try a high quality single source food and see how she does. Its such a relief to see her enjoy her life and not just itch/scratch and chew herself raw. I AM SO ANGRY THAT NO VET EVER KNEW ABOUT YEAST!!!
I am going to print out the info here and take her to see her vet to get groomed in a few weeks and show them how great she looks. She has almost died twice from alleregy meds like atopica and ketochenazole(spelled phoneticly) and to think it was all needless. I aslo soak her feet in epsom salts and baking soda mix every other day for 10 min. I thought id do this since her feet were always the worst. Then I spray the acv/h2o mixture on her and just rub it in. Aslo im bathing her in tea tree shampoo since its anti fungal(once a week bath).
Oh and that site the great dane lady has a homemade remedy for ear that sounds great and I will be using that soon. Just google great dane lady and you will find her. She has a whole protocal for the yeast thing and tells you what veggies and meats are ok to use and which ones arent. She also says the thyroid need to be tested since they cant get over the yeast if their thyriod messed up. I am sooo greatful for this site. My molly has suffered all her life-shes 14 now, and now she can have some itch free years. She seems perkier and more spunky too after staring this protocal.
Pete (Union Beach, Nj) on 01/24/2011:
Try a raw food diet ex. BARF, your dog's allergies will subside and overall health will improve. I have a black lab who has Allergies, the meds the vet gave didn't work. Someone suggested a Raw food diet, my dog has never been healthier... No more scratching or sores, small stool and a shiny coat. Just read up on it before you decide to do it.
Or go grain free... not as good as raw but a better alternative than reg dog food.
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Rob (Myrtle Beach, Sc) on 08/25/2009:
i think this site is greattt. our 8 yr old schnauser has been scratching so much the people downstairs could hear the thumps he made under the bed. his (un)favorite passtime is scratching and chewing himself raw,anywhere and everywhere on his body. if you were to talk to him, he would tell you that he is notttt a dog. he thinks hes a human. he hasnt touched anything hangin around on the floor since he was a puppy---the house could have no floor space with junk all over it(which it doesnt) but if it did, he wouldnt touch it. he only plays with or chews his stuff. but when our son talked nasty to him., he ferreted out our sons favorite toy, chewed it up, walked over to our son, got his attention, dropped the chewed toy, gave our son a look that said take that!, and walked slowly away while our son screamed and cryed because his favorite toy was soo chewed up beyond recognition. i told my son how sorry i was but that titan was telling him too: respect me! do not yell at me. people say dogs dont have a revenge streak--i say bull! yes they do. needless to say our son hasnt yelled at titan in 4yrs. this is a dog who will find a pill on the floor and come get me to pick it up(he wont touch it). this lil schnauser never sniffs people except for their feet, but when he sniffs you, then you better get to the doctors right away. he kept sniffing my chest(and like i said he never sniffs people) and less than a week later, i had pertussis. he started sniffing my sons groin area, the next night my son complained of pain in that area---he had a bladder infection. titan started sniffing my husband, and my husband had a kidney stone attack a couple days later. he is a veryyyy intellegent dog. if the cat gets out of the house, he comes and tells us. when my daughter was a teenager and tryed to sneak out of her bedroom window in the middle of the night way down the hall he told us. anyway, you can see hes a special lil part of family. anywayyy i tryed everything for his itching. you name it , i tryed it. nothing worked., but this afternoon after reading your site. i gave him a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar with the mother--the good stuff. and lo and behold--- after about 15 minutes----hes quiet and relaxed sitting there like he owns the place--as usual lol buttt with noooo scratching. i have to say, i cant believe it, acv actually worked when all the vitamins,minerals, drugs ,cremes etc didnt. nowww if someone can pleaseee tell me how to get him from running out the door when we open it, i wont have any problems with him. he got a lil certificate from a training school yrs ago, but when he got home, it was like---im home now so i can do what i want. hes veryyy well trained, but racing out of the house when the door is open has become a real problem--any suggestions for a frustrated owner and a schnauser who thinks hes a human???? againnnn thank you!!!! for this site
EC: What an amazing dog! Thank for these great stories!
Deb (Harrisburg, Pa) on 08/19/2009:
ACV is wonderful! My Shih Tzu was suffering with his allgeries this year. He lost all the hair off his ears. It must be the new area I am living in. A new hot spot was breaking out everyday. Well, I gave him a bath, then used 1 cup of ACV to a gallon of water.
He slept peacefully that night. Since then I have applied a half and half mixture of water and ACV using a spray bottle on his hot spots and around his ears. The areas of his skin are almost healed. I could not beleive how fast it took after the bath.
I tried using the spray mixture a day or two befor the bath, that did not have the same affect. Be sure to bath the dog first using the ACV mix last then rinse it off.
I am still spraying him every day. He doesn't really like it especially. But all the redness has left.
I am recommending this site to all my friends!
I also tried another remedy that worked for dog coughs, 1 tbl honey, 3 drops of peroxide and 1 cup of water. the cough vanished.
Sandy (Belmont, North Carolina) on 07/31/2009:
I've tried everything for my Yorkies, they scratch & bite all over all day, I've tried Tea tree oil with some help, but Now I Have Found the REMEDIE!!!!
Give you dog a bath with a good shampoo, put it on washcloth, thats makes it great for washing, face, belly, butts, they will love it. Then rinse, condition if needed, rinse again with clean warm water, make sure to rinse, belly, feet, and botton well, don't leave standing dirty water in bath on feet.let water run out of tub.
Then take a CUP & 1/2 of apple cider vinegar in a gallon of clean warm water, it might take more than a gallon, mix correct, rinse all areas,don't forget feet, try not to get in eyes, this will stop RED SPOTS, SCRATCHING & BITING FEET. Plus will make coat soft & shiney. Plus mix a spray bottle,1/2 ACV & 1/2 Water, to spray if itching between baths!!!!
afghanhound911 (San Francisco, CA) on 06/25/2009:
We have had a horrible case of the itchy witchies this allergy season. Everyone of our guys has been itching, scratching and all have flakey skin and 2 have had chronic ear infections.
First I tried switching their diet to a high quality non grain food, no luck. I then found a site that recommended rinsing in a 50% water & 50% Raw Apple Cider Vinegar solution. I first bathed them with an Aloe and Tea Tree shampoo followed with the rinse (leaving on for approx 5 min) rinse well and apply an oatmeal conditioner (again, rinse well).
After the first bath we had some residual flaking but less itching. We repeated the proceedure 2 weeks later and I am happy to say that the flakiness is all gone and itching is minimal. In addition we are now feeding a white fish & sweet potatoe kibble supplemented with extra virgin olive oil.
For the first time in MONTHS, we are one big happy itch free family!
Kristen (Oklahoma City, OK) on 06/09/2009:
To Gloria from San Antonio - I know the chances are slim that you will see this, but I put ACV on my chihuahua's neck twice a day and it has greatly helped her eye allergies!! It's not a total cure all, but it has provided her so much relief. I'm a believer! View Entire Thread
Liz (Melbourne, Florida USA) on 04/30/2009:
Apple Cider Vineger and dog allerigies: I have a 6 year old beagle mix that has been dealing with allergies for as long as I've had him. I have taken him to the vet several times, spent tons of money on shampoos, sprays, creams, special food and NOTHING has helped. I came across this website and it suggested using Apple Cider Vinegar for hot spots and allergies. I thought, "why not?" and tried it on Baxter. I used an old water bottle (12 oz) and filled it half with water and half with ACV. I took a few paper towels, soaked it and started wiping Baxter down. Within minutes, he stopped itching and he has been able to rest and not scratch all the time. Thank you SO much for this amazing advice! Baxter is no longer miserable and when he's happy, I'm happy, and so is my wallet!
Marya OBrien (Abington, Massachusetts) on 10/17/2008:
Hi, I've been giving my 2 yr. old shih tzu the _____'s Organic ACV for almost 2 weeks now for his constant itching and licking of his paw. Unfortunately I haven't seen any major improvement. I don't think his itch is any less than when we first started giving him the acv. I've read testimonials on this site swearing by the product's wonder medicine for their pet's allergy. My question is how long will it take before the acv actually works for him. I've been spraying it on his skinlike the article suggested-where he always scratches but to it doesn't seem to hhelp. I'm hopeful it will eventually heal his allergy however I need to know how much longer will it take. I put it in his food too.Hope to hear from you soon regarding this matter.
From a desperate puppy mom,
Marya O'Brien
Steve (Murray, KY) on 10/09/2008:
After reading the articles about dogs scratching and chewing their feet, I read over and over about using apple cider vinegar as a spray. I was at the point i had to try something, I tried a 50 50 acv and water and also within the first hour i saw results, i use it now at least one time a day and sometimes two, my dobhie/lab mix has been chewing and scratching for 3 years and this is the best i have seen her, i have made numerous visits to the vet, shots and have been giving all sorts of pills i do believe this has given her more relief than anything. i started also about 3 weeks ago giving her a fish oil capsule 2 times a day. pleae if anyone has a problem try the ACV/water solution for your dogs sake. thanks for all the folks who recomended this. from the bluegrass state
Virginia (Cushing, OK) on 08/07/2008:
FLEAS/TICKS and ACV: Full Strength ACV on dog that was scratching constantly. His hair under his tail and on his abdomen had a red tint to it (he is white) and I am not sure it wasn't some kind of mange problem too since it had a terrible odor which wasn't helped by bathing. After spraying him down with full strength ACV the odor dissipated and his scratching has stopped. I sprayed him for 3 consecutive days at first but skip a day or two now. Thank you for saving me a vet bill...
Nadia (Brooklyn, NY) on 08/03/2008:
Apple cider vinegar should not be used if a yeast allergy is present! This is obvious in retrospect because yeast is used to ferment the apple cider.
I introduced this to my dog by adding 1/2 mL of organic apple cider vinegar to his food on the first day and 1 mL on the second day, and rather than relieving his mild allergy symptoms it induced a full allergy attack (head to toe hot, pink, itchy skin, severely itchy paws, ears, and muzzle).
Linda (Miramichi, Canada) on 07/10/2008:
My little Venus has been going nuts with itching and biting..had 2 spots size of toonies on her rump..one with a scab, one with hair off and bald. She is on a regime from vet for fleas etc. In desperation, one hot day I sprayed apple cider vinegar and water {half and half}all over her skin and especially on those 2 spots. She stopped scratching for about an hour and a half. So we now put 5 ml/ 1 tsp. mixed with a tsp/ water in a 5 ml. syringe and shoot it into her mouth once a day. She wouldn't eat if we put it in food or drinking water. VOILA!!! NO MORE ITCHING AND BITING
Lauren (Norridge, IL) on 04/22/2008:
I can't thank you enough for your remedy on your website. My Yorkie has been suffering on and off, mostly on, with smelly, itchy, swollen feet. I've tried everything....medicinal sprays, ointments, special shampoos, socks, washing with and hairdryer on low, antibiotic, and the list goes on.
In desperation, I searched various website, but (they are mostly selling something) and found yours. Your suggestion (simple and safe) I thought so I tried it. It was 2:30 in the morning when I found your remedy, and wouldn't sleep anyway for the licking, licking he was doing only making it worse and throwing up from all the medication he licked off when he pulled the socks off. I had some Acv in the pantry. I dissolved 1/4 cup in pint of water. I first washed and rinsed squeaky clean what was left on his feet from medication. I held his paws over the sink and poured the solution on his feet one-by-one. I could actually see the inflammation disappearing and the swelling going down. Could this be possible!? Am I seeing things I want to see and believe this will work! You bet it did!!!! I put some Acv dissolved in water in a spray bottle just in case he starts licking again.
He hasn't and slept through the night. Me, too.
I am very grateful and wish i found your site sooner. Needless to say, I'm happy and so is my Yorkie and I can't thank you enough!
Debra (Salem, NY) on 03/02/2008:
Apple cider vinegar is helping myold cat with her scratching and digging - she was just raw from all this - I was at my wits end - had tried everything, including the steriod and antibiotic treatments to no avail.... she is healing! I am also putting some in the dogs water :) They are drinking it too - Red (the cat) also gets it dabbed on her raw spots - within two treatments I began to see a difference. She licked and chewed so much, she constantly threw up most of her food - she is now happier and so are we! Thanks
Jill (Dania Beach, FL) on 02/07/2008:
After using ACV in a spray bottle only once so far, I have already seen results greater than the last 2 months of using Diphenhydramine for itching! Although not completely gone, I believe both dogs slept soundly last night whereas since this all began they'd be up biting and licking and scratching. They won't go anywhere near the Emergen-C, and I sneaked a capful on ACV in their drinking water but they're staying away from that too.
Arif Jinha (Carleton Place, Canada) on 01/29/2008:
Our cat was suffering from raw patches of skin and loss of fur, and one spot that likely started from scratches from the other two cats that she had licked raw to the point that it was a scarlet red wound, slightly crusted with a lot of hair loss. We used a few drops in the water, and sponged the affected areas with ACV. In less than two days, we are happy to say her skin is healing, her coat is healthier-looking and the bad scratch has begun to heal, no more brigh red. miraculous! I tried to find any journal articles from peer-reviewed veterinary medicine journals but could not! We were even advised by a pharmacist that using ACV was a silly idea. This has convinced me that we really have a problem in the way traditional science evaluates these remedies. So many anecdotes of success, but researchers ignore it! thanks!!
Colleen (Pinetown, South AFrica) on 01/01/2008:
ACV CURED MY DOGS OF SCRATCHING THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for a wonderful site. I'm a Yorkie mom, who dreamed of having a Yorkie with a show coat. My two babies scratch so much that they have severly damaged their coats, and I'd all but given up on ever having long-haired Yorkies. That's till I doscovered this site. Last night, I bathed both my babies and used ACV in the final rinse water, and within 15 minutes I noticed a marked reduction in the scratching. Within the hour, the scratching had diminised by about 80%. Tonight I bathed they again, using ACV in the final rinse water, and the scratching has completely stopped. I was not sure what quantity to use, so I used 2 tot measures in about 2 litres of water. What a miracle find. By the way, the scratching was NOT as a result of fleas, as I spend a small fortune at the vet each month to keep the fleas under control, but if ACV helps with that too, then I'll be saving so much money. I've also read on your site that ACV promotes hair growth, so who knows, I may have a show-coat Yorkie after all. Furthermore, their coats are shining like mirrors!!! This truly is an amazing find, and I'm so grateful for your site and the information contained therrein. Thanks again for a wonderful site, and keep up the good work.
Carrie (Pittsburgh, PA) on 12/06/2007:
Every winter (once we turn on the furnace) my cat suffers from constant scratching. It has gotten to the point that he scratches all his hair off his neck and he has scabs all over the area. He does not have fleas. I have tried every pet spray, wipes, drops there is. I did not want to take him to the vets, only because to him, it is tramatic and I can't stand to see this cat act like he does at the vets, and I did not want him to be on any steroid treatment. So looking on the web one night hoping to find a "miracle" for this cats condition, I stumbled across something about apple cider vinegar. I decided I would try it, what could it hurt? I decided to put a few drops in his water and mark his water bowl to see if he drank any. I was never so excited when I came home from work and found out that not only did he drink some of his water, but the scratching and CONSTANT licking has stopped!!! I came home to a very playful, happy cat. I am thankful I read about apple cider vinegar. Don't be afraid to try it.....it really works and its very safe to use on animals!!!!
Grace Wahlman (Chester, Illinois, USA) on 08/28/2007:
After reading about Apple Cider Vinegar as a remedy on your site, I started given it to my Boxer, Peaches, who has had recurring allergies and skin rashes...I noticed a marked improvement in less than a week... I also give it to the Lab, Sadie, just because, and her coat has improved tremendously and she doesn't shed nearly as bad.. I have recommended ACV to many people and 99% have been helped... Thanks so much for posting this info.
Ann (Victoria, Australia) on 07/28/2007:
I used acv after reading about it on the website and my doggie who was suffering from terrible skin problems, started looking so good, her hair was growing , there was no more scratching. She is looking great. All the medications never brought her to full recovery but acv is just great and has done so much good for my doggie.Thank you so much.
Helen (Long Island, NY) on 01/21/2007:
I tried Margaret's remedy of ACV and water on my cocker spaniel's feet and it is working. Thank you.
Margaret (Northern Ireland) on 05/04/2006:
My Female Kerry Blue has been constantly licking and biting her feet particularly in between her paws for over a year now. Her pads were red raw and sometimes she found it difficult to walk she had so much pain, I had been to the Vets 4 or 5 times with her, injections, antibotics, creams, shampoos, allergy tests etc, and she still continued to eat them. I discovered this website for Apple Cider Vinegar and went out straight away to get some , I put some into a spray bottle and sprayed her feet every morning and evening and like a miracle she has stopped completely, ( within 2 days!!). Her little paws are completely dry now and she is so happy - a completely different dog. I cannot recommend this product enough - it has done wonders for my dog.
