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Julie (Texas) on 04/04/2017:
I had a bad response to an apple cider vinegar rinse with my Westie. He has a black yeasty skin issue that many of his breed have as well as flea bite allergies. I diluted the apple cider vinegar more than 50% as a precaution and used this very dilute solution after his bath as a rinse.
Immediately he began to cry, shake, and almost convulse due to the intense discomfort. I rinsed him thoroughly with water for several minutes and dried him off all the while he trembled and whimpered.
It took minutes for him (and me) to calm down and he was extra itchy for hours afterwards. Luckily there seemed to be no lasting harm.
There was no evidence of open wounds, broken skin, or even red color on his skin or I would not have tried this. I believe that since his skin was irritated it had lost its natural protection to the acid solution, even though it was very dilute. I had researched using apple cider vinegar before trying this and never found someone with a negative reaction.
We get some relief for him using a Tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner baths every other day and follow with a rinse of chlorohexidine to prevent infections from developing. (you can easily find this as a concentrate and mix it yourself) We also make our dog's food in order to control exactly what goes in there.
Good luck everyone with your little loves. I am posting my negative experience on every website/blog I can to try and save someone else the horrible response we endured with apple cider vinegar. Not saying it can't help some, or that my dog's response is typical, but those who have dogs with sensitive skin should not use this topically.
My black lab has been itching and scratching constantly. Tonight when I was brushing him is when I noticed the scabs on his skin (they were hidden well). I finally went and bought some ACV that my co-worker recommended and diluted half with water. I sprayed all over his coat and immediately it took effect. Right now he is snoring next to me. This is the first time in a while that this dog has not been scratching constantly. Wish I would have done this as soon as I found out about it but I was thinking allergy pills would solve the issue.
I am a firm believer that ACV is the answer for all skin issues!
I just mixed some ACV 50/50 mix and sprayed it on my Blue Pit (King) and I took him outside to use the bathroom and he went nuts trying to get it off him. He was rolling around all over the ground trying to get it off. Is that normal with a first treatment?
I have heard of many things over the years, but when I read this I said DAAA! Apple cidar vinegar hyas been in the house for years. I have told my son to use this on his lab-chow. She has had the earmites and I just think of nothing. Thank you for making me remember the old days and the things the old farmers used to use. Rosie will be feeling better in just a few days. I have faith in this one.
I have an american bulldog that has had skin and mostly foot allergies for the past 2 years. Spent $$$ on antibiotics and vet bills, that no sooner do I fix one then the next lot crops up. I figured that Apple cider viniger has worked for my gout and cold sores (that I don't get anymore) that I would start feeding it to him. He's a big dog so I give him about 3 tablespoons in his food every night. Been 5 weeks now and his feet are in great condition.
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!
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
I recently viewed your sit and the Apple Cider Vinegar cured my cocker, Casey, skin enormously. I used this on Casey and after about 3 days I noticed that his skin was healed and his coat was healthy and shiny. This has done wonders for us. I sprayed ACV diluted with equal amounts of water on Caseys coat every morning for 3 consecutive days. Casey is now a healthier dog.
I have a Pitbull 18 mos and he has been very itchy since i got him. He always was licking his feet, and always getting yeast infections in his ear. Someone at the dog park suggested the vinegar thing and I came home and tried it that day and he has not licked his feet in probably a week now! I couldn't be happier with the results :)
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.
The Apple Cider Vinegar remedy for a severe skin rash on my 10yr old cocker spaniel worked wonders. For weeks, I had tried everything, from Benadryl cream, to the tablets, to Tea Tree Oil and all methods did nothing, short of making it worse. My dog (who sleeps with me sometimes or at the foot of the bed) would awaken in the middle of the night scratching like a maniac, of course breaking my rest, because I would arise to put more Benadryl or Tea Tree Oil on the sores and she would still find no peace. Today, I said enough and went online to find a cure. A health nut that I am, I noticed there was something about ACV and so I tried it on her, in her bath. I had heard that Dawn dish liquid works wonderfully to ward off fleas and ticks (as I had used it in the past and continued to do so), so I bathed her in the Dawn with ACV in her water; within five minutes after her bath, she was sleeping and snoring, peacefully, and did so for four hours without one scratching episode. Now our home is peaceful again. Because she has scabs from enduring this mess for weeks,which were opened when the scrathing worsened and some wounds are open, I keep the ACv mixed with water in a spray bottle and when necessary, give her a little spray, which is not often. I also add it, now, to her dry food, to keep the acidity out of her urine, too. Thank you to everyone who shared their testimony and for the Earth Clinic for helping us help our children. Will air it on my radio program for other pet owners. Hugs to everyone and thanks a million.
Jack, my beagle mix, had some bug bites(fur was sticking up) on his head last week and itched them to an open sore. I found this site, read up upon ACV and within 2 days his sores and bites went completely away. Now he has a little scab on it. I was just amazed how this remedy worked. Now I'm trying it on my beagle/dach. mix, Bailey. She's gets these ear rashes/infections often, I'm hoping ACV will work miracles for her too. Thanks again!!
My 8 month old dachshund has really bad skin allergies and sores that just wouldn't 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.
I tried ACV in my 4.5 lb. Chihuahua's food for itchy feet and skin and have had super success. She doesn't lick or bite at her feet near as much and her scratching is minimal. It's great! I give her 1/4 of a teaspoon, twice a day with her food.
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