Apple Cider Vinegar

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Any opinions?

Apple Cider Vinegar for Dogs http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/acvfordogs.html

Every home with dogs should have apple cider vinegar. It's a remedy with multiple uses for dogs: alleviating allergies, arthritis, establishing correct pH balance. You can also give apple cider vinegar to cats and horses.

As written in an excellent, 1997 article by Wendy Volhard:

"...If your dog has itchy skin, the beginnings of a hot spot, incessantly washes its feet, has smelly ears, or is picky about his food, the application of ACV may change things around. For poor appetite, use it in the food - 1 tablespoon, two times a day for a 50 lb. dog. For itchy skin or beginning hot spots, put ACV into a spray bottle, part the hair and spray on. Any skin eruption will dry up in 24 hours and will save you having to shave the dog. If the skin is already broken, dilute ACV with an equal amount of water and spray on.

Taken internally, ACV is credited with maintaining the acid/alkaline balance of the digestive tract. To check your dog's pH balance, pick up some pH strips at the drug store, and first thing in the morning test the dog's urine. If it reads anywhere from 6.2 - 6.5, your dog's system is exactly where it should be. If it is 7.5 or higher, the diet you are feeding is too alkaline, and ACV will re-establish the correct balance.

If you have a dog that has clear, watery discharge from the eyes, a runny nose, or coughs with a liquid sound, use ACV in his or her food. One teaspoon twice a day for a 50 lb. dog will do the job.

After your weekly grooming sessions, use a few drops in his or her ears after cleaning them to avoid ear infections. Other uses for ACV are the prevention of muscle weakness, cramps, feeling the cold, calluses on elbows and hock joints, constipation, bruising too easily, pimples on skin surfaces, twitching of facial muscles, sore joints, arthritis and pus in the urine. There are also reports that it is useful in the prevention of bladder and kidney stones.

Fleas, flies, ticks and bacteria, external parasites, ring worm, fungus, staphylococcus, streptococcus, pneumococcus, mange, etc., are unlikely to inhabit a dog whose system is acidic inside and out. Should you ever experience any of these with your dog, bathe with a nice gentle herbal shampoo -- one that you would use on your own hair -- rinse thoroughly, and then sponge on ACV diluted with equal amounts of warm water. Allow your dog to drip dry. It is not necessary to use harsh chemicals for minor flea infestations. All fleas drown in soapy water and the ACV rinse makes the skin too acidic for a re-infestation. If you are worried about picking up fleas when you take your dog away from home, keep some ACV in a spray bottle, and spray your dog before you leave home, and when you get back. Take some with you and keep it in the car, just in case you need it any time. Obviously for major infestations, more drastic measures are necessary. ACV normalizes the pH levels of the skin, makes your dog unpalatable to even the nastiest of bacteria and you have a dog that smells like a salad, a small price to pay!"

Benefits to Using Apple Cider Vinegar for Your Dog's Health  

http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-to-Using-Apple-Cider-Vinegar-for...

I am sure you have heard of using apple cider vinegar for natural remedies in people, but have you heard of using it for your dog's health? Apple cider vinegar can help with digestion, gas, constipation, bladder stones, and urinary tract infections. It is used to deter insects such as mosquitoes, fleas and ticks. It can relieve skin conditions, and even take away the odor of skunk.

Many herbalists recommend the use of vinegar. It is recommended that you buy vinegar made from cold pressed, organically grown whole apples to get the benefit of the naturally occurring enzymes.

In it's natural form apple cider vinegar is a natural antibiotic, antiseptic, and deodorant. It helps to remove tooth tartar; prevents tooth decay and hair loss (even mange), prevents and heals gum disease.

Have I listed enough benefits to using apple cider vinegar, yet?

There are many other benefits to using apple cider vinegar. It is known to reduce common infections, aid whelping, improve stamina, prevent muscle fatigue after exercise, increase resistance to disease, and protect against food poisoning. Cider vinegar is rich in the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements found in apples, especially potassium; it normalizes acid levels in the stomach, improves digestion and the assimilation of nutrients, reduces intestinal gas and fecal odors, helps cure constipation, alleviates some of the symptoms of arthritis and helps prevent bladder stones and urinary tract infections.

You can feed apple cider vinegar daily to your dog to keep him healthy. Add to the food or water. You may need to gradually increase the amount. Start with a few drops and slowly increase each day until reaching the recommended daily dose below.

The approximate amounts recommended :

1 teaspoon - dogs up to 14 pounds 
2 teaspoon - medium dogs -15 to 34 pounds
1Tablespoon - large dogs-35 to 84 pounds

By mixing in the food or water of your dog, apple cider vinegar will restore the acid/alkaline balance of his digestive tract, getting rid of the brown spots in the lawn. A correct PH balance also helps keep away the fleas, black flies, ticks, and other external parasites. Your dog will have less chance of getting ringworm, staph infections, streptococcus, and mange. If your dog already has these problems sponge your dog's skin with a mixture of equal parts of apple cider vinegar with equal amounts of warm water. If you prefer, you can use this mixture in a spray bottle to thoroughly wet your dog.

A NOTE OF CAUTION: Do not use apple cider vinegar if your dog is sensitive or allergic to yeast or if he has a chronic yeast infection. Also, do not give to dogs with irritated intestines.

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Me neither:) Thank Doodle for Google! We started with hairspray but that didn't work as well a expected so we searched again and the key ingredient to work was alcohol. So I grabbed the next closest thing that I had.

[Kyoko]

I have to go get some! Sounds like a miracle solution to me !

[F, Calla & Luca]

Don't believe it for a minute!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Don't have the energy right now to debunk specific claims but just enough to say hooey for sure. Here's an old article from Newsweek but unless things have changed a lot from 2007 or dogs are completely different from humans just add the vinegar to your salad. Also, I have very hard well water and plain old vinegar is great for cleaning the hard water stains. I personally would not add vinegar to my dogs water or mine for that matter. I do wish people would stop trying to change the pH of the dog's blood, it's very well controlled by the dog's own metabolism or you have one sick pup. Changing the pH of urine, unless for a very specific reason such as renal stones, is also a bad idea. Yes acidifying the ear canal can be helpful for yeast infections but I would recommend a good commercial product for most of us.
http://www.newsweek.com/2007/04/30/apple-cider-vinegar.html

[Kami Allen]

I put a capfull of apple cider vinegar in my dogs water bowl everyday with her fresh new water. Our breeder told us to do this and I just recently heard that it also keeps from killing the grass where your dog pees. She doesn't seem to notice the difference between regular water and one with apple cider vinegar.

[Ann]

I don't know about the other claims, I have not done enough research to make any comments , but I have cleaned my doodles ears with it for 3 years with great results.

[F, Calla & Luca]

And that's exactly the kind of thing it's good for although you could use plain vinegar too. Acidifying the ears helps keep fungi at bay. But this is not a magical but a real benefit.

[T. Byrne]

ACV definitely made my Goldendoodles hair easier to comb out of a bath. If I don't give her an ACV rinse, her long hair just clumps together after a bath. My boyfriend hates the smell, but I swear she likes the stuff on her, because she does a little happy dance when she sees the bottle (unlike the with the soap). Maybe it's just 'cause she knows bath time is almost over. ;) 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

How strange that this 2 year old discussion has popped up again.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Some discussions are zombies : )

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I noticed the use of the word Hooey. Is "hooey" the old "hokum"? lol.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

F is rationing her "Hokums" now.....LOL!!