Apple Cider Vinegar for Dogs

Apple Cider Vinegar is used around the world for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways. Here we look at why use apple cider vinegar on dogs. We detail all the different methods and processes it can be used in to help maintain your dog’s health and well being.

Why Use Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) For Dogs

Apple Cider Vinegar has been seen to improve the health of both dogs and humans – though the actual research that has been conducted on the substance remains scientifically inconclusive. However, in real life, results are consistently seen by ardent users of the vinegar and sometimes those results are hard to refute.

It is always worth giving Apple Cider Vinegar a try as it can help support more traditional medicine if you have an issue with your dog.

How To Use Apple Cider Vinegar With Your Dog Everyday

Given that Apple Cider Vinegar has not been scientifically proven to help dogs in all manner of ways‍, there is not a hard and fast rule as to how to use it everyday with your dogs. Often, dog owners simply add some of the substance to a dog’s water bowl so that they ingest it and start to feel the benefits in their gut.

The amount you should add to a dog’s water bowl obviously varies according to the size of your pooch. A general rule of thumb is that one teaspoon to a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar is suitable for a dog who weighs in at around 50 pounds. Dog owners should never put undiluted Apple Cider Vinegar on a dog’s food.

However, when you first start adding Apple Cider Vinegar to your dog’s food, ensure that you do so gradually. This means starting with just a tablespoon in a totally full dog water bowl and work up from there every third day or so. This means that Apple Cider Vinegar novices will circumvent a couple of problems that can occur when introducing the liquid to a dog’s diet. Firstly, due to the strange new taste of the vinegar in their water, owners ensure that by slowly adding it, they don’t put their dog off from drinking water entirely. Secondly, if the vinegar does not agree with your dog and his or her gut for any reason, there won’t be a strong inadvertent reaction.

Related Posts: Dry Dog Food and Wet Dog Food

Uses

There are many varied reasons why Apple Cider Vinegar is so beloved by dog owners. It’s one of those cupboard staples that when you start using it, you won’t be able to stop!

• Dog Shampoos and Dog Ear Cleaner

Other than ingesting it for help with the digestive system, Apple Cider Vinegar can actually be used as one of the best dog shampoos and one if the best dog ear cleaners on the market. All owners need to do is make up a solution that is one half water, one half apple cider vinegar and use it to rinse a dog’s coat and ears (with a cotton swab) after they have had a bath. It’s a great shampoo as it removes all soap residue that is left on your dog as well as being brilliant at relieving dandruff that comes from itchy skin. The final result is that owners have a dog that has a wonderful shiny and soft coat.

If your dog really suffers from dandruff, try using the solution on your pooch just before you bathe him or her. All you need to do is rub it into their skin and see the fantastic results for yourself.

If you want to use Apple Cider Vinegar in this way, ensure that you do a small spot test on your dog 24 hours before you do the actual treatment so you can be certain they won’t have an allergic reaction.

• Dog Hot Spot Treatment

The reason that Apple Cider Vinegar is one of the best dog hot spot treatments is that it is the perfect antidote to give as it provides a cooling effect. Because of this, it is not only one of the best dog hot spot treatments around it is also an option for bruises or burns. As it has a slightly acidic pH, it can sting when you first apply it, so either dilute it or just use care and caution when applying it to any open wounds.

• Dog Flea Treatment

All dogs suffer from fleas, but unfortunately the only solution is often deemed to be one using harsh chemicals and drugs. Apple Cider Vinegar can offer a solution as the best dog flea treatment however if you are looking for a chemical free answer. Fleas simply do not like the taste or smell of the solution so if you apply it to your dog’s cost after a bath, it can help prevent a mass infestation of them – particularly during the flea season.

Take a look at our articles on the Best Essential Oils for Fleas on Dogs, Best Flea Spray and Best Flea Collars for Dogs.

• Dog Odor Eliminator

Other than the fact that Apple Cider Vinegar cleans your dog’s coat better than most dog shampoos out there, it is also the best dog odor eliminator due to the fact that it helps a dog’s digestive system.

We’ve all been sitting next to a dog that has eaten something it should not have, only for it to repeat on them while you and your nose are in far too close a proximity. Apple Cider Vinegar can help keep such episodes at bay by helping to neutralize a dog’s stomach. Their stomachs are naturally alkaline so the addition of an acid helps balance this. The result is better absorption and a more efficient gut that reduces the amount of gas a dog suffers from. Additionally, Apple Cider Vinegar is thought to encourage good bacteria in the gut, increasing the digestive system’s ability. For this reason, dog owners have been known to add it to some greek yoghurt for further benefits.

• Dog Paw Washer

Finally, Apple Cider Vinegar is particularly good as a dog paw washer and is often deemed the best dog paw washer available. In fact, it helps any itchiness that your dog has on its paws – as well as its ears if this is one of its ailments too. All you need to do is swab their pads with a diluted solution to reap the rewards.

What Kind Of Apple Cider Vinegar Is Best For Dogs?

One of the best things about Apple Cider Vinegar is how easy it is to purchase. It is readily available to buy in any supermarket. However, the amount of options that are on the shelves can be incredibly intimidating as we will want to buy the best for your dogs while not being totally ripped off on price. Some vinegars can be exceedingly expensive but for the purpose of using Apple Cider Vinegar to help your dog, the following characteristics are best:

Raw:

An apple cider vinegar that is raw or unfiltered is best as it will often have the composite within the liquid that helps in the fermenting process. This will often make the liquid look cloudy, particularly at the bottom where the sediment collects. The reason that this makes for a better vinegar to use for its health benefits upon your pooch is that all the helpful bacteria that supports a digestive system are in this sediment along with other helpful enzymes.

That being said – if you are using your vinegar to clean your dog’s coat, it is perhaps best to look for a filtered liquid or you can filter the vinegar yourself of the dirty sediment.

Unpasteurised:

When buying a pasteurized vinegar, you are actually buying a vinegar that has had much of the wanted bacteria in the liquid killed off. Pasteurisation includes a heating process and it is this very heat that removes any good, or bad, bacteria from the vinegar.

Organic:

An organic vinegar, while not strictly necessary for the health benefits seen from Apple Cider Vinegar, is still best as it will be totally free from nasty pesticides which is important given that most of the ways that the health benefits are reaped are through ingestion.

Glass Bottle Container:

This may sound like overkill but buying your Apple Cider Vinegar in a glass bottle container is the best way to purchase the liquid – especially given that you are already spending your hard earned cash
on it. The reason being is that a plastic alternative has been known to pose a risk of chemicals actually leaching into the vinegar itself. These chemicals are thought to be harmful at times.

Apple Cider Vinegar: The Complementary Alternative

Apple Cider Vinegar is therefore a great addition to your store cupboard, especially if you are a dog owner. If you like the idea of the whole host of benefits and uses that are listed above other complementary and chemical free aids that are popular are coconut oil and cranberry supplements. When the best coconut oil for dogs and the best cranberry supplements for dogs are used to improve the health and well being of your dog, especially if used in conjunction with a well balanced diet and regular exercise, you will reap the benefits of having one of the happiest, healthiest dogs living at home with you.