Apple Cider Vinegar in Dogs: Uses and Benefits

There are countless rumors about homemade vinegar remedies for curing various problems and illnesses in dogs. But the truth is that almost all of these remedies are false, and can end up harming our dog more than helping them.

Apple cider vinegar does have beneficial properties for dogs — that's undeniable — but it can also be very harmful if not given correctly. We're going to explain the proper uses of apple cider vinegar so you can get real benefits without putting your dog at risk.

What type of vinegar do I need and how do I use it on my dog?

At any supermarket you'll find plenty of bottles of apple cider vinegar, though those aren't the ones we should use on our dog. We should look for organic, 100% natural apple cider vinegar, also called raw apple cider vinegar.

Organic apple cider vinegar offers far more beneficial properties than, say, the kind you'd find at a regular supermarket. That's why we definitely recommend getting it from a health food store.

How you use it differs case by case — depending on what our dog's problem is, we should use a larger or smaller amount. There are so many uses for it that it's best to go through each one and give the corresponding amounts as an example.

Is apple cider vinegar good for our dog? The answer is yes, generally speaking it's beneficial, although dogs aren't too fond of its smell.

Is it good to wash a dog with apple cider vinegar?

This homemade flea remedy has been used for many years with good results — it simply involves mixing equal parts water and apple cider vinegar and using it as a second soap during your dog's bath.

Put one cup of water and one cup of apple cider vinegar in a container, then mix. Bathe your dog as usual — wetting, lathering, and rinsing to remove the soap residue. Afterward, and being very careful it doesn't get in their eyes, use the vinegar-and-water mixture we prepared, rubbing it all over their body.

Let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes, then rinse again to remove any vinegar residue. Apple cider vinegar is good for the coat and works as an excellent repellent — it'll keep fleas and ticks from wanting to live on your dog, and it'll also stop your dog from smelling like "dog," that intense scent our furry friends sometimes take on.

Apple cider vinegar also has fungicidal properties, so it prevents unwanted fungus from growing on your dog's skin. And as if that weren't enough, it balances pH and nourishes your dog's skin… so bathing your dog with apple cider vinegar is beneficial and brings plenty of advantages.

Be very careful if your dog has skin wounds or skin irritations like dermatitis — in these cases you should never use vinegar, since it would burn the irritated or wounded exposed areas, causing a lot of pain. You should also be extremely careful around their eyes — never use apple cider vinegar on their head.

Apple cider vinegar to improve a dog's digestion

This type of vinegar also offers great benefits at the intestinal level, given its many medicinal properties and the presence of beneficial enzymes in it. That said, we should be very careful, since too much vinegar in their diet can cause harm.

The first thing to know is that we should never give apple cider vinegar to our dog on an empty stomach — in other words, they should always have eaten first. The way to give apple cider vinegar is by adding a small (dessert-sized) spoonful to their water bowl — the ratio is one small spoonful per liter of water.

How much apple cider vinegar should I give my dog? Dosage

If our dog weighs more than thirty kilos, we should double the dose, meaning two small spoonfuls per liter of water. This way, apple cider vinegar will enter our dog's system, providing the following benefits.

• Internal deworming (preventive)
• Elimination of harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract
• Improved intestinal transit through the growth of beneficial bacteria
• Helps with better digestion
• Improves dental health

We shouldn't use apple cider vinegar more than two or three days a week — in other words, it's not something you can use every day, since that would be harmful. Everything in moderation — too much can lead to vomiting, diarrhea in dogs, and so on.

We should adjust the apple cider vinegar dose based on the dog's reaction, since sometimes it can be reduced considerably without losing any of its benefits.

Other uses for apple cider vinegar

Some people recommend cleaning dogs' ears with a solution of one part apple cider vinegar to four parts water, since according to some people this helps eliminate infections like ear infections. At Soyunperro we have a great team of vets with many years of experience who agree that apple cider vinegar is not good for ear infections — in fact, it's harmful, since it can make the problem much worse.

At SoyUnPerro.com we do NOT recommend ever using apple cider vinegar in your dog's ears. Dogs can get ear infections caused by bacteria, yeast, viral infections, or even foreign objects lodged inside.

Each of these possible causes requires different care and different medications. There's no way for us to know what type of infection it is — we must always go to a vet so they can run tests and tell us what it is and what medication we should use.

Apple cider vinegar doesn't cure these infections — quite the opposite, it could be very harmful to our dog, which is why we insist on never using apple cider vinegar in a dog's ears. The infection could progress and cause ear hematomas or even death.

Don't gamble with your dog's health, don't experiment with it. We can guarantee that ear infections are not cured with apple cider vinegar, so don't pay attention to urban legends.

Apple cider vinegar also doesn't work to cure allergies — that's just a rumor with no veterinary basis whatsoever. Allergies in dogs can be caused by countless factors, both external and internal or nutritional, and can't be solved with apple cider vinegar.