this page contains;     HOT SPOTS,   Gain Weight  on a MALE after Mating & Wet Eczema

MEDICAL: Please Note: Articles pertaining to health related topics are for information only. Readers should seek the advice of a relevant practitioner before attempting to diagnose or administer any medication. Mention of any product or procedure should not be seen as an endorsement for said product or procedure.

Apple Cider Vinegar- E-Mail me if you found this info works
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" seems to have some veracity. Apples contain a large amount of potassium plus phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, iron, fluorine, silicon, and many trace minerals. In long-term studies done in Vermont on herds of cows, many benefits have been observed, e.g., lack of mastitis, itchy skin, influenza, respiratory diseases, easier freshening (whelping), lack of eclampsia, and cramping after delivery of calves. Horses with ACV in their feed raced much better and never came down with distemper, even when exposed. ACV is credited with killing bacteria outright, and in fact was used in the late 1800's to prevent food poisoning. People carried flasks of ACV with them when they were invited to feasts. In those days the preserving of food was often done through salting or soaking in vinegar. People invited to eat away from their homes always put ACV into their drinking water to protect them against food poisoning. If you occasionally use raw fish in your dog's diet, use a little ACV. Fish even slightly "off" can create horrible gastric problems. 

Credited with: Curing pyelitis, a condition caused by inflammation of the kidney and chronic itching. According to Dr. Jarvis' book, itchy skin is a sign that the skin is too alkaline in nature. You can therefore soak your dog down with water and rub in ACV or make a wash and sponge it into the coat, allowing it to drip dry. It is amazing how quickly this stops itching. We have used it on beginning hot spots, which immediately dry up. If the skin is already broken, we dilute the ACV with water in a 1.1 ratio (think of Willard Water here), put it into a spray bottle and spray it onto the coat. This way, if you have a show dog, you do not need to shave the dog down. The hot spot dries up in 24 hours. 

ACV is helpful to use internally when a dog's eyes run with clear watery discharge, or the nose runs, or when your dog is coughing a liquid kind of cough. Put a couple of tablespoonfuls in the food a day (for a dog 50# or over) and you will immediately notice a difference. Use a couple of drops, diluted half-and-half with water, in your dog's ears at his weekly grooming session to avoid ear infections. All of the above conditions relate to potassium deficiencies, so if your dog shows any of the following signs, such as lack of mental alertness, mental and muscle fatigue after exercise (agility participants and people who work their dogs take note), susceptibility to the cold, calluses on elbows and hock joints, constipation, itchy skin, cuts, bruises too easily, pimples on skin surface, twitching of the facial muscles, cramps in muscles, sore joints or the beginnings of arthritis, try some ACV in the dog's food and see the difference. 

Try ACV rinse in bath water and let the dog drip dry. Fleas and ticks do not find an acidic-based skin desirable to live on, so it provides good protection against both of these parasites. Give an ACV dip when going into tick-infested country, and also before you show your dogs in the summer, where the stress of the shows seems to allow even the healthiest of dogs to pick up an occasional flea. ACV normalizes the pH of the skin and you get used to travelling with a dog that smells like a salad. 

Note: As I've mentioned many times before, I feed my dogs the Natural Diet formulated and tested by Wendy Volhard. Part of the daily diet includes 1-1/2 tablespoons ACV daily for the big dogs, 2 teaspoons for my 35# dog and 1 teaspoon for the 15# Sheltie. The ACV gets added to their raw meat meal.

The resource for the above information is Wendy Volhard's book "The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog.