Is apple cider vinegar for dog pyoderma a treatment that you’d like to try?
Inexpensive, holistic, organic, at-home treatments for pyoderma in dogs not only save you money, using them will improve your dog’s overall health.
Apple cider vinegar for dog pyoderma is both safe and healthy to use. While there are precautions you need to take when using apple cider vinegar for dog pyoderma, ACV is a mild treatment that you will be amazed with!
First, let’s cover what canine pyoderma is.
What is Pyoderma in Dogs?
Dog pyoderma (canine pyoderma) is a bacterial infection of the skin and is very common in dogs and cats, especially those fed a processed diet.
While your dog does have good bacteria on their skin, certain things can cause bad bacteria to overrun the healthy bacteria and cause infections.
What Causes Bacterial Overgrowth?
There are several things that can cause an overgrowth of bad bacteria but diet and environment are the biggest factors.
Diet: A canine diet of processed foods is no different than you eating highly processed foods day in and day out.
Poor nutrition causes imbalances throughout the entire body, including the skin.
Environment: Your dog’s environment can contribute to an overgrowth of bad bacteria. Maybe your dog likes to swim in the pond or play in the mud, maybe his immune system is compromised by chemicals used in your yard or home, or maybe your dog’s bedding needs to be cleaned more often.
These are just a few examples of things that can cause bacterial overgrowth.
Here are some more causes.
- A weakened immune system from medication, disease, illness, inflammation or age makes dogs susceptible to many skin conditions.
- Autoimmune diseases also decrease your dog’s overall immunity and make them susceptible to skin issues.
- Skin lacerations, scratches, bug bites, infections, mange, tumors, etc., can cause an overgrowth of bad bacteria.
- Warm and moist weather or indoor environments can cause a lot of problems for your dog’s skin.
- Allergies from a poor diet or improper diet weaken the immune system and put your dog at risk of pyoderma.
When your dog suffers from any of the above their body’s ability to ward off bad bacteria decreases. When the body’s defenses are down, they are very susceptible to pyoderma.
Are Certain Dog Breeds More Susceptible?
Pyoderma can affect any dog but there are a few breeds that are reported to be more likely to get canine pyoderma. The more skin folds a dog has, the more easily they can get canine pyoderma.
Some at Risk Breeds:
- Blood Hound
- Boston Terrier
- Bullmastiff
- Cocker Spaniel
- Dogue de Bordeaux
- English Mastiff
- French Bulldog
- Neapolitan Mastiff
- Pit Bull breeds
- Pug
- Shar-Pei
How Do I Know if My Dog Has Pyoderma?
The earlier you can spot canine pyoderma on your dog, the easier it will be to treat. Pyoderma is pretty easy to recognize by noticing your dog’s change in behavior and change in skin.
Most skin infections in dogs have similar symptoms (redness, flaking, itching, puffiness, etc). Dog pyoderma is a little different.
If your dog has pyoderma they’ll have pus-filled blisters. These pus-filled blisters are known as pustules and look like pimples. In addition to pustules, here are some other things to look for.
- Crusty skin
- Flaky skin
- Hair loss (from excessive scratching or chewing)
- Itching
- Puffy or swollen skin
- Rash
- Redness
- Scaly skin
- Sensitivity (to touch)
- Sores
- Unpleasant smell
Is Dog Pyoderma Contagious?
Pyoderma is not contagious to other dogs, cats or people.
3 Different Types of Dog Pyoderma
There are three levels of dog pyoderma. The level of pyoderma your dog has depends on the depth of the skin infection.
Here are the three levels of canine pyoderma.
Surface pyoderma: this level means that the bad bacteria has not broken past the top layer of skin
Superficial pyoderma: this level affects the hair follicles and the superficial epidermal layer of the skin, (under the surface). Superficial pyoderma is the most common type of pyoderma in dogs.
Deep pyoderma: this level is the deepest and affects the root of the hair follicles. Deep pyoderma is the hardest to cure.
How Your Vet Would Diagnose Pyoderma in Your Dog
There are a few tests your vet can run to diagnose your dog with pyoderma.
- Your vet can gather skin samples for testing or you can easily do it at home by placing a strip of scotch tape against your dog’s skin and pulling it off to collect infected cells.
- Another way you can collect skin cells is by lightly scraping the surface of the affected area and putting the sample in a small plastic bag. Skin scraping is best. Use tape as an alternative option. If you don’t want to collect skin cells yourself, your vet can do it for you.
- If the above methods do not provide conclusive results, a more invasive sample collection might be needed. In these cases, a biopsy sample is needed.
- A blood sample is good to have in order to show any internal issues that may be fueling the dermal infection in your dog. Inflammatory health issues like thyroid disease can cause skin issues.
- If the above blood and skin tests don’t show any allergies your dog may have, additional allergy testing may be needed.
How to Treat Pyoderma
There are two main medications that vets prescribe for canine pyoderma. Both of which have side effects.
Simplicef: Oral antibiotic commonly used to treat bacterial infections.
Simplicef comes with the risk of side effects and warnings. Many dogs have been known to have allergic reactions to Simplicef.
Side Effects of Simplicef:
- Diarrhea
- Faintness
- Hives
- Nausea
- Rash
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling of face face and lips
- Swelling of the tongue
- Unexplained bruising
- Unusual bleeding
- Yeast infections
Clavamox: Used to fight bacterial infections.
Clavamox Side Effects:
- Changes in heart rate
- Changes in respiratory
- Diarrhea
- Dramatic weight loss
- Lack of appetite
- Vomiting
Holistic, ACV Treatment for Pyoderma
Why Apple Cider Vinegar for Dog Pyoderma Works
Why risk your dog’s health and give them drugs when you can use a natural antibacterial like apple cider vinegar? Not only does apple cider vinegar have incredible benefits for us humans but it can also treat your dog’s infected skin, whether they’re suffering from canine pyoderma or other skin conditions.
Where to Buy Apple Cider Vinegar for Dog Pyoderma
The brand of apple cider vinegar that you buy for your dog’s pyoderma will have a big impact on how quickly and efficiently they heal.
Not all Apple cider vinegar is the same. There are many apple cider vinegar products on the market that are very poor quality and do not match the healthful benefits of high quality apple cider vinegar.
I only recommend one brand of apple cider vinegar and that is Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar with The Mother.
“The Mother” is a strand of proteins in the apple cider vinegar that makes it cloudy. You may notice that these settle to the bottom of the container so you will want to shake it before you use the apple cider vinegar to make sure that the Mother is well incorporated into your solution.
Bragg’s ACV is also unpasteurized. It is extremely important that you always use unpasteurized apple cider vinegar for dog pyoderma because pasteurized apple cider vinegar has far fewer health benefits. This is because pasteurization heats apple cider vinegar to the point that it kills beneficial bacteria. The beneficial bacteria in apple cider vinegar are what will help kill off the bad bacteria on your dog’s skin and replenish their good bacteria.
While you may see some benefits of using pasteurized apple cider vinegar, your dog’s skin may take longer to heal and it may not be as healthy and resilient at the end of the treatment.
The great thing about using unpasteurized Apple cider vinegar is that as you’re using the vinegar it is also strengthening the resiliency of your dog’s skin. Not only does this help them heal it also helps their skin fight off bad bacteria in the future.
How to Apply Apple Cider Vinegar for Dog Pyoderma
You can apply Apple cider vinegar to your dog’s pyoderma a number of different ways.
- Mix 50% apple cider vinegar and 50% water and apply the solution to your dogs infected area with a damp rag. You want to repeat this several times per day for best results.
- Mix 50% apple cider vinegar and 50% water in a spray bottle and spray the solution on your dog’s pyoderma several times a day. Because this is a more liberal application of apple cider vinegar, you’ll likely want to either leave your dog outside for a little bit as it dries or leave your dog in a crate for a short period of time.
Apple cider vinegar won’t necessarily damage anything in your house but it has a pretty strong smell and you definitely don’t want that strong smell on your couch or in your carpet.
- For smaller infected areas mix 50% apple cider vinegar and 50% water and soak a cotton ball or medical gauze depending on the size of the infected area, apply it to the area and secure it with Vet Wrap.
- If you are unable to keep a bandage on your dog you can soak a cotton ball or medical gauze in a 50% apple cider vinegar and 50% water solution, placed that on your dogs infected skin and hold it there for about 20 minutes. This method takes more time out of your day but it may be a better solution if your dog tends to pull off bandages or your dog’s infected skin is in an odd area that is difficult to bandage.
- You can also soak your dog in an apple cider vinegar solution you can add ½ cup or 1 cup of apple cider vinegar to a tub or bath full of water and let your dog soak in the bath. Let them soak for several minutes and make sure the infected area stays submerged.
How Often to Apply Apple Cider Vinegar for Dog Pyoderma
Depending on the method you use to treat your dog’s pyoderma, you’ll want to apply a 50% water 50% apple cider vinegar solution at least once a day up to several times per day.
If you’re able to bandage in place medical gauze or a cotton ball then you can apply the solution to your dog’s pyoderma once per day. If this doesn’t seem to be enough you can reapply it a second time during the day.
Keep in mind that it’s also a good idea to let the infected area and get air. Fresh air will also help it heal and speed up the recovery process. If you’re bandaging the area make sure that you allow at least 20 minutes between bandages for the skin to breathe. You may also find that leaving the area un-bandaged overnight encourages the most healing.
If you’re gently wiping down your dog’s pyoderma with a damp cloth or you are spraying it with a spray bottle, it’s good to try to do so five or six times per day. If you’re not seeing any results you can increase how many times per day you apply the mixture.
How Long You Should Apply Apple Cider Vinegar for Dog Pyoderma
How long you apply apple cider vinegar for dog pyoderma depends on how infected your dog’s skin is and how quickly they heal.
Some dogs may heal in a matter of days to as much as a week while other dogs may take several weeks to heal completely.
It’s important that you don’t give up during this process and you make sure that you continue to apply the apple cider vinegar to your dog’s pyoderma regularly. The key here is to be consistent. Inconsistency will cause your dog’s pyoderma to flare back up. If your dog’s pyoderma does flare back up you’ll want to increase the number of times that you apply apple cider vinegar or you simply want to be sure that you stay consistent in applying it going forward.
Because apple cider vinegar is a natural solution it does take a bit longer than a medication that you would get from your veterinarian so don’t be discouraged if it takes a little bit longer to start to see the results you’re looking for.
Precautions for Applying Apple Cider Vinegar for Dog Pyoderma
Apple cider vinegar for dog pyoderma is a relatively gentle treatment, however, you can do damage to your dog’s skin by using apple cider vinegar that is full strength.
It’s always best to dilute apple cider vinegar by 50%. 50% apple cider vinegar and 50% water make an effective solution that cures many different skin issues, yet it’s gentle enough to not burn your dog’s skin.
Full strength apple cider vinegar that has not been diluted can burn the skin if it’s applied inappropriately (for too long or too often).
You’ll even noticed that smelling full strength apple cider vinegar stings your nose a bit but diluted apple cider vinegar is much more pleasant to smell.
If at any time your dog’s skin has a negative reaction to the apple cider vinegar you want to dilute it further or stop using it.
You also want to be careful not to apply Apple cider vinegar to broken skin. Skin that is broken or bleeding should not have apple cider vinegar applied to it. This can cause a lot of discomfort to your dog. Any vinegar applied to an open wound will cause severe burning.
Warnings Before Using Apple Cider Vinegar for Dog Pyoderma
As mentioned above you always want to dilute apple cider vinegar before using it on your dog. It’s always good to also consult with your veterinarian. Most veterinarians will accept a phone call and will be more than happy to discuss you using apple cider vinegar and provide you with their own recommendations beforehand.
How Important is a Healthy, Balanced Diet?
Food allergies are very common in dogs fed processed diets and an allergic reaction can cause pyoderma in dogs. Even if your dog has been eating the same food for years, sudden allergies can occur.
Most all health issues can be prevented with a healthy diet.
To fully understand the impact that diet has on your dog, click the link below:
Feeding Your Dog Apple Cider Vinegar for Dog Pyoderma
in addition to using apple cider vinegar topically you can also add apple cider vinegar to your dog’s meals. A little dash of apple cider vinegar in each meal will strengthen your dog’s immunity from the inside.
As we discussed above a compromised immune system allows for the growth of bad bacteria. Whether your dog is eating an unhealthy diet, living in a less than healthy environment, exposed to toxins and chemicals or experiences stress, all of these things can compromise your dog’s immune system.
If you’ve ever tasted apple cider vinegar before you know that it’s a bit strong so it’s best to try to incorporate apple cider vinegar into your dog’s meals in order to encourage them to consume it. Let them get used to it a little bit at a time. You may even have to start with just a few drops and work your way up from there.
I myself take between one and 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per day. For a 100-pound dog you could feed about 1 tablespoon per day and the smaller your dog the less you want to feed on a daily basis.
You can also add a few drops of apple cider vinegar to your dog’s water but they may be less likely to drink their water if they don’t like the taste so you want to be sure to pay attention to their water consumption and make sure that they’re not drinking less water because of the apple cider vinegar.
Summary of Treating Pyoderma in Dogs
Because of the painful lesions, pustules and inflamed skin that is all a result of pyoderma, it’s important to act quickly to cure your dog. Instead of starting with expensive and risky medications, give apple cider vinegar for dog pyoderma flair-ups a try.