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Martin

Here are the instructions for the Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar. Ask your vet first.


Has your dog been scratching itself obsessively, losing hair, trying to clean itself, developing an odor, or become picky over food? An application of apple cider vinegar (ACV) can help your poor pooch. A bit of apple cider vinegar in your pet's food is a great way to maintain the acid/alkaline balance of your dog's body; and it also helps with digestive health, allergies (watery eyes, runny nose, wet coughs), and even parasites such as fleas, ringworm, ticks, fungus, and bacteria.

Taken orally or sprayed on topically, apple cider vinegar is great for skin conditions in dogs. For hot spots, thinning hair, pimples, or even ear infections, try out an ACV/water spray. ACV is also useful for after grooming sessions; applying a few drops to the ears can help prevent ear infections, and applying to your dog's skin after a washing on a weekly basis can help prevent reinfestation by fleas or ticks.

Apple Cider Vinegar for Fleas, Dog Allergies, and Wellness

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

Dosage and Instructions: Start with a one-teaspoon dose mixed into your dog's food twice a day for a 50 lb dog (adjust accordingly by weight) and if necessary increase up to about 1 tablespoon twice a day for the same size dog. For skin application, you can spray on or rub apple cider in directly, or for sore or open wounds mix the ACV with equal parts water before application to the dog's skin. In the case of pests or parasites, bathe your dog and then apply a 50:50 mix of apple cider vinegar and water. Allow this to air dry on your pet to kill off fleas, ticks, ringworm, etc. and to prevent future infestations and/or infection. You can also spray your dog with apple cider vinegar before going out for a walk, in order to repel fleas and ticks naturally.
 
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Discussion starter · #23 ·
So today the itching seems to be back.
Next thing to try, Apple Cider vinegar.

Do any of you have ideas of what food I can cook for her, grain free? I havent found grain free dog food in any store so I have to cook it myself, but I dont exactly know which foods I can cook for her.
 
Environmental Sensitivity

Your girl may be sensitive to chemicals and that's why she can't stand the collars. I have a similar problem myself. I have environmental sensitivity and I react to nearly everything around me. I have to wear good-quality polyester, no natural fibers like silk or wool or cotton or hemp, no scents, no lotions, no powders, and no chemicals. I also react to a lot of plants and to many everyday items. I'm actually allergic to cotton, to soap, to perfume, and to smoke. I mostly stay home because there's nearly always something in the air that I react to, from products people use, cleaners, cars or upholstery or just about anything. We use a HEPA filter on our air purifiers that helps inside the house. If I can't be at home where there are no scented products and no soaps or lotions, the next best thing is to be outdoors, where the air circulation dilutes the problem. When I'm outdoors, I can tolerate other people wearing cotton, but still no perfume or smoke. The quality of the fabric matters because short fibers bother me a lot more than long fibers. Higher-quality fabrics like Pima cotton have long fibers and I can tolerate them better. Even high-quality polyester is made with longer fibers, and it doesn't bother me at all.

There aren't any products or medications that help. Avoiding the things that bother me is the only thing we can do. That's what works. Try removing everything from your house that has any smell at all, even if it smells nice. Don't put lotions on your girl, and don't wear lotions yourself until you find out if they bother her. My guess is that they will. I tried making my own lotion, but I found that you absolutely have to include some chemicals that keep the lotion from going bad, and I couldn't stand them. Don't use any powders. Don't use anything at all. When we use soap for any purpose like house cleaning, it has to be unscented and we rinse it off completely. I can't tolerate vinegar or bleach, but my husband can use a tiny bit of bleach when I'm not around, as long as he gets it deactivated with soap and then 100% washed off.

Good luck! You're not alone. I feel so sorry for your girl because she can't tell you what's bothering her. Chemicals in the environment actually do make life not worth living when your body can't detoxify them. Actually, I can't usually tell what's doing it until we start removing things from the environment until we find what works. But scented products, lotions and powders are always a problem, even if I like the scent. If I have to use a lotion to soothe my skin, I use pure vitamin E from a capsule.
 
I wouldn't just assume that Atenea is having a problem with grains. It could be the specific type of meat in her food, or something else altogether. Try giving her a completely different main source of protein. Turkey or pork instead of chicken and eggs.
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
I wouldn't just assume that Atenea is having a problem with grains. It could be the specific type of meat in her food, or something else altogether. Try giving her a completely different main source of protein. Turkey or pork instead of chicken and eggs.
Yeah I know, since someone else mentioned it I took that as a place to start.
The dog food you find here is pretty much standard and no matter which brand you use, it's pretty much the same. Only a few ingredients may vary between them, but not much.

She's currently eating rice with some kind of meat (varied) or vegetables (depending what I eat that day).

This last two or three days have been pretty bad, she even made herself a wound in one of the spots, nearly had to have her stitched.
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
I'm giving her some of that food right now, thanks!

I tried yes, I havent seen any change so far but it's only been two days so I'll continue with it.


I got her to the vet today and -apparently- it's flea. Weird that in like three years it's the first time they say that. Anyway, they gave her some things against flea and I'm waiting to see if it helps at all. I'm not really sure if that's what the problem is since I've tried with diffrent products against flea before, but it's worth trying anyway.

I'm using this in her injured spots and it helps a lot temporarily: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_violet
It at least prevents her from biting the injured part for one day or two until it heals.

Also bought a new shampoo to bath her, since after two weeks of daily baths nothing actually changed.

I stopped giving her Prednisone as well, it wasnt worth doing that damage to her body and health if it wasnt helping as much as we thought. She seems to be more "awake" now and asks me to play more times than before, so that's good I guess. I still cant walk with her more than 1km without her being exhausted, and I dont want to push her body/heart.

I'll keep updating this thread, if any idea comes to your mind, share it! :)
 
I have been thinking about Atenea. Wish it was better news but it sounds like you are making some progress. Did you taper her off the Prednisone? If the reason for her itching is due to fleas, the treatment should give her some relief. Keep us posted :)
 
Just a note of caution - the first of the homemade dog food recipes suggests that you cook the chicken, without warning you that cooked chicken bones splinter and can kill a dog. There's nothing wrong with the recipe, as long as you remove ALL the bones before you give them to your dog.
 
I got her to the vet today and -apparently- it's flea. Weird that in like three years it's the first time they say that. Anyway, they gave her some things against flea and I'm waiting to see if it helps at all. I'm not really sure if that's what the problem is since I've tried with diffrent products against flea before, but it's worth trying anyway.

I'll keep updating this thread, if any idea comes to your mind, share it! :)
I see that my guess 2 weeks ago was right although unfortunate for you. That one picture just really looked like a flea to me. Those evil things can run and hide really fast in a Golden Retriever coat.

She calmed down for a bit with the baths you had been giving, just getting a dog soaked in water will drown them. No special flea shampoo is needed IMO.

Thing is your house is infested now. I made a post in a thread, link below. Hope it helps.

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retrievers-main-discussion/389714-flea-infesation.html

I see you live in Florida not Uruguay correct? Fleas are a constant problem in southern states. Not sure what flea preventative your vet gave but hope it helps her.
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
Just a note of caution - the first of the homemade dog food recipes suggests that you cook the chicken, without warning you that cooked chicken bones splinter and can kill a dog. There's nothing wrong with the recipe, as long as you remove ALL the bones before you give them to your dog.
Hm wierd, I answered you two days ago and the reply didnt appear :O

Thanks! Yes, I know about chicken bones. I carefully remove them and check the chicken before giving it to her. I also remove the fat and skin from the chicken since for some odd reason she doesnt like it. Probably the only dog in the world that doesnt like that lol.


I also found meat-based food in a store, I bought two small bags to see how they were and if she liked them. She apparently liked them, so I'll probably be mixing that from time to time to make cooking easier and less time consuming.

I see that my guess 2 weeks ago was right although unfortunate for you. That one picture just really looked like a flea to me. Those evil things can run and hide really fast in a Golden Retriever coat.

She calmed down for a bit with the baths you had been giving, just getting a dog soaked in water will drown them. No special flea shampoo is needed IMO.

Thing is your house is infested now. I made a post in a thread, link below. Hope it helps.

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retrievers-main-discussion/389714-flea-infesation.html

I see you live in Florida not Uruguay correct? Fleas are a constant problem in southern states. Not sure what flea preventative your vet gave but hope it helps her.
The treatment they did on her against flea is apparently working. She still bites herself a bit but nowhere near as much as before.
I still bath her everyday and will continue to do so until a full recovery, and she seems to enjoy the baths anyway :p

Yeah, I already bought products for the house and will use them on christmas since I'm going to a different place for two or three days and I'll take her with me of course.


I live in Florida yes, but Florida Uruguay :) Same name but different country.

I'm not really sure what the name of the pill is to be honest. I googled it but apparently I was using incognito mode and it wasnt saved on my browser. I'll ask my vet though and post here, in might be useful for someone else in the future.
 
Discussion starter · #34 ·
So...
Apparently it ended up being flea. I cant believe it was that all the time though, dermatologists checked Atenea multiple times and nothing, I myself checked her almost daily and never saw one. I'm shocked it was that all the time, I feel bad no one noticed it earlier, 3 years of pain for nothing.

The pill I gave her worked perfectly, she hasnt scratched or bited herself since then. Her hair is growing quickly in the injured spots, and all her hair is like shinier than before, no idea if that had something to do with that but she looks way better.

This is the pill that helped, in case someone needs it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/iumg8b4ya7mp1a7/20151229_155654-1.jpg?dl=0
 
So...
Apparently it ended up being flea. I cant believe it was that all the time though, dermatologists checked Atenea multiple times and nothing, I myself checked her almost daily and never saw one. I'm shocked it was that all the time, I feel bad no one noticed it earlier, 3 years of pain for nothing.

The pill I gave her worked perfectly, she hasnt scratched or bited herself since then. Her hair is growing quickly in the injured spots, and all her hair is like shinier than before, no idea if that had something to do with that but she looks way better.

This is the pill that helped, in case someone needs it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/iumg8b4ya7mp1a7/20151229_155654-1.jpg?dl=0
Well, at least you got to the cause and solution and that's great news!
It must feel like a miracle after 3 years. Happy New Year to you and Atenea.
 
Discussion starter · #37 ·
The pill was great for a month, I gave it to her again (you can only use it once per month) and now it's useless.
The itching started, I'm still cycling between different food but with no effect.
Any other ideas?
 
I'm so sorry your girl is going through this :(

I'm facing a similar problem with my boy Yuki though it's not as bad as your girl's. Currently he's taking antibiotics for infection due to lots of scratching.

I'm following these steps according to what few members here and the vet suggested, (I have combined various advices to what works best) and it's helping Yuki. It may be of help to you as well. I have had sleepless nights too. I don't live in US either so I understand your circumstances about being unable to find a brand or the high prices of importing.

Please note I will be typing only generic names or ingredients instead of brands so you need to read the ingredients and labels before buying and no need to look up brands or import. I understand it affects us financially and we can't spare so much money for something that maybe available closer to home and cheaper too. So look up and search around your city pharmacies or hospitals, human or pet it doesn't matter. The main point being her health and well being.

The steps below need to be followed for a month.

Coconut oil, few spoonfuls to apply and massage the skin. This helps soothe the skin. You can also make a mix of fresh aloe vera gel and oil for this. Leave for an hr.

I use Chlorhexidine 2% or 4% for bathing him. I give him baths alternate days. Try to find a dog shampoo which has this in ingredients at pet store or you can look for surgical handwash with same ingredients at any of the pharmacies or hospitals (human).
Put some of this shampoo or handwash whichever you can get on her body and lather up. Let it stay on skin for 20 minutes or as long as possible, then rinse with plain water. Dry her well. Armpits, stomach, genital area, neck need more attention and drying than rest of the body.

Apply few drops of coconut oil, very little, on spots she mostly scratches and on spots which may look dry.

Ask vet for antibiotics. These help with any infection that may be present. I leave the antibiotics up to your vet to decide. I'm giving Yuki linezolid 600mg, it effects his appetite and he's not eating well due to these but there has been a lot of improvement. Had to give these as last resort since nothing else was helping. I gave him prednisone for few days but it didn't help.

Check her ears and eyes, if there's any bad smell in ears, use ear drops with these ingredients:
Chloramphenicol
Beclomethasone
Clotrimazole
You can get these from any human pharmacy, you can use human ear drops but shouldn't use more than 4-5 drops per ear.

You can use a human eye antibiotic ointment for dogs too. Just apply very little on eyelids.

Please buy a flea comb if not you can look for a lice comb. Use this once or twice a week to check for fleas or ticks. You cannot find these fleas easily and they cause lot of trouble. Comb her neck area first. If there are any fleas, that's where they will be mostly. Try to find fipronil at vet pharmacy or pet store, it either comes as spray bottle or in pipettes. Use this on her neck and between shoulder blades. The area where she can't lick herself. This keeps fleas, ticks away for few weeks. Don't apply in areas where she can lick it. It's an insecticide, has to be applied carefully. Please read instructions on it's use for dogs online.

If only meat diet doesn't ease itching then try to totally cut off all meat for few days and see how she does. Instead of meat you can give her eggs, vegetables, and potatoes, sweet potatoes. Don't give rice, oats or wheat. You could try giving fish as well. This is just to test if meat is causing any problems or not. One of my previous dogs had allergy to chicken and couldn't eat most dog foods cuz in my country chicken was used in almost all dog foods and we had very few choices 8 yrs ago. I fed her potatoes, eggs, veggies every day, occasionally I gave her fish or lamb.

Please add a spoonful of coconut oil or fish oil to her food. You can try to find omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acid supplement at pet store. This is a little expensive than coconut or fish oil, results are almost same. You can find fish oil in soft gelatin pill form, give two pills at a time. This is very important for the skin and hair. It also helps ease the itching.

I made Yuki wear an old cotton shirt and cotton shorts, with hole for genitals and tail, so he can pee or poop, not get the shorts dirty. I bought the shorts with elastic waist, no zipper or buttons. It was a good idea to make him wear clothes and helped a lot. It's better than collars on neck or socks on his feet. It works like a barrier to prevent injury from scratching. The clothes should not be too loose or easy to remove. Not too tight either. You can remove the clothes when she's not itching and put them back on if she scratches.

This is what I did and am still doing. Yuki's better. I pray your girl gets well soon too. I hope some of what I have shared is of help to you. Best of luck and please keep us updated on her health.
 
If it was fleas before, did you make sure to thoroughly clean your home and yard? When I moved into a house with a roommate's two dogs, I was unwittingly entering into a flea infested home. Flora was terribly allergic to the fleas, so while simultaneously treating here I was spreading Diatomaceous Earth all over the carpets and rubbing it in, vacuuming it up, etc. I repeated it probably 3 times in the house and washed all of the dog toys, bedding, etc. Your dog could be reinfested again - although I would think the pill would still work, so that might not be it.
 
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