Apple Cider Vinegar for Dogs and Cats

Apple cider vinegar, an old folk remedy, has been shown to improve the health of horses, dogs, and other animals. It reduces common infections, aids whelping, improves stamina, prevents muscle fatigue after exercise, increases resistance to disease, and protects against food poisoning.

Cider vinegar is rich in the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements found in apples, especially potassium; it normalizes acid levels in the stomach, improves digestion and the assimilation of nutrients, reduces intestinal gas and fecal odors, helps cure constipation, alleviates some of the symptoms of arthritis and helps prevent bladder stones and urinary tract infections.

How to Use It

Add apple cider vinegar directly to food or drinking water, starting with small amounts and building up to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per 15 pounds of body weight for dogs and cats (1 teaspoon per day for the average cat, 1 tablespoon for a 50-pound dog or 2 tablespoons for a 90-pound dog). By gradually adding small doses to your pet’s food over time, you can help even the most finicky eater to accept this valuable food.

Many herbalists recommend vinegar for pets, especially because it can be poured over garlic and others herbs to make medicinal tinctures. Even without those herbs, cider vinegar is an important ingredient in your pet’s diet. Use any raw, unpasteurized, unheated, organic vinegar …. Do not use a vinegar that is uniformly clear and clean-looking, such as vinegar sold in the supermarket. These are dead with none of the enzymes and other live factors that make raw, unpasteurized vinegar so valuable.

What's in ACV?

Many vitamins, minerals and other nutrients and substances are available in ACV to improve the health of your dog. ACV can provide them with enzymes and important minerals, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus, iron, silicon and other trace minerals. The vitamins contained in ACV are bioflavonoids (vitamin P), beta-carotene (precursor to vitamin A), vitamin C, E, B1, B2, and B6. Tannins from the crushed cell walls of fresh apples as well as malic acid, tartaric acid, propionic acid, acetic acid and pectin (fiber) are also contained in AC.

ACV is cheap, easy to use and it really benefits health in numerous ways. ACV can benefit people, too. It is antibacterial and anti-fungal and gives the immune system a good boost. As a high potassium electrolyte balancer, it remineralizes the body and helps normalize the blood’s alkaline acid balance.

Where does the vinegar actually come from? The sweet apple juice is allowed to age, sealed tightly away from the air until all the natural sugar has been converted to alcohol. Mother-of-vinegar is then added to start the second fermentation. Meanwhile, it is left open to the air, and, the alcohol changes to apple cider vinegar. Amazing!