Apple Cider Vinegar itchy dog spray

Full disclosure, this is NOT my recipe. This first appeared at Dogs Naturally and then the people at Planet Paws created this graphic and shared it on Facebook. It has been shared almost half a million times and there are countless testimonials on the web about how effective this can be at controlling itches on your dogs skin.

First the recipe

Take a half cup of apple cider vinegar, half a cup of brewed green tea and 1 cup of distilled water and mix them together. Put them in a spray bottle.

How to use

Spray on to your dog's skin and coat. Massage it in, rinse off and pat dry.

What is it good for?

The post we found this on says that it's useful to restore the skin pH of your fur baby. It's worth mentioning at this point that a dog's skin pH is different to a human. Using natural shampoo or natural skin care designed for humans isn't a good idea. Puppy grooming products isn't just a clever marketing ploy, they are different. Because of this, the ACV / green tea solution can help to soothe itchy skin, calm welts and rashes on dogs and can also assist in keeping flies and flea bites at bay.

Remember, it is always a good idea to get advice from your vet about keeping fleas and ticks under control. In our home, because I have chemical sensitivities, our dogs do not get spot on treatments. Instead, we use tablets that do worms and fleas at the same time. This spray is not a substitute for treating your dog for fleas, it's a natural remedy to soothe skin irritation.

I have read some anecdotal evidence suggesting that you can put a splash of apple cider vinegar in to your dogs drinking water to help prevent fleas, but again, I have no evidence to support this and it should not be used as a substitute for seeking advice from your vet.

We also found this article from Dogs Naturally (the original source of the itchy dog spray) with an allergy kit for dogs skin irritations, and in it, includes liquid castile soap, in particular, the Dr Bronner Liquid Baby Castile soap and a couple of essential oils including Lavender and Helichrysum.

Note: Helichrysum is a very expensive essential oil. Our favourite essential oil brand is doTERRA and while we're not permitted to sell this through our doTERRA Australia collection on our website, we can direct you to purchase it for your own use through our doTERRA store in the USA. It's currently just under $130US for a 5ml bottle.