Quote: Joyce Salazar

Thanks for the update CJ!

My female has had issues with her feet. They may have not been as stinky, but she definitely had more of a smell than my other dog. Hers had that tell tale pinkish red looking stain between her toes. I love the effects of the apple cider vinegar, just great stuff for regulating and clearing up skin issues.

Dumb question here, but I gotta ask. When using the ACV on already red yeasty feet, does it sting? I don't want to make it painful for him, but cannot stand the constant licking and itching.

 Quote: Nancy Stinson

Dumb question here, but I gotta ask. When using the ACV on already red yeasty feet, does it sting? I don't want to make it painful for him, but cannot stand the constant licking and itching.

Hi Nancy, there are no dumb questions, we don't know what we don't know.

In fact, as I was dunking his first foot into the first bath I was cringing a bit, wondering myself and waiting for some kind of painful reaction to the strong, stinky concoction.

Vince had one front foot that the Dr. said was a little more infected than the rest. I’ve never seen him show any kind of physical pain and this was no exception. What he did do with the more infected one was hold it up a bit longer when it was done. I took this as a sign of it being a little more uncomfortable than the others, not wanting to put it down immediately. The other three were just fine, in and out no problem.

However, as I’m sure you know, with some dogs it’s just really difficult to tell. There was no wincing, furled brows, saliva or a any real uncomfortable urgency to pull it away and when it was done he just trotted away like nothing happened.

However, with Vincent, there was no licking or itching… not that I witnessed anyway and he’s pretty much wherever I am at all times when I’m home. Mind you, he’s the super alert type and doesn’t succumb to boredom easily. I don’t know if he’d be the “sit back and lick” kind even if it was bothering him.

If your pup is doing this, it would kind of make sense to me that there may be a raw or scratched spot that perhaps the vinegar may irritate as it’s penetrating. I don’t know, perhaps others may have experience with this.

Vince was also really stinky. I think this was a pretty good sign to the Dr. along with the visual as opposed to possible allergies or something else.

But again no, there were no real painful signs at all with the vinegar bath, just the extra few seconds of holding up the more infected foot.

 Quote: Sherry Leonard

... Hi, I love the info on this thread, I have a pit that is on raw (since we adopted him last October) and without changing anything in his diet which he is doing great on....for the last few weeks he has been licking his butt and this week I noticed that it is red between his toes, could I ask is the footbath straight ACV, anything added....diluted....?? Last week they (we also have a Boerboel) did have beef heart every day which is very unusual...any suggestions? (we had a boxer for many years that had allergies, (she was prior to my newfound knowledge and was not raw fed) and her feet were always red we tried everything the vet suggested with only minor improvements. I feel guilty everytime I think about her which is often, she was my heart dog) BUT I did the best I could at the time and we can only go forward right? Sorry to go off topic :> Any thoughts are welcome!

Do you smell any yeasty odor? Any odor? Is he licking/biting at the paws?

How do his ears look (inside)? Any inflammation or debris?

 Quote: Sherry Leonard

I'm sorry I don't know how to do the quote thing correctly!

Hi, I love the info on this thread,

Hi Sherry, don’t worry about quoting; I’m still trying to figure things out here too.

I’m glad you found the information useful. It sounds like your newest dog is in great hands! Don’t knock yourself out over the past, we’ve all been there. It’s just so wonderful when we get the RIGHT information and get to see our pups really thrive.

As far as the mixture went… the Dr. recommended that I put a splash of Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol (said vodka would do the trick but a bit more expensive) in the vinegar in order to dry the vinegar on his feet quicker. As well, he did say ordinary vinegar would work but I had the ACV. He said the only difference with the ACV was that it had a potential to leave a bit of stain on the feet. Vince has pretty black feet and I didn’t notice (nor would I have cared) any staining.

Other than the splash of alcohol, it was straight vinegar. I have these great little plastic throw away containers that their liver comes in – 4“ by 3” wide and 2” deep. I washed them out thoroughly and cut off the flippy lid. They were a perfect fit for his feet, maximizing the coverage with a minimal amount needed. We went through two 2.5 litre containers of ACV and just about one bottle of rubbing alcohol.

And as I mentioned earlier, Vince wasn’t licking anything. He was just a total stink ball. He did have the flies around his butt which the Dr. said were drawn in by the yeast on his feet. It was these flies that got me really scared; I thought for sure something was wrong on that end. But just turns out once the flies were there, the butt was more attractive than the yeasty feet.

As for the beef heart, my dogs get them all the time. I’ve never fed it every day for a week, generally a once a week thing. Personally (and I certainly am no expert) I can’t see this causing any problems but perhaps others may have more information for you.

Connie and I were posting at the same time, please respond to her questions, she is the one to help you get this figured out.


Edited by CJ Barrett (08/31/2010 09:50 PM)
Edit reason: Connie's Questions

I can tell you one easy way that has worked for me with the apple cider vinegar. I use the Bragg brand as I believe it is unpasteurized and has a lot of benefits so I use this one only.

After I give my allergic dog a bath, I take one cup of the ACV put it in with about 2 quarts of warm water in a large pour container.
I use this as a final rinse over her whole body.
I believe the diluted solution is perfect for taking out any potential residue left from the bath,(although I rinse very thoroughly) making sure to get the feet well and spots where she is prone to itching( for her it is her backsides)
I let her shake off, but I do not rinse this out.

The nice side effect is that it makes her coat soft and shiny too. I have used this rinse when she has had troubles with hot spots etc, or has had the slight yeast in between her toes.
However since she has been getting her allergy shots, they appear to be working and we haven't had any hot spots or yeast in quite some time. ( woohoo!)

Thanks CJ! I will keep this thread handy just in case.

Hi Connie, he has been licking at his feet, not constantly or anything, his feet do not stink, I smelled them just now to be sure they do have a slight smell....definitely not corn chips or popcorn or even "stink" but he is the cleanest, non-smelliest dog we have ever had (maybe that nice diet he is on he has NO smell, it is amazing! He is scratching at his left ear, both ears look very clean (also a first for us) I see no wax, debris or anything but if I stick my nose in his ear it smells like his feet. I also notice that his belly which is almost bald, is reddish almost like sunburn on us...just like between his toes actually. It is normally pale.

We have had alot of dew on the grass these past few weeks for almost the whole morning but I would think that his feet would dry by afternoon and that wouldn't have anything to do with his butt or ears.... I'm at a loss and while he is certainly not miserable just seeing him licking and seeing his pink toes (his feet are white so it really shows) I know that at the least he is uncomfortable sometimes

Hi Joyce, I actually keep Braggs in the house just because I used it with the boxer I mentioned earlier. I just want to say that I really like your pic, very beautiful dogs!

Thank you Sherry, appreciate the compliment on the dogs!

I was just re-reading your above post about potential yeast in between your dogs toes.
You could try daily foot baths, or in case your dog won't stand there, you could try this. Take an empty spray bottle, and I would dilute the ACV about 50/50 with water and you can spray in between his toes.
One other product that has also worked for me is this:
http://www.vetericyn.com/benefits/

I have sprayed this in between her toes and it cleared up right away. Great for hot spots, cuts scrapes etc.
If you don't find the ACV works for you, give this stuff a try, I keep it on hand for basic first aid for the dogs.

Also, have you ever given any probiotics to your dog, either in the form of high quality yogurt or kefir and or the powdered form? Just a thought.

Good morning Joyce, I will def try one or the other (thanks for the link!) What is high quality yogurt? We just have your basic brands at the grocery stores here, yoplait, dannons etc. I gave it to my boxers (we lost both of them in '09) but have not been giving it to these 2. As for a probiotic no, is it necessary? and I have read about kefir and thought about trying it but have NO idea where I would find it! I took a good look at Jax (the pit) yesterday and it seems that all of the white parts on his lower body are looking pink, his feet, about halfway up his legs and his stomach/chest. (no beef since last Friday) This is getting weirder by the day.