Is your dog having trouble with his (or her, of course) paws in the winter with salt on the sidewalks? Is he biting or chewing on his paws like they itch…especially after a walk around the block in the spring? Taking care of your dog’s paws is an important part of being a dog owner. While this is true no matter what breed of dog you have, the greyhounds that are newly re-homed are not used to walking on gravel, salt or ice. They may be especially bothered with exposure to lawn care chemicals. Their feet are like our bare feet in the spring…remember how tender your feet are after a winter of protective shoes and boots. At any time in our lives, our dog’s feet could be affected by changing weather conditions, chemicals around them and their own changing health issues.
There are quite a few salves available on the market, from the simplest DIY recipe from the American Kennel Club to very expensive salves with Hemp oil in them and everything in between. I’d like to think we would have choices to find the one that works for our dog and is affordable.
In general, ingredients in these salves include oils (like olive oil, coconut oil and almond oil), shea butter and waxes (like beeswax, carnauba wax and paraffin wax). In addition, Vitamin E oil helps healing and serves as a preservative for the mixture. Essential oils like Lavender or Rosemary can also help with healing. I’m not sure the dogs care about the smell one way or the other but it can’t hurt.
The recipe I’ll share with you is very similar to the DIY recipe suggested by the American Kennel Club.
Here is the recipe I’ve used:
As you can see, I started with the calendula-infused oil I made recently (see the article, “Making Calendula-infused Oil…” published on April 8, 2021).
I kept the oil in the refrigerator until I needed it. The shea butter, beeswax and carnauba wax can be ordered from Amazon. The food-grade carnauba wax will leave a thin shiny coating that will help protect the paw pads from ice, salt or lawn chemicals.
This recipe begins with the glass measuring cup and saucepan with boiling water. Measure out your oil, shea butter, beeswax and carnauba wax into the measuring cup and set it in the saucepan of water. Bring the water to a boil and let it simmer until all the oil and wax is melted.
Remove the cup from the saucepan and stir in the Vitamin E oil and the Lavender essential oil.
Pour the melted ingredients into your holders. I first tried one ounce jars and then realized if I were trying to apply this balm to a dog’s paws, the jar would not be a convenient way to store and access it. Using these mini deodorant holders seemed like a much better idea. Even lip balm tubes would be easier to apply the balm. These are not too expensive from Amazon.
Allow the wax to cool completely before capping to prevent condensation from forming on the inside of the lids.
And my last step is always making a card to go with the item that lists the ingredients, with information on the back about how to apply it.
Take good care of your pets and they’ll have happy, healthy feet!
Please leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net! Enjoy!