How to Care for Your Dog’s Paws

by dogtoyadvisor | Last updated on November 18, 2020

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We tend to overlook our dogs’ paws.

Our daily routine consists of cleaning the paws thoroughly when our dogs return from their walks.

They walk barefoot (barepawed?) everyday, on rough terrain (road, sidewalk, dirt, grass, sand, you name it), if they jump, it’s their pads that will absorb the shock and protect their joints.

How We Learned About This

We’ve had multiple incidents with our dog’s paws.

Dobby once stepped on a bee and a lit cigarette. Coco stepped on glass without us noticing it and bled so much we thought she’d need stitches (she didn’t, she was running around like nothing had happened just a couple of hours later).

Then one day, we were on vacation at the beach and Tommy started limping.

Tommy, who never complains, who was running around like a crazy dog the second we got him back from the vet after being neutered, was limping and clearly in pain.

We checked his entire body searching for injuries and didn’t find anything until we saw his poor paws were raw and blistered after hours running on the wet sand and the salty water.

How to Care for Your Dog’s Paws

We cleaned the paws the best we could and took him to the vet, who let us know that if we’d taken care of his paws properly, this could have been avoided.

Since that day, we made sure to do just that, tried a couple of things and see what worked for our dogs’ paws.

Keep it Moisturized

One of the most important things you can do for your dog’s paws is to moisturize them.

We’ve tried a couple of balms and butters, but ultimately, this is our favorite, because it smells great and it stays on for longer.

For paw moisturizer, less is more, you don’t want to get the paws too soft because they’ll get hurt easier, they need a thick paw skin.

Also, we do advise using socks for a few hours after applying it if you don’t want them to lick it and if you don’t want to have little greasy paw marks all over your home

Our Homemade Moisturizer Recipe

If, like us, you prefer to use your own natural recipes to moisturize your dog’s feet, this is the recipe we like to use:

– 6, 1oz Heat safe tins

– Small pot

– 2 oz olive oil

– 2 oz coconut oil

– 1 oz shea butter (don’t replace with cocoa butter, it’s toxic for dogs)

– 4 tsp beeswax

Melt all the ingredients together over low heat while stirring.

Pour the mix into the tins and leave to cool until they harden again. It should last between one to two years as long as you store it somewhere cool.

Keep it Clean

If you’re making sure to keep your dogs’ paws clean, you’re doing half the work already.

Wipe your dog’s paws with a moist cloth when he gets home, closely inspecting between the toes for some sort of debris. After that, use a dry towel to keep them nice and dry.

Keep it Trimmed

You’ll want to keep the nails trimmed.

We know it can be a horror movie to trim your dog’s nails.

It’s the only thing that makes Dobby bite, but with 4 extra nails that can get stuck on just about anything and rip, we can’t take the risk.

We’ve established a routine that works well with him.

One of us will feed him treats or even wet food (which he doesn’t get very often) while the other works on those pesky nails. He’s suspicious but food trumps fear.

The nail clipper you use is also important, we’ve tried a few he hated and we couldn’t really use properly. Then we got this one and things got a lot better.

Prevention is Key

Even though accidents can happen, prevention goes a long way in keeping your dog’s paws safe. Be sure to:

– Keep your dog’s paws moisturized at all times

– Avoid walking your dog in hot temperatures

– Keep a watchful eye over the parks and places you take him to

– On your daily dog walks, make sure to watch ahead for something on the ground that might hurt him

A little bit of care and the few easy steps we’ve mentioned should keep your dog healthy and running around for a very long time.

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