Unlike the human feet the animal paws aren't spoiled by shoes. Despite this they sometimes need extra help with staying healthy especially when it comes to extreme weather. I make this protective paw salve for out dogs which is great especially in winter because it protects the paws from the very very low temperatures. However, it's a good protection from hot roads as well and as a regenerating salve.

This paw salve is no science, you can make it at home even though you have to experience making cosmetics at home. I haven't used any super exotic ingredients that are difficult to get. My goal was to make salve that is greasy, dense and sticks to the paws and I think I succeeded. It is also nutritive so I sometimes use it on the paws after a walk and after cleaning the paws.

Just like humans the animals can have allergies, too. I recommend trying the paw salve only on a small part of one paw although generally there are no irritative ingredients that dogs would normally be allergic to.

Also, check out more of my cosmetics recipes, I have a whole bunch of them!

Big thanks to our beautiful girl Nala who so patiently posed for the featured picture :-*

Supplies

- 20 g/0.7 oz of coconut oil - I have infused it with dandelions so the salve has the healing power of this plant

- 20 g/0.7 oz of shea butter

- 10 g/0.4 oz of sheep lanoline

- 8 g/0.3 oz of of beeswax

- salve containerheatproof container

Step 1: Lickability :-P

If your pet friend licks this salve off her/his paws, you don't need to worry. None of those ingredients will harm a healthy dog because of an occasional ingestion.

Like with everything, the amount is what's important. It doesn't matter if you pet gives the salve an occasional lick but you still have to remember that it's not food and it's not meant for eating so don't let your pet eat it often or in large amounts.

I use the salve on my dogs mostly before going on walks so there's not really an opportunity for them to eat it but when we cream their paws afterwards they sometimes do lick it. No belly ache so far.

Step 2: How to Make the Salve

Weight the ingredients and put them in a heatproof container. Put the container in a pot with water and heat the water. This way the ingredients will melt in the water bath. Watch that the water doesn't enter the container with the ingredients.

Stir when melted and pour the salve into the salve container.

Step 3: How to Apply the Salve

Winter

I made this recipe to protect the paws especially during winter walks. So I recommend you to apply a relatively generous amount on each pad just before going out. The salve sticks well in cold weather.

If you see that your pet's paws are cracked because of the low temperatures, apply the salve also after walks.

Summer

I do use this salve also in summer although just occasionally. I use it before walks if I suppose the road might be too hot or if there's a lot of dry cut grass that might hurt the paws. If you live in a place with very high temperatures in summer, you might want to change the ratio and add a little more wax or lanoline to prevent the salve from melting.

Is it save for my hands?

Definitely, if you´re not allergic to any of the ingredients. Sometimes I make double batch, one for Nala and one for my cracked heels. Even if you don´t want to use the salve, you can cream your pet´s paws without gloves because all the ingredients are also beneficial for human skin.

Step 4: Storing and Shell Life

Store the paw salve in a cold place. If you keep it in your fridge you'll have to take it out some time before using because it will need to soften a little.

The expiration date of your ingredients (especially of the one with the shortest expiration date) is the expiration date of your salve. Even if the shell life if my ingredients is long I prefer to make small batches which I use up fast.