It’s that time of year here in New England, the time when a dog’s paws are exposed to everything – snow, ice, mud; often all in one short walk! I mostly avoid even our dirt road once snow has fallen here. They put a ton of sand and salt on our road because icy dirt roads can be just as bad as the paved ones. If we walk on the road, it’s for a short ways and then Luke walks in plenty of fresh snow to clean all that off afterwards. But even with that precaution, the weather can be tough on paws.
Since I already make an all-natural hand & body butter for humans, it stands to reason that I’d want to make something under the Barking Dog Organic Farm label for dogs as well. That’s even though Luke will never let me put any on his paws! I know some of our past dogs would have loved it, and certainly could have used it.
The truth is, there are a ton of recipes out on the internet for homemade paw balm or wax. Many have the same ingredients, but I like to put my own spin on things, so I changed up some of them and came up with our own recipe. Introducing “Farm to Paw” – now available in our online store! Farm to Paw is made in small batches right here in our farm kitchen, and is sold in 2 oz containers.
I already had the basics on hand since I use some of them in my other products, and some for Luke:
- Beeswax (I use organic white beeswax pellets, same thing I use in my human skin care products).
- Shea butter – 100% pure, unrefined, Grade A, imported from Ghana.
- Coconut Oil (organic & Non-GMO verified) which I always have on hand since I use it in many of our organic dog treat recipes as well as giving to Luke.
- Safflower oil which I occasionally give Luke because of the Omega 6 oils in it that can help promote clear skin and a healthy coat.
- Vitamin E oil moisturizes, soothes and protects a dog’s skin.
- Lavender essential oil, added because of it’s skin-soothing effects along with anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-itch properties. Lavender oil can also help dogs with anxiety and stress. There is only a small amount in our paw balm, so the scent is not overwhelming.
Our balm is meant to soothe, moisturize, and protect your dog’s paws from the elements. Whether you’re on snow and ice like us, or hiking rough terrain or pounding the pavement (not hot pavement please!), paw balm can add a protective layer to paws either before or after a walk. It can be especially beneficial for senior dogs whose paw pads tend to be very dry. If Luke would let me do it, I would love to rub this balm on his paws and then put some socks on him and just let it soak in! That’s what I do on my own feet with our hand & body butter! 🙂
Unfortunately, since Luke does not like having his paws handled, or even just looked at really (“don’t even think about it, Mom!!”), we couldn’t test this on him. So I used it on my own nose after I had been suffering from a cold and it worked great at keeping it from getting irritated and raw! You know what else we plan to use it for? We’ll be putting it on our chickens’ combs this winter to help protect them from frostbite!
Of course, there are the usual precautions – while ingesting a small amount of this shouldn’t hurt your dog, you would want to be sure they don’t lick it all off as it could upset their stomach. Also, essential oils shouldn’t be used on pregnant, nursing, or dogs with medical conditions; without checking with your veterinarian first.
Have you ever put balm or wax on your dog’s paws?
Hmmm, that looks like it would be soothing for human “paws” too. I would never have guessed chicken combs need protecting, but I guess it’s exposed skin like anything else.
Yes, they are prone to frostbite, especially those with bigger combs, like a rooster.
That sounds great. I like the cover too. Thank you for the kind words you left on my blog for the loss of KaTwo. XO
You are very welcome. ♥
Oh Luke. You and Hachi are so much the same. I am working on counterconditioning Hachi to having his paws handled now, and it’s looking promising. Fenzi has a great counterconditioning course with Nancy Tucker – it’s a great one for dogs like you and Hachi.
We put “Bag Balm” on our dogs’ paws (Shyla and R) but I am going to check out yours. We usually don’t put it on until they have cracked paw pads. Earlier would probably be better!
Yes, I think prevention is always good! Thanks for checking ours out.
I’ve tried some counter-conditioning with Luke, but I just don’t have the patience that you do for working on these things! I will keep that class in mind though, thank you.
I make a hand cream similar to this and I love it, I haven’t tried it on the dogs paws but know it would work well too. What a great idea to put on the chickens combs.
Now that I make my own stuff, I don’t think I could go back to buying it from a store! I’m sure you’ll feel the same.
Thanks, now the trick will be getting a hold of the chickens to do so. LOL. Some will be very cooperative, but others probably not so much!
Hi – We are just stopping by to say hello and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Your products sound wonderful. The funny part is Ruby is such a baby about going out in any kind of wet or cold weather that her paw pads stay pretty soft! LOL!
Ruby is smart; simply staying indoors is a good way to avoid issues too. LOL!
Thank you for stopping by, it was so nice to hear from you! ♥
That sounds lovely. Matt has dry patches on his elbows and I bet that would help it. I have been using Aveeno ointment on it but that doesn’t seem to be working the way I want it too.
xoxo,
Bell Fur Zoo Mama
I think our more natural ingredients might help a lot more. Hope you give it a try for Matt. ♥
Placed an order today. Hope I did it all right.
xoxo,
Bell Fur Zoo Mama
Yes, you did it perfectly, and thank you so much!!
xoxo
Sounds like a great product! Too bad Luke won’t try it.
At least he’ll eat the treats I make. 🙂
That’s a totally terrific product and we wish you all the best with it!
Thank you so much, Brian!!
Congrats on expanding the product line! This sounds like a ‘furbulous’ addition to all your other top-dog products. We make a similar paw balm that works great during winter months and have even applied it to dry noses. Stay safe and warm this week. Happy Thanksgiving from effurry-one at the Ranch.
Thank you so much, Monika! I really appreciate all the support you’ve given me since I started my shop (or before I started it actually too!).
We’re looking forward to a lovely Thanksgiving week with hopefully not too much cold and nasty weather. Happy Thanksgiving to you and the crew! ♥
A good thing for our babies all year around. Yes we did this for our precious Little Bit. She loved it too.
You’re such a handsome pup, Luke.
Have a woof woof day and week. My best to your peeps. ♥
Our senior beagle Kobi really could have used something like this, and he was so easygoing about everything I know he would have been fine. His nose was especially dry as he got older, and his paws too. Your Little Bit obviously loved that special treatment. ♥
Oooooh, that sounds wonderful! The pads on Radar’s front paws are dry in some areas from him licking them from time to time. (He still gets a bit anxious at times – probably from all the changes in his life, the hw treatment drugs, and just being a bit unsure about everything.) I think for now, though, I’ll just try strictly coconut oil. At least it won’t upset his tummy. And maybe I’ll put Shadow’s socks on him.
I always think it’s best to stick to simple things when there are a lot of medications, etc. involved. I used plain coconut oil on Kobi’s nose a lot.
We hope all is going as well as possible for Radar. ♥
we use milking grease… but the mama had a good idea and used coconut oil… we licked it off faster than she had the leashes on LOL
Ha, Luke LOVES coconut oil and that’s exactly what he would do too! 🙂
Mom puts Musher’s Secret on my paws every single day before walkies all year round.
Molly, your Mom is the best!! ♥
Nope, we have never used anything out our paws. We get them handled all the time, but so far, we all have soft pads. Katie had some dry pads as she got older, but they were nothing too bad. Sounds like some good stuff for those who have dry paw pads. Luke needs to learn how good paw massages feel. We all love them.
You are so right! I know he would enjoy it if he would just relax. He loves a good belly or chest rub, but paws and ears are off limits. He’s so quirky, and doesn’t know how much he’s missing out on!