How to Make Dog Paw Balm to Moisturize, Protect and Soothe Paws

September 11, 2017

Pets paws, while different from their human counterparts, are also susceptible to damage from hot pavement, the elements and other factors. You can help soothe and moisturize damaged or irritated paws with this best dog paw balm recipe. Keep reading to learn how to make a natural pet balm for your furry family!

Homemade Dog Paw Balm

If you’re like me, then your pet is a part of your family. And as such you probably spoil him or her a lot more than yourself. So I created an all natural recipe for making a homemade dog paw balm to pamper your pooch! This natural balm is great for soothing damaged paw pads as well as protecting them from the elements. Think of it as a super amazing lip balm for dog’s irritated paws! It’s also great for dry little noses.

As my natural dog paw balm was designed for furry four legged friends, it’s free of fragrance. However, you can also use this recipe to make solid lotion bars for yourself. Simply add .05% (by weight) of your favorite essential oil or essential oil blend.

Should You Use Paw Balm on Dogs?

There are so many reasons to use a paw balm on dogs. Dog’s paws can become dry and cracked — just like human hands! Whether it’s from walking on rough surfaces outdoors or from the chemicals found in deicing solutions or salt in the winter, a moisturizer and protectant becomes vitally important.

The quickest and easiest way to protect your dog’s pads from further damage is by using a natural paw balm. That’s because this homemade treatment provides the following benefits:

Protects paws from further damage
Rehydrates paws to replenish lost moisture
Helps to soothe skin
Promotes healing to repair damaged paws

What Causes Dog Pads to Crack?

There are numerous reasons that a dog’s pads may crack. These include:

Hot pavement and dirt can cause dog’s pads to crack, burn or blister
Improper grooming such as long toenails or pet hair between pads
Residual ice and salt from treated roads during winter can cause cracking and may be harmful if licked or ingested

DIY Dog Paw Balm

Following is my original recipe for dog paw balm. This DIY balm moisturizes, soothes and protects pet’s paws. Made with natural ingredients, it’s an easy and effective way to care for pet’s paws. As it’s non-scented and made using food-grade ingredients, this product is safe if licked or ingested. For extremely damaged pet pads, please consult your veterinarian.

This recipe yields approximately five paw-shaped solid lotion bars. Keep some on hand for your dog. Then give away the extras to friends who also have furry family members.

Ingredients:

These are the ingredients you will need to make a DIY dog paw balm for your pets:

3 oz. pharmaceutical grade lanolin: Lanolin is great for this type of product as it’s a natural skin protectant. A known humectant, lanolin also helps to lock in moisture to keep pet pads hydrated.
.5 oz. white cosmetic beeswax: Like lanolin, beeswax is another wonderful skin protectant. It also helps to lock in moisture and is believe to have some antibacterial properties. I used white cosmetic beeswax as it’s odorless. However, you can also use yellow beeswax pastilles for their smokey, honey-like scent.
.5 oz. refined kokum butter: Kokum butter is a body butter that used to moisturize skin. It’s a semi-solid butter that is similar to shea butter. While slightly firmer, it’s not a solid butter like cocoa butter. It has a uniform triglyceride composition that helps make this balm firm enough to molded.
.5 oz. refined shea butter: Shea butter is a popular body butter and moisturizer. As kokum butter tends to be flaky, mixing shea butter into this balm for pets’ pads helps to give it a smooth texture that prevents it from crumbling.
.4 oz. olive oil: Olive oil is an easily attainable carrier oil. This product provides moisturizing properties. It also prevents the balm from being too firm, thereby allowing it to melt onto pet’s pads upon contact. Much like a DIY solid lotion bar that you might use on your own skin. In lieu of olive oil, you may also use coconut oil, sunflower oil, or sweet almond oil.

Tools and Materials:

In addition to the ingredients needed to make the best paw balm for dogs, you’ll also need a few additional tool and materials. These include:

Digital kitchen scale to weigh out the ingredients.
Dog paw silicone mold to create your solid balms or lotion bars to rub onto your pet’s pads.
A double boiler or microwave to melt the ingredients.
Heat safe bowl to weigh out the ingredients. This may also be used melt and mix the ingredients if heating the mixture in the microwave.
Utensil, such as a silicone spatula, to mix the ingredients for the pet paw balm for dogs once melted.

How to Make a Pet Paw Balm Recipe

To make this best paw balm for dogs, follow these steps:

1. Using a digital scale, weigh out all of the ingredients and combine in a double boiler.

2. Heat the ingredients for the balm over medium to medium-low heat (or in the microwave at 50% power) until melted.

3. Then, stir to combine.

4. Now pour the melted ingredients into a paw shaped silicone mold.

5. Allow your DIY dog paw balm to harden. Once they have fully cooled and have solidified, gently remove them from the mold.

6. Wrap the finished pet care product tightly in foodservice film. Alternately, you can also package these individually in round tins.

Usage

To use this pet care product, simply apply the balm to your pet’s paws in a circular motion. As the product melts on contact, massage it into your dog’s pads.

In addition to using this DIY dog paw balm on dog’s pads, you can also apply this product to cracked, dry or irritated doggie noses.

Natural Dog Paw Balm FAQ

How Often Should You Put Paw Balm on Your Dog?

If your dog’s paws are dry or cracked, apply a paw balm to your dog’s paws two to three times a day. This will help to restore your dog’s paws to their former health by promoting healing and protecting them from further damage

Do Cracked Paws Hurt Dogs?

It’s highly likely that your pet’s cracked paws do hurt — even if they aren’t exhibiting pain symptoms. Additionally, untreated damage to your dog’s paws is not only painful, it can lead to lameness as well as infection.

How Can I Moisturize My Dog’s Paws Naturally?

A natural paw balm is a great way to care for your dog’s paws. Formulated in the same way as a human grade lotion bar, this option penetrates paws to provide intense moisturization.

If you like my DIY dog paw balm then you may also like natural flea repellent dry dog shampoo recipe. Made with all natural ingredients, this dry shampoo deodorizes your dog’s coat while also helping to repel fleas. The natural clays and botanicals in this dry shampoo recipe gently deodorize your dog’s coat while absorbing excess oil and dirt. Find the recipe to make your own DIY dry dog shampoo here.

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