I love waking up to my dog in the bed, a paw draped over my face. Smelling like corn chips. As Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore said in Apocalypse Now “I love the smell of corn chips in the morning.” Well, that may not be a direct quote but it is true. More on the corn smell later.
With paws top of mind, literally, at the start of each day, I thought I would share some thoughts.
The paw is my favorite part of the dog. Ya, the eyes are cute too, the way they look at you all full of expression. And oh that tongue, I love a good licking. The happy tail…ok so we can agree that with all their cute parts dogs are awesome. But the paws are used for communicating to us, holding a treat stick upright and of course ‘shaking hands.’ So what else makes them so special?
Pawnatomy
It won’t surprise you to learn that a dog’s paws are not unlike our own feet in that they are both designed to cushion our walk to preserve our joints, they both have sweat glands to control our internal temperature while offering a degree of protection against the elements.
But a dog’s paw is really more adorable than it is durable. Don’t get me wrong the paw takes a lot of abuse from the cold to the heat, irritants to allergies, and even bacteria, viruses, and fungus. Remember the corn chip smell from your dog’s paws? That smell is emanating from a bacteria called Pseudomonas. Yup. And that’s not the only bacteria that could be lurking. E.coli anyone?
Ok so now that I have your attention, March 23rd is National Puppy Day. Consider it a call to action to care and protect your dog’s paws.
Paw Care Tips for your Dog
Use dog boots when the temperature is extreme. What’s extreme? Asphalt can be 60 degrees hotter than the surrounding air temperature. So even on an 85-degree day, the asphalt can be 145 degrees. And dog’s pads burn at temperatures over 120 degrees. If it’s over 100 degrees outside the blacktop is 160! So, if it is too hot for you to go barefoot it is too hot for your pooch. The same goes for winter, use dog boots to protect against frostbite in the winter.
Paw Wax or Paw Balm creates a hydrophobic barrier between your dog’s paw and the wet ground creating amazing protection against the elements. Use wax to hydrate, condition, and protect again ice and snow build-up between the pads, snowmelt chemicals, and general irritants.
And lastly about the bacteria, Your dog steps in urine and all sorts of nasty “stuff” during their walk, then run around your house, jump up on your bed and curl up on your pillow. Enough said.
Well not quite. I bet you didn’t know that almost all dogs’ paws carry E.coli! And they track it all over. I know, gross right? There are many germs, virus, and fungus that dogs carry on their paws. Inside Edition covered this topic very well with shocking lab results and mind-blowing UV blacklight images in this report https://youtu.be/tjfgm3y8Sng. Found on household dogs Bordetella, E.coli, Listeria, Pseudomonas, and Staph.
Sanipaw paw sanitizing and odor eliminating wipes and spray is the non-toxic solution to sanitizing your dog after walks or after mixing it up with a skunk. Use either the spray or the wipes as often as you wish anywhere on your dog you wish, including around the eyes to kill 99.999% of bacteria, virus fungus, and odor. It is completely safe and lickable. And works equally well on humans! Use it as a paw sanitizer or hand sanitizer after handling garlic…
Conclusion
Your dog’s paws might seem tough, but they are still sensitive. So be prepared like the good pet parents we aspire to be. Keep dog boots, paw wax, and sanitizing and odor eliminating paw wipes or spray on hand.