23 January 2015: Salon “paw care” a con?”
When it comes to dog grooming paws and paw care, you will read a lot from so-called professionals involved with dog grooming that dog owners should put protective wax on the pads of their dogs and concentrate on paw buffing and other pedicure-type stuff like ‘fizzy soaks’ and the rest of it.
It’s all nonsense and simply won’t work for most dogs.
The fact is the vast majority of dogs HATE their paws being touched and are VERY nervous – even dogs who have NOT encountered bad experiences from careless nail cutting and nicking skin in between their toes when clipping away excess fur.
Dog owners may buy these paw treatments but the truth is paws need no more than basic maintenance.
What a dog’s paws need is:
- excess fur and knots cut away from in between toes
- nails kept at the correct length
- always being dried when they are wet or cleaned from mud, after a walk,
- quick daily check for foreign bodies under the foot.
Only then – and only maybe! – should some protective paw wax be applied to the pads.
Special washes can be bought from vets for sensitive problem feet, but save your money and spend it on something your dog will really appreciate.
