Over the weekend, Moose and Lally and I were invited up to a friend’s house. The house sits up on a hill overlooking the Willamette River in Washington state. Around the yard grow wild blackberries (yum) and there are several walking paths through the less tamed areas of the hill.
In other words, it’s pretty much puppy paradise!
Much to my dismay, Moose came gimping out of the bushes after dinner. I grabbed his feet and checked each one out. His left front paw had all sorts of sticks and stones stuck to the pads — it seems my Moose had found some sticky sap or pitch on his explorations.
After picking out the sticks and stones and making sure he didn’t have any puncture wounds, cuts, or scrapes, I let him go. (He wasn’t very fond of the foot touching.) Moose was walking better afterwards, but still favoring his front left foot. My friend Sue ducked inside and came out with a pat of butter in her hand. I held Moose still while Sue rubbed the butter into his paw. The slippery butter did the trick — it unstuck the pitch from Moose’s foot pads.
You can also trim out sticky substances like chewing gum, sap, glue, or sticky candy. Apply an ice cube to harden the sticky stuff, then use clippers or blunt scissors to cut away the mess. If you are using scissors, slip a comb underneath the fur (against the skin) so you don’t accidentally cut too deep.
Other sticky fixes:
- Use turpentine to remove dried oil-based paint. Wash the area with soap and water afterwards.
- Use vegetable oil to remove liquid oil-based paint and motor oil. Rub the oil in, then blot with paper towels. Dust flour on afterwards to help absorb the last of the mess.
- Use petroleum jelly, Crisco, or even peanut butter to soften tar. Wash the area with soap and water afterwards.
- Use ice to harden wax or latex pain. Ice will make it brittle enough to peel off.
- Use dishwashing liquid (like Dawn) to break up oily or greasy messes in the fur. Lather, let the suds soak in for five minutes, then rinse thoroughly.