How to clean the dog’s paws on returning home and other hygiene precautions

How to clean the dog’s paws on returning home and other hygiene precautions: Although we can’t leave the house, dogs need a walk every now and then. But how can you clean your dog’s paws when he returns home?

In these emergency periods, hygiene is paramount. And even though we can wash our hands constantly, our dogs can’t do the same. Even if our pets cannot infect with Coronavirus, as per recent communications, it is always better to prevent any type of infection and disease by keeping our furs clean with a few simple habits. Especially for dogs that live in the house, once they come back from the walk, their legs must be cleaned to prevent them from carrying dirt and external elements from outside.

Because where there is a puddle of mud, there is a dog ready to jump into it. Whether it’s a puppy or an adult dog, for sure after being around our Fido will be dirty, and his paws will be cleaned in the best way. But it’s not that difficult if we organize ourselves as needed first. Just a little patience, regularity and our dogs will be perfectly clean.

Arrange a cleaning station

Before leaving, the thing that will make it much easier to clean the paws of the dog is that he / she is able to obey the “stopped” and “seated” commands. The moment he comes back from outside, let’s keep him still and give him the command to stand still. We could lay an absorbent mat on the floor, right in front of the door, or even clean its paws while we are still outside.

Arrange a cleaning station with old towels, towels, veterinary wipes, a bucket of water with a lid and snacks to give as a reward, will save us time and make everything very simple. Obviously, make sure to empty the bucket of dirty water and refill it before the next walk.

Have your legs cleaned by yourself

We keep an old towel or towel right near the door, or we use a mat, and we tell our puppy to clean your paws yourself before entering the house. This can facilitate and speed up the cleaning process. It will be enough that we can get him to put a paw on a towel, and make him understand that it is a good thing.

For example, to train it, we can spread a sheet on some prizes in food, and then use a clicker with a prize, when paying attention to the sheet. This will make him understand that that object is positive. We can also try to make it more difficult later, by making him touch the cloth to get his rewards, so that he starts making a movement similar to cleaning his paws.

We can also give a verbal command while cleaning the legs, like “clean”. The method we are talking about is obviously not very fast or totally effective in itself, but it will make the other methods faster when we use it in combination with them. For sure, it will not stop us from getting down and cleaning his paws and between his fingers, perhaps even using the bucket of water.

Hygienic wipes

If our furry friend has small paws, has walked on a muddy sidewalk, or simply has dirt on his paws, it will be useful to use veterinary wipes (or a damp cloth) to solve the problem easily. Just like wet wipes for us humans, these dog-specific wipes are comfortable and disposable.

If we don’t have them available, we could use a damp cloth to dip in warm (not hot!) Water and clean all the dirt from his paws and between his toes. This can be very comfortable even for the dirty hair on the belly and chest, if the dog has splashed or touched his body with dirty paws. They are also the easiest and fastest way to clean the paws of puppies, but they are not exactly optimal in case the paws are really very dirty.

The bucket of water

If our furry friend is quite large, or is very dirty, the wipes will be of little use. A bucket of hot water (not too hot!) Will be needed to clean the dirt, using an old cloth to remove the initial layer. Then we dip the legs one at a time into the bucket, and let all the dirt run off. Finally, we use an old cloth or towel to clean all the dirt left and dry the legs.

Maybe it will be necessary to go directly to a real bath in more extreme cases, perhaps even using a little dog shampoo. The final solution will then be to bring it directly into a tank and wash the legs by immersing them in water, lathering the dog and rinsing. Rinsing is a key moment: any remaining shampoo may itch later.

For the little ones

For smaller or more fearful dogs, cleaning the paws is not a very easy time. If we notice that our friend pulls back, looks terrified, or runs away, slowing down all the steps to clean the dog’s paws should improve things.

We introduce the elements one at a time, making Fido acquainted with the drying, then with the bucket, calmly and without haste. We also give a prize every time it responds positively, so that I understand that cleaning the legs is not a punishment but something good.