Feb 16, 2024

On a recent trip to the beach, my family’s German Shepherd dog Pippa cut her paw pad on some glass. It was pretty awful. Although not a deep cut, it did bleed enough to leave a trail of blood splotched all around on the stones.

We gave her first aid, and brought her home where she spent a week indoors with her foot bandaged. Pippa spent these days in dramatic sadness, unable to go for a proper walk and feeling the weight of the world upon her shoulders.

I looked online for some dog shoes for her to wear so she could go out for walks while her cut still healed. I bought a set, and she wore the front pair, galumphing around the neighborhood and sounding like a horse as she clip-clopped down the street. But the shoes worked pretty well.

What happened, though, as I was shopping for those shoes, is that I ran across something called paw wax. This is a mixture that is rubbed on paw pads to moisturize and protect. Here was something Pippa could really use. She goes hiking in the alpine areas a lot and her pads become dry and slightly cracked from walking on the granite. We’ve also had trouble in the past with ice balls building up inside the tops of her booties.

Well, through a great deal of research and experimentation, I’ve become a minor expert on paw waxes. And, I’ve gone into business. It’s impressive how well a good wax works. I realized that paw balm and wax would be a great thing to sell along with my books at fairs. I found sources for organic, fair trade, and sustainable ingredients. I perfected several recipes, each with a particular emphasis.

I’m almost ready to launch my online store. See my balms now on my paw wax page. It should all be up in early March 2024. ~~~~~The Paw Wax portion of Pupwalkies will have detailed information about paw balms and waxes and about my own waxes and their ingredients.

Update 3/10/24: My store is open! Please check out k9wax.com.