Louna's recipes
With her lovely shiny coat and her cute, smooth, wet nose, Louna is a true beauty. The gloss finish on her little snout, is not purely cosmetic, it also works as a scent chemical absorber and an indicator of this ravishing little canine’s general state. Contrary to popular belief, a dog's dry nose does not necessarily mean a health issue. But a poor little nose that is overly dry, chapped and/or cracking urgently needs help.
“Gently, gently, sovereign Fire, see how my truffle of a nose is drying up and cracking”, says Toby-Dog in Colette’s Barks and Purrs. Heat from the fire or the sun, the cold, chemical household cleaning products, can be responsible for our little fury friend’s dry chapped nasal appendage.
To avoid these problems, make sure you give the cute creature enough to drink and in a stainless-steel bowl. Also replace her plate by a stainless-steel or a ceramic one. Banish all toxic cleaners and, before going out, moisturize her delicate little snout with a drop of coconut oil. If it is chapped, apply nigella oil to sooth her sores three times a day.
Her incredibly sensitive paw pads need watching too. Like the snout, they react to heat and cold. They are meant for walking through nature, not the concrete sidewalks of the urban jungle, which make them rough and scratchy. These harsh surfaces can be very drying, causing paws to crack and peel. Repeated exposure to chemicals such as household cleaners, pesticides and road salt can trigger skin problems, including very dry paw pads, cracking or worse, peeling – which is extremely painful – and getting infected very rapidly. In this case, you go blues and twos straight to the vet. Other causes for sad pads include zinc deficiency and food allergy.
As with humans, cracks always appear on a very dry skin. To prevent these problems, Louna’s paws need the same treatment as your feet. Check their state every day and give them regular “pawdicures”: wash them in warm water, thoroughly dry them and massage with coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond, sesame, nigella or argon oil. As a daily routine, moisturize them with one of these oils and don’t forget to do yours too.
If the damage is done, wash her poorly paws before sticking them into a soothing paw bath prepared with warm water and 4 tablespoons of coconut oil, olive, almond, sesame, nigella or argan oil. Follow with a thorough massage: start with the pads, then the toes and finish with the space between them. Cover her paws with socks to stop her from licking herself.
For amazing skin and coat, mix half a teaspoon of nigella, grape seed, olive, sunflower or corn oil twice a week in her food. Double the dose for bigger dogs.
Other recipes to groom your hairy four legged friends in
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