How to dry a fluffy dog's paws
Towels are tricky to use on fluffy, squirmy dogs who hate having their feet wiped and fight the process. Because cleaning dirty or pee-covered paws every time is such a hassle, the routine gets old quickly. Owners often give up on regular wipe-downs and only clean their dog's paws when absolutely necessary.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Training the dog to paw a rug at the door to wipe feetDid this help you?
- 2Using a small handheld fur trimmerDid this help you?
- 3Using dog-friendly aloe vera wet wipes on legs, paws, and private parts after every walk.Did this help you?
- 4Running a robot vacuum and mop continuously every 12 hours.Did this help you?
- 5Placing a large mat inside the door for the dog's paws to track on.Did this help you?
- 6Only wiping paws when it is actively wet or muddy outside.Did this help you?
- 7Using a wet wipe to clean the dog's butthole, then using the same wipe to pick up the poop.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Lastly, it was already pretty gross to think about him stepping on his pee where it had already been partially absorbed on the pee pad. Now it’s on concrete so it moves since it’s not level. He stepped right in his pee. I let him walk around the concrete a bit to get some of it off. But the thought of dirty paws + pee is something we need to get used to.”source ↗
“Every time I wipe his paws, the wipe has dirty marks on it. I use a dog friendly wipe with Aloe vera in it so wiping his paws constantly isn't drying out his skin or paw pads. It feels like a hassle at first”source ↗
“My husband tried to wipe out ouldest's paws every time she came in but that got old quick.”source ↗
“Yes , my dog is still a puppy so he pees without the one leg up in the air technique, he sits down with all his paws wide apart and pees and he gets it on his paws sometimes”source ↗
“She hates having her paws wiped and gives me trouble then acts insulted for an hour following a wipe down 🤣 so only when necessary.”source ↗