Abnormally dry nose

[Mari]

Does anyone have advise for how to treat a dry nose? And I really mean dry, not just "not wet".   

My 7 year old cocker has a dry nose. The surface around the edges is rough and I'm afraid the skin will crack. She never had this problem before, it appeared this winter. So far I have tried to treat it "from the inside" by adding more salmon oil to her food. And lately I have started rubbing nipple cream on it. (Sounds crazy, I know, but I figured since it's safe for human babies, then I don't have to worry about the dog licking her nose and ingesting the cream). Neither has proved to be very effective so far unfortunately...

[elaine.e]

William has a dry nose all the time, which in his case is probably due to him having Dry Eye. It doesn't seem to bother him much but I sometimes gently smooth on a small amount of virgin coconut oil.

[MIN]

dogs trust snout balm, available via amazon.
Our poppy had a really dry crusty nose and this really does sort it out.
just a note, leave the tub in a warm place, the balm is easier to apply when it has been softened

[Mari]

No, it doesn't seem to bother my girl either. But it was bleeding a little and I thought it best to try and avoid that happening again.
Thanks for the advice guys! I'll definitely order some snout balm (had no idea something like that even existed ) and maybe use some oil while I'm waiting for it to arrive

[MOO-MOO]

I use a bit of Vaseline of Moo-Moo's nose.

[Mari]

Thanks! Unfortunately I found that vaseline and similar products made Laurië lick her nose a lot more. I think it might be because it stays like a film on top of the skin instead of being absorbed. So she just would not stop licking until everything was gone.
But I actually tried a small amount of bepanthen ointment yesterday and today. I just held her for a few minutes so the ointment could get absorbed without her licking it. That worked a lot better. I can already see some improvement. And since I stop her from licking until it's mostly absorbed I'm assuming it won't be harmful
The snout balm is on it's way in the mail, I am looking forward to trying it. I don't live in the UK so it probably won't arrive until next week though.

[LurcherGirl]

Jesse gets a dry nose like that (in his case it's allergy related). I dab a bit of coconut oil on it once or twice a day and it keeps it nice and moist. Coconut oil seems to get absorbed very quickly, so I put a bit of oil on his nose just as I put his dinner down. That couple of minutes of eating his food and licking the bowl seems to be enough for the oil to get absorbed. 

[Mari]

Coconut oil! I would never have thought of that, but it sounds like it's working really well! Good idea!

We've been using the snout balm for about a week now, and it has worked wonders. The skin on the nose is still a little hardened in some places, so it will take some time before it is completely healed. But she is not dry anymore, and is getting softer every day- yay!

 

[pipkoi]

Silly question, but where do you buy coconut oil?

[elaine.e]

Silly question, but where do you buy coconut oil?

A lot of supermarkets and health food shops sell it. The cold pressed, virgin oil is more expensive but much better quality than the so called pure coconut oil, which is refined and has lost a lot of it's natural qualities. My current jar of it came from Holland & Barrett when they had one of their special offers on.

Coconut oil is apparently one of nature's wonders according to a number of sources such as this http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html, although the sceptical bit of me doubts it can be that miraculous

Apart from William's nose, I sometimes add some to their food and it makes their coats lovely and soft. I use it as a moisturiser on my arms and to moisturise and soothe a small scar left after having a skin cancer removed. I haven't tried it in cooking yet.

I'm also about to start combining it with turmeric and black pepper to make a paste to eat to see if it helps both me and William with joint aches and pains.

[LurcherGirl]

I agree with everything that elaine.e said. I also use it for cooking instead of any other oil. My vegan dog gets it in his food daily and my other dogs occasionally. I also use it on any wounds or scratches etc.

Turmeric too is a miraculous herb... and it is working wonders on my two older dogs with joint and back pains.