Tar Removal.. any ideas? (clean, vet, skin, rescue)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I got an email about a puppy covered in tar. The rescue is asking for info on removing the tar. This is a great rescue.. they take in every animal brought to the animal shelter. They have a dog at the vets now who was caught in a bear trap. They are trying to avoid another high vet bill if possible.
Oh the poor dog. Never had this problem, thankfully. But, I would try Dawn dishwashing liquid first (its the brand that is used in oil spill rescue), then soaking for 24 hrs in the vegetable oil.
I agree about using Dawn, but it needs to be the original Dawn--none of the fancier new ones. Our local bird rescue, which is currently helping with the oil spill cleanup, uses that to clean the birds and other animals that have been contaminated from oil.
Saw this on the animal station the other day....From what I understand trying to physically remove the tar can cause more serious problems, injury to the skin. After washing with dawn leave it alone and as the hair grows out the tar will come off. I would keep an eye on him for infection though while it comes off...naturally.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,011,510 times
Reputation: 28903
As I mentioned, I haven't read nor used any of the remedies in the links that I posted about this but it just occurred to me:
We have a lot of pine trees in our backyard and in the autumn, when Artie's lying out there, he often lies under one of the trees, on top of the pine needles. Then he comes back in with "sap spots" where the sap of the tree/needles got onto his fur and dried. Granted, it's just small spots so I don't know if this is doable for a whole dog, but I dab olive oil (extra virgin, of course ) on the spots, and it demats the fur after a few days. Then I brush it out to make sure. (I can't just brush the dried sap out -- too painful for Mr. Sensitive.)
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,764,983 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by latetotheparty
baby oil ......
we used it to get tar off of our feet and skin and cars, etc. when it washed up on the beaches at galveston and surfside......
the mineral oil dissolves the tar.....
Baby oil actually works extremely well for dissolving petroleum tar. I also grew up with my toes in the sand at Galveston and we always had tar to clean up.
I think the concern with baby oil is that it needs to stay on the outside of the dog. A little amount is not likely to hurt anything, but if the dog is covered in mineral oil and incidentally ingests a significant amount trying to clean up that could make him/her sick.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) on the spots, and it demats the fur after a few days. Then I brush it out to make sure. (I can't just brush the dried sap out -- too painful for Mr. Sensitive.)
