These days it’s not hard to identify me as a new puppy owner—my scratch and bite covered hands and forearms give me away pretty quickly (well, I’ve either got a puppy or a passion for naked arm wresting with rose bushes). I’ve heard puppy teeth described as staples, and I’m inclined to agree. Not standard staples for paper, though—no, no. We’re talking those heavy duty woodworking staples coming from a compressed air powered staple gun. OW. Lottie is getting better with biting (or not biting, as it were) as the days go by, but according to the interwebs, she won’t lose her puppy teeth until May or June, which means when she misses a toy and lands a bite on my hands instead, I’m going to be squealing (and bleeding) for a while. Hence, this salve.
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I wanted a salve that I could apply frequently to my hands that would be safe for lightly broken skin (Lottie has yet to inflict any truly heinous wounds), and that would be safe to Lottie to eat in small doses—given how often my hands end up in her mouth, I definitely didn’t want to chance there being anything poisonous in the salve. Among other things, that knocked tea tree oil off the list, as it’s poisonous to dogs if ingested (people, too—don’t eat tea tree oil!).
I elected to focus on healing and soothing herb-infused oils as I’ve found them to be wonderfully effective in the past for things like my Scar Salve and Palm Balm, and I love the wonderful nutty-herbal scent of them. I chose healing calendula, plantain, and St. John’s Wort, as well as soothing chamomile. I happened to have all of these herb infused oils kicking around in one of my DIY cupboards—most of them were infused in olive oil. If your herbs are infused in different liquid oils, no worries—that’ll work. I’m mostly concerned about the herbs rather than the absorption speed, so unless you’ve been infusing in something really heavy like castor oil, what you’ve got on hand will work.
Andiroba oil is funny lookin’.
If you don’t already have these herbal infusions on hand, making your own is delightfully easy. You can whip up a few jars to have on hand going forward, or you can weigh 45g (1.59oz) of your carrier oil of choice (olive oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil would all be good choices) into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Then, grab one of those tea bags you can fill yourself, and measure 1/2 tsp each dried calendula petals, dried chamomile flowers, dried St. John’s Wort, and dried plantain into it. Tie it off, pop it into the measuring cup of oil, and place that measuring cup into a hot water bath.
Let the herbs infuse into the oils as if you were making a cup of tea for about an hour, taking care to ensure your water bath doesn’t simmer dry. Once that’s done you can press the tea bag with the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much oil as possible (take care not to break the bag!). There’s your herb-infused oil! You should have pretty close to the 38g (1.34oz) of oil called for in the recipe (you’ll loose some to the tea bag and herbs). If you don’t have quite enough, top it off with some more of your carrier oil.
Here you can see the bigger (better) container from YellowBee + a not-so-good one that soaked through in a matter of days. The salve has been in the YellowBee container for about 4 days at this point.
As with all salves, this one comes together really easily once you have your ingredients ready. Simply melt, stir, pour, and leave it to set up. You definitely don’t need a puppy to find this salve useful—it’s amazing for all kinds of scrapes and scratches, but I do think “Puppy-Sporin” is an awfully cute name 😉 I find it absorbs into the skin really quickly, and so far I’m really impressed with the paperboard push-up tube I poured it into. The gliding application makes it fast and easy to put on, and makes it hard to over-apply, so even if you don’t have a paperboard push-up tube, you might consider using a plastic one. Anywho—let’s go make some Puppy-Sporin Salve for Scrapes & Scratches!
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Puppy-Sporin Salve for Scrapes & Scratches
10g | 0.35oz calendula infused oil
10g | 0.35oz chamomile infused oil
8g | 0.28oz St. John’s Wort infused oil
10g | 0.35oz plantain infused oil
8g | 0.28oz andiroba oil or emu oil
14g | 0.42oz beeswax (USA / Canada)See the recipe pre-amble for instructions on making your own herb-infused oils.
Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
Weigh the herb infused oils, emu oil, and beeswax into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
Once everything has melted, remove the measuring cup from the heat and dry the outside of it off with a dish towel. Set the measuring cup on a towel or hot pad to insulate it from the counter and stir the mixture with a flexible silicone spatula to combine everything.
Pour the salve into a 60mL/2oz paperboard push-up container, 60mL/2oz tin, or a push up/twist-up tube (extras are great in lip balm tubes). Ivan over at YellowBee sent me the push-up tube I used and thus far I’m really impressed! It seems to be performing much better than the one I tried to use for my Intoxicating Rose Salve.
Once the salve has set up (~20 minutes), it’s ready to use! Apply it to any scratched-up, sore skin—I’m especially liking it before bed time.
Makes about 75mL/2.5oz of salve.
JUST IN CASE IT’S NOT CLEAR FROM THE PRE-AMBLE: THIS SALVE IS FOR HUMAN USE ONLY. DO NOT PUT IT ON YOUR DOG! IT IS FOR WOUNDS CAUSED BY PUPPIES, NOT FOR THE PUPPY.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this salve is 100% oil based, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Kept reasonably cool and dry, it should last at least a year before any of the oils go rancid. If you notice it starts to smell like old nuts or crayons, that’s a sign that the oils have begun to oxidize; chuck it out and make a fresh batch if that happens.
If you don’t have andiroba or emu oil, make up the amount with additional herb-infused oils. I’d probably add more plantain and/or calendula, but that’s up to you! You can make the salve vegan by using 11g (0.39oz) of carnauba or candelilla wax instead of beeswax.
This sounds so nice and soothing! I need to infuse some oils, a task I have put off, well, forever. Thanks for a great recipe Marie!
Lottie is so adorable! I always called puppy teeth “needle teeth” because they feel like little needles stabbing into you. And what is it about puppies and your hands?!? Two out of the last three pups I’ve raised loved to chew on my hands too. Ouch! I always told them “I’m not a chew toy!!” and would try to have said chew toy standing by so I could give it to them in place of my hand. That seemed to work well most of the time.
Lottie definitely thinks my hands are chew toys. OW. And when I hand her something new to chew, more often than not she would prefer to chew the bit my hand is holding… you know, THROUGH my hand. OW. I think we are improving, but OW. I would like to improve faster!
You need to let go a little quicker! Haha! My dog Olaf, when he was a pup, LOVED chewing my hand. He had some strong jaws too, let me tell you! So, when he would bite me, I’d tell him NO and, if he stopped, he got to stay on my lap for cuddles. If he did not stop, I’d say NO again and put him down. Since he loved to cuddle, he got the point pretty quickly! A neighbor of mine is a dog trainer, and she taught me when you’re reprimanding your dog to lower your tone of voice and when you praise your dog to do so in a higher pitched voice. Another trick is to “growl” at them when they are doing something you don’t want them to do by saying BAH in that low tone of voice. If they continue in bad behavior, make a loud noise next to them, saying BAH at the same time. She gave us a small length of chain that you could drop next to the dog to make the loud noise. you just want to startle them out of their bad behavior. It’s like Mama dog growling in warning, then nipping her pups when they continue to do something she doesn’t want them to do. This training worked wonders with Olaf and he was perfectly trained within a month. No accidents in the house, no chewing on furniture, and no chewing on people. He’s a great dog!
Lottie will get there! Puppy phase will be over before you know it. So sweet! You’re making me want another one!
I’ve actually been doing exactly that! It works really well for most things, though she is figuring out that she doesn’t have to stop a bad behavior until I’m close enough to make her. So I’ll startle her, she’ll check to see where I am, and re-asses from there LOL. Little turd 😛 And she’s started eating chewing gum on the street (I have a renewed hatred for people who litter), so I often have to pry it out of her mouth, and she takes the opportunity to go in for some seriously hard chomps. OW. We are signed up for puppy classes next month, I can’t wait!
That salve sounds and looks nice. I’ve fancied those card board tubes and jars for a long time (can’t get them here in Finland), but now I can see that they are not so awesome after all. If you can get fir resin from somewhere, that works wonderfully in that kind of salve too. My dog was in the surgery and I used fir salve twice to her surgical wound and it healed super fast.
What is Lottie’s breed? Is she some kind of spaniel?
It really seems like these tubes vary hugely in quality. This one is still doing very well vs the other shorter one, which soaked through in a matter of days. I will have to keep an eye out for fir resin, it sounds like an awesome toy 😀
She’s a cross between a Cocker Spaniel and a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel 😀
perfect timing ! I do not have a puppy currently but I hope to have one soon!
Oooh, fun! Be sure to read up on the puppy blues beforehand—I wish I’d known to do so, it really would’ve helped 🙂
I don’t have puppy wounds to deal with but I do have large dog nail scratches and punctures on my back at any given time. One of our dogs sleeps with us and he digs his nails into me. I get the paws side, husband gets the warm snuggly body side.
What happens is scabbing and itching from his assaults. Who knows what these dogs pick up on our forest floor, imbedded in their nails?
I need puppy-sporin.
Marie, your newsletter made me feel kinda bad. You’re busy with a puppy (and that’s like a baby) and worried about fulfilling twice a week recipes. For my part, don’t worry about it. You have plenty here to keep me busy for a long time. I don’t believe any of us are going to stomp off in a tizzy because you’re busy with that precious puppy. OK? We loves you. My son and his wife have a new puppy and are going thru all the same issues. She got three hours alone last weekend while the dog was at the groomer. She showered in leisure!!!
I asked her how much of those three hours did she miss puppy. She said….Every minute. Funny.
Bond with your baby. We’re all bonded here.
I agree with Christie! Take some time for the puppy and enjoy it while you can. There are tons of recipes even for us to catch up on! Take some time for yourself. You’ve spoilt us for a long long long time. Let us give back a little to you.
You all are far too lovely 🙂
I agree totally!
Awww. Do you feel the blog love, Marie?
So much! Now, if only one of you could come over a puppy sit so I could make things… that would be the best! 😛
😀
Thanks, Cristie 🙂 I did think about taking a wee break, but honestly… this makes me happy, and in all the struggles of feeling like this puppy is ruining my life (melodramatic, I know, but sleep deprivation will do that to a lady!), I am really fighting to keep my making and writing in tact. I’ve already lost a bunch of parties and outings and the ability to sleep in and eat dinner without being bitten. I do not want to lose my making, too! So I am stubbornly holding on to prove to myself that all of my pre-dog-days are not lost, and it helps me feel normal. I swear the work and worry is a good thing in this case. Also, the groomer is a good idea lol. I wonder if they might keep her all day… 😛
I’m in love! What a sweet expression on that puppy!
Me too! She’s so sweet… when she’s asleep 😛
I’m not a dog person, but Lottie is adorable! 🙂
As someone who does lots of manual labor, and lots of that with animals, I can see this salve coming in handy. I’ll definitely be making some in the not-too-distant future!
Thank you! 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie,
Thanks again for another magical potion! I’m wondering…instead of using the 10g | 0.35oz calendula infused oil, 10g | 0.35oz chamomile infused oil and 8g | 0.28oz St. John’s Wort infused oil, could we use trauma oil?
Care to expand on what “trauma oil” is?
Yes, here is the link from Amazon. I hope this helps.
https://smile.amazon.com/Herb-Pharm-Trauma-Arnica-Calendula/dp/B000158BPA/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1488861797&sr=8-1&keywords=trauma%2Boil&th=1
Yup, that looks like it would work!
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your content. I look forward to Monday and Thursday EXCLUSIVELY because of your blog. Just so you know. I read the old recipes over and over again but I get so excited on those days. Your hard work and dedication are a source of joy.
Thank you so much, Joanna! 🙂 You’ve made my day!
Lottie is soo cute! Adorable-ness off the charts. My dog had to be put down just before Christmas and I miss him so much. I hope to have a new puppy soon, this recipe will be awesome. I remember those chewed up hands as does every dog owner.
Thanks, Lin! I tend to agree 😀 I’m so sorry to hear about your dog 🙁 Losing a pet is pure heartbreak, and anybody who tries to tell you otherwise is a fool. What type of pup are you thinking about adopting?
Someday… someday when the puppy is trained not to bite and nap time has no other calls on it, would you mind adding YellowBee to the “Where to buy ingredients” list?
Done! Thanks 🙂
Hey, Marie:
I’m looking to make 2 things for my dogs: DOG WIPES to wipe them after they’ve rolled around in the dirt.
I need to make a DOG INSECT REPELLENT against black flies, mosquitoes, and deer flies. Health food stores have dog wipes, but I’d prefer to make my own. Do you have any recipes or plan to make these in the future?
For your info: this website was recommended to check on poisons that can hurt animals: http://www.petpoisoncontrol.com. Only the best for our animals, eh, Marie?
Eh… maybe? This sort of thing makes me pretty nervous :/
Hi Marie. I am a huge fan of yours for the last year. Made lots of amazing things. I’m making an arnica flower infusion now and would like to know how long to infuse this before it is ready. I first did the heat infusion and noticed no difference in the oil. Saffire Blue said to wait for a few weeks. Also I found St. John’s wort in pill form,300mg,
. Can I make a oil infusion using this and if so for how?
Thanks Rose Mete
If you heated it I’d give it a week or two, and I wouldn’t use the pills; they may have fillers 🙂
Thanks for your help. So sorry to hear about your grandmother passing.. Look after yourself. All the best. Rose
Thanks, Rose 🙂
Hi Marie,
I’m sure Lottie is all grown up now and your hands and arms are scratch-free so you might not be making these anymore. But I find myself with all the odd scratches here and there (from my cat and cleaning our blender ). So I am planning to make this (infusing all the oils right now the folk method).
My question is, on the pictures this salve looks quite solid. Like you would need to run your finger over it a few times to release some of it. Is my impression correct? Or is it a bit softer that you can get a small amount on your finger and then rub it in where you need?
Dear Marie,
I generally enjoy reading your recipes and blog. However, I was dismayed to read your recipe for Puppy-Sporin Salve.
I would like to inform you or several problems with this salve and others like it.
First, Calendula flowers, oil infusions, extracts are toxic if ingested by licking or grooming. Which is what dogs, cats, birds, pocket pets all do to their wounds. The will lick off anything applied to the skin, sometimes waiting until owners are not watching. Calendula, Saint Johns Wort, Arnica, Castor oil and certain food grade oils are not safe in topical medicines because of ingestion by pets and small children. Saint Johns wort is not used in dogs because it can cause agitation in 30% dogs, and interacts with many pharmaceutics used in animals medicine. Castor Oil is highly toxic if ingested even in small amounts.
A new category of poisonings is on the rise due to the popularity of natural substitutes for medicine. Unfortunately, the public assumes that “natural” ingredients intended for people, are OK for their pets. Veterinary herbal medicine is a subspecialty within the practice of Veterinary Medicine and is just as complex as pharmacology.
Companies seeking to increase market share are selling more product intended for human use, by relabeling their products for animals without sufficient knowledge. The general public may follow your advice or buy products, because they assume you known all the details of use and safety for their pets
Hi Dr.Cynthia L Smith—thank you for this! I do want to clarify, though—this salve is ONLY FOR HUMAN APPLICATION; for the wounds CAUSED by a puppy. Is that how you are interpreting this? It sounds like you think I am applying this to my dog and I absolutely AM NOT. Are your concerns for my applying it to my hands and my dog possibly licking me later, OR for my applying this to my dog (which is not at all the intended use, and I feel this is fairly clear if you read the post?).