# stinging nettles



## Searcher (Aug 7, 2009)

Dancer seems to be very sensitive to stinging nettles. Other than giving benedryl afterward, is there anything I can do to help her during our hikes? They are pretty hard to avoid here. Once she has contact with them, she spends a lot of time shaking her paws, trying to burrow into the dirt, & just looks distressed. It seems to be on her paw-pads that bother her the most. 
The other dog she walks with doesn't seem to be bothered by them.


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

I'm not a fan of the doggy boots ... but have you though of this? Some dogs don't seem to mind them.
Here's a site I found 
http://ezinearticles.com/?Dog-Paw-Protection-From-Heat-and-Other-Summertime-Issues&id=4389675

Hope this works (kinda new at this)


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## Searcher (Aug 7, 2009)

Thanks, we tried the dog boots but they come off too easily. Also, she is climbing & walking logs, jumping over & thru them and had no 'grip' when wearing the boots. 

Any other suggestions? She is so distressed that I would like to be able to have way to relieve the stinging while on the trail.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

In the UK, the traditional treatment for stings from nettles is the juice of dock leaves - I am never sure whether the juice contains the right chemical to neutralise the nettle, or it is the action of rubbing the sting with cool leaves, but it always seems to help!


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## Searcher (Aug 7, 2009)

What are dock leaves?


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Nettles are awful!

Maybe paw wax? I have some that I put on mine's paws, to help with traction on our wood floors. It might be enough of a barrier to help with the nettle sting.

Can't remember where I got it, but if you google paw wax, there are some hits. It is sort of like very hard Chapstick.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Searcher said:


> What are dock leaves?


I don't know if they grow in the States - here they like the same conditions as nettles so are usually growing close by: Learn About Dock (Rumex)


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## BFF (Jun 10, 2009)

I haven't tried this for your application, but it's worth a try. Put vinegar (apple cider or regular) on the affected area. It's used to stop the sting of jellyfish and bee stings. Of course, it would be best to find a way to prevent it in the first place. 

Poor thing. I don't have any other ideas.


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## Ruscha_Baby (May 22, 2011)

As a farmer's son, I have found that increased exposure to nettles increases sting pain resistance. 

I have a dancing poodle right now - she's been stung again. I tend to let her just get on with it, as there's little alternative.


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## Yaddaluvpoodles (Mar 20, 2010)

Some seriously hairy feet might make Dancer's walks a lot funnier.... might be worth a try.


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## Siskojan (Mar 13, 2011)

Where I came from (Buckingham)our rustic habit was to spit on the dock leaves before rubbing them on stings and the dock often grew right near the nettle patch.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Siskojan said:


> Where I came from (Buckingham)our rustic habit was to spit on the dock leaves before rubbing them on stings and the dock often grew right near the nettle patch.


Exactly what we did - it always seemed to help! I'm not sure how, as nettle stings are acidic (so vinegar won't help either, unfortunately - something alkaline would be needed), and dock leaves contain oxalic acid ...

I suspect it is down to a combination of the distraction of hunting for the dock leaves, the cooling effect of green leaves, and a general placebo effect - but given that British children have been convinced of the effectiveness of dock leaves for hundreds if not thousands of years, perhaps there is something in them that medics have yet to discover!


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