[Birdie_M]

This winter my 5 year old border collie is experiencing an extremely dry nose. At times it cracks and bleeds a little, like human hands when exposed to harsh winter conditions. We live in the upper midwest, and we've experienced a colder than usual winter, which might be leading to this discomfort. I've added olive oil and coconut oil to the food to internally deal with the issue. I've also used coconut oil on his nose externally as a moisturizer. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[Bacis Dad]

Theres a GREAT product called Bag Balm. I use it for my BC's feet when we go in the snow, it works Great. Im sure it would be fine on the nose i believe the web site is bagbalm.com

[CorkyMax]

Hope you are not feeding or giving water from plastic containers! Sounds like this wouldn't cause any problem (I have read otherwise) but it may be contributing to the problem never-the-less! Steel bowls or glass are better but make sure you don't use galvanized steel--which means it is coated with zinc, which is poison! You are warned not to hold galvanized nails in your mouth and that is why too. And don't use pottery from foreign countries as this may contain lead!! (I won't buy cups for myself unless they are made in the U.S.----This was a really big issue back in the 70's! And I still don't trust stuff from China, Japan, and other foreign countries!)
Not only is the plastic bad for the dog but some dogs who had black noses, now have lighter brown/ tannish/pink noses. This is because of the plastic.Note also those of you who put vinegar in the food or water--I wouldn't think plastic is a good idea here either--and I wish all vinegar came in a glass bottle---Heinz (some anyway) and Bragg's come in glass--more expensive but safer!! Anyone make the refrigerator dill pickles that have you using a plastic ice cream bucket---I won't do that either--only glass!

[Birdie_M]

Thanks Bacis Dad. I will check out that product, and depending on the ingredients, I might try it.

Thanks also Corky/Max. I am well aware of the horrors of plastic, and definitely don't feed/water my dogs from potentially hazardous bowls. They each use stainless steel dishes. I hardly use plastic myself: no plastic water bottles, no plastic pop bottles, no Tupperware, and minimal foods packaged in plastic from the grocery store. I don't think plastic is the issue here, but thank you very much for taking the time to respond.

[Lara's mom]

You may want to invest in an aloe vera plant. Take a leaf and split it open lengthwise. The jelly inside is good for all kinds of cuts, scrapes, irritations, burns, etc. There is a fair amount of jelly in each leaf so, you should get a few uses out of each one. Wrap the opened leaf in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge.