How To Remove Tar From Dog Fur

72 Comments

1. Does anyone have any experience of their dog licking the residual tar off their paws?My dog had tar on him from the beach and i was able to remove it, however i did not realize it was between his paw pads and he was licking them. He’s now cleaned with oil/dawn but i’m worried of possible poisining from licking the foot (he is acting fine) as i read it is toxic, but can’t find in what quantities

2. Thank goodness for this post – dog was splattered in dried tar and coconut oil worked wonders!!! He enjoyed the oil massage, lol, followed by a regular bath… went back later to massage oil deeper into the paws and got out a lot more ick. Hopefully the residual stain will wear off. Thanks again!

3. My puppy got melted rubber tire residue all over him while l was cutting a tire off the rim I’m kind of concerned on what to use to get it out of his fur

4. Thank you for the coconut oil recommendation! That is a very safe and natural way to get this stuff off – it worked so well! He is still attempting to lick the residue oil that didn’t wash off 🙂

5. Very clever! My little terrier has tar on his hind paw, and I was able to snip off the bits between his toes, but now I’ll try your smart solution. Coconut oil is perfect as my Humphrey loves to lick it off when I use it on my hands. Thank you!

6. My dog sat in a big blob of tar at the beach today, ugh! I soaked paper towels in clumps of coconut oil and rubbed it pretty hard. I used a lot of paper towels but it did the trick. And as an added plus my dog loves coconut oil and I’ve read it is good for them.

7. Peanut butter! I see this is an old thread but since it popped up when I did this search I will add my two cents. A stray kitten was dropped off at our vet hospital covered head to tail in tar, miraculously not its mouth or eyes. I did not try goo gone but I tried oils, dawn with little effect. We were desperate to save this kitten and I ran through my mineral oil and dish soap but I had peanut butter and it mostly melted off. Non toxic and worked well, I have feet and tails wrapped in PB now to finish cleaning.

8. Thank you for your great suggestions. I cut all the loose gobs of tar that were hanging from her paw. I put a big gob of coconut oil in a small plastic bag and slid her paw in. Then I kept massaging the oil in the bag over her paw and thru her toes. The oil quickly turned dark as it removed all of the tar. Remarkable! The bag contained the mess and protected my fingers and nails. Then washed off the residue and she was good as new.

9. Isn’t goo gone made from orange oil and all natural? I don’t know, when I think of Goo Gone, I’ve always though, Orange Oil and that it was all natural. I’m pretty sure it’s the orange oil that removes the “ goo” does anyone know?

10. my cane corso just rolled in the driveway patch I just had put down. Poured vegetable oil on her, wiped her off with old towel , gave her two baths and she is as good as new!!!!

11. I tried Orange Oil, the kind you use for baking. It worked. Then Dawn Dish soap to get off all the oil. I wish I had used olive oil!
    Orange oil works like Goo Gone when trying to remove the adhesive from price tags on things.

12. Good to know! We were at the beach recently, but luckily no tar on the paws 🙂

13. The Olive Oil worked great!

14. Dawn dish soap. Works like a charm and won’t harm doggie. Goo Gone is a REALLY BAD IDEA. it’s solvent based and starts to absorb into the skin immediately. Cut away with scissors larger heavily stained fur.

15. Me too ! I tried Dawn dish soap and NOTHING. Then tried olive oil and worked like a charm !

16. I used Skin So Soft from Avon and it worked great. My boy got into some open tar containers my dad left in the back yard and got it on his belly and all of his feet. My brother got most of the large chunks off with Dawn Dish Wash but I removed the rest with the Skin So Soft. It’s kind to the Skin and animal friendly.

17. Thanks for the advice! Definitely something we can try next time. We have pine trees in our backyard and my dogs are having a similar issue with the sap from the trees. We’ll try some of the other methods and report back on what works best. Thanks for sharing your story!

18. I called my vet and he suggested DAWN DISH SOAP (and removing larger chunks with scissors). It’s gentle enough for penguins in an oil spill and it didn’t hurt my dog’s skin 🙂

19. Coconut oil!!

20. I’m glad the article helped. It sounds like Bailey was a very good boy while you got the tar out. It’s been a while since Linus had tar stuck in his paw and we’re hoping it never happens again. Thanks for sharing your story.

21. Thank you so much for all the info. Just came back from Huntington Beach yesterday. Just noticed today that my Golden, Bailey, had stepped in tar while we were there yesterday. It was in between his toes and it clumped together like a hard rock. I used canola oil and after rubbing his foot for about 25 minutes it was finally completely gone. Poor Bailey sat so patiently through the whole thing even though I probably rubbed his paw raw. I think he knew I was trying to help him.

    Anyway, thanks again, glad I did not have to take him to the vet.

22. Gary, thank you for the update. I hope your dog is doing better now that he’s received treatment from your vet.

23. Just a followup to my comment above, my dog woke up the day after taking him to the groomer and his paw was very red and he was limping. I immediately took him to the vet who said the paw was infected and had discharge coming out. He was given antibiotics, steroid spray, and anti inflamatory medications along with a cone to prevent him from further licking the area. The vet said that the groomer should never have shaved the fur from the paw and that the groomer had injured the paw. Just wanted to let everyone know that taking a dog to the groomer for tar removal is NOT the thing to do. I thought I was doing the right thing by my dog and ended up trusting someone who I thought was professional and knew what they were doing and instead ended up with a further injured dog.

24. Took my golden to Huntington dog beach a couple of days ago and came home with tar all over his paw. I didnt know what to do so I took him to a groomer. The groomer shaved around the paw and got the tar off but a couple hours later a bad razor burn showed up. My dog kept licking the area probably making it worse. It looked very red. That was all yesterday, today it looks a little better but if I had to do it over again I would not have let the groomer shave so close to the skin and I would try the remedies mentioned here first. I thought the groomer would be the right person to go to but I guess I was wrong.

25. Todd, I’m sorry to hear about your GSD, but I’m glad in the end your vet was able to resolve your tar problem. Thanks for sharing your story.

26. First off – thanks for all the tips on caring for our dog. We too ran into the dreaded “beach tar” with our GSD and tried just about everything. The tar was incredibly pervasive, and migrated into hard nuggets in between her toes that drove her crazy. We started with baby oil, then olive oil, and found that while both would somewhat dissolve the tar, they were largely ineffective at removing the tar nuggets and, in the process, made the tar smear all over the place (e.g., house carpet, car seats, etc.) We then tried Goo Gone which, while it is advertised as an “orange oil” type of product, is incredibly powerful and more akin to turpentine than Palmolive. I wasn’t comfortable putting too much of this on my dog’s paws at is has poison control warning language and I knew she would immediately try to lick it off. After several tubs, shampoo, oils, and dishwashing liquid we were forced to admit defeat and take her to the vet. After only 24 hours the vet said all of her skin in between her toes was red and inflamed by the crude petroleum (and her worrying the area) and she ended up having to sedate the dog and use an electric shaver to completely remove all of the tar nuggets and affected hair – not fun and not pretty. But at least the tar is gone. From now on we will REALLY keep an eye out for that dreaded beach tar.

27. Great tip Wyatt’s Mom! Its been a while since this happened to Linus and all of the suggestions that have rolled into the comment section on this page are great. Thank you so much for sharing!

28. Hi folks! Took our gorgeous Wyatt (1 year old Carolina Dog) to the Huntington Dog Beach for the first time today and, of course, he stepped in tar.

    Didn’t notice it until HOURS after we got home, but he was lethargic and not himself.

    The key to removing the tar is to wet the area, first. Then apply a blob of petroleum jelly. Rub it in until it’s good and softened up.

    Wipe it down with a warm, damp towel, then thoroughly wet the area again, and apply oil, (vegetable, olive, coconut, doesn’t really matter), and massage it in gently.

    The tar should break down immediately into a brown sludge.

    Wipe the sludge off with a warm, damp towel and then wash, thoroughly, with warm water and LOTS of liquid dish soap. I did it three times, until his paw was squeaky clean.

    Even with all his squirming and me having to re-position him, the job was done in about 10 minutes.

    He perked right up afterwards. I’ll keep an eye on him tonight. Hopefully, no ill effects from the tar.

    Thank you to Colby for posting this up. I know you’re not likely to need this information again, anytime soon, but this page comes up when searching for a remedy for “tar on dog’s paw”, and is probably very helpful to lots of folks looking for help with this problem.

29. I’m glad he’s doing well and the information here helped you. Take care!

30. I’m glad it worked! Tar can be pretty frustrating.

31. Hi my name is Rosco im a 3 yr old pitbull. Just today my boyfriend took my baby for a walk and somehow he got tar all over him.. I didnt know what to do untill I read the story about linus and what his owner used… Thank u for putting up ur story… Goo Gone worked immediatly.. I just wanted to say thank u from the bottom of our hearts…

32. thank u so much the oil work well some pour tar on my puddle it make me cry to see him like that helpless all his eyes i did not think he would make it but he is ok now thank u for the oil

33. Thanks for the advice! I’m glad people have responded to this post as this gives me a lot more options next time I find tar in my dogs fur.

34. DEFINITELY coconut oil! We just got back from Dog Beach at Huntington. Big glob of tar in my terrier’s foot. Tried acetone, worked a little. Coconut oil DID THE TRICK! Just have a big towel, it’s messy. Then use liquid hand soap or dish soap to clean his paw so he won’t ruin the carpet.

35. I didn’t think about pine needles and tar, but I could see how that would be an issue too. I’m glad the coconut oil works for these sticky items as well. Thanks for sharing!

36. Wow! A dedicated scrubber! We grew up in Fountain Valley and went to Huntington Beach all summer long. I only remember getting tar stuck on my foot once. I wish I knew then (or had the internet) what I know now. I just remember scrubbing me feet pretty hard for several days to get that stuff out. I guess that’s why HB high school are the Oilers 🙂

37. Thanks for sharing! We hope to never encounter tar again, but coconut oil is something I will probably try if we have tar issues with our dogs.

38. I agree I use coconut oil on my long haired chi. our property is surrounded by pine trees she is always covered in pine needles & tar i rub a small amount into hair with fingers then bathe works like a charm safe, cheap & easy it also works on knots.

39. I live in Huntington and hit the dog beach several times a week. Both my dog and I have been victim to the tar! I’ve found baby oil also works really well at removing it. I think olive oil and other oils would work as well, but I always have baby oil in the bathroom so it’s convenient…

    For my own feet, I also have a dedicated scrubber just for helping remove the tar. 🙂

40. coconut oil worked like a charm… my girl had a huuuuuuge tar pattie stuck right in between her paws… i thought nothing would get it out it was SO embedded! put some coconut oil one there and got EVERYTHING off… I just kept massaging it into her paw and just kept wiping it off and repeating… took all of 10 minutes and that’s just because i was being super anal about it LOL

41. Yep! Huntington Dog Beach is the same place Linus stepped in tar. I remember doing the same when I was a kid. I’m glad the dawn soap/olive oil combo worked for your dog. I’ll have to keep that in mind if we ever get tar stuck in any of our dog’s fur again.

42. I took my yorkie to Huntington dog beach today and when I got him home I noticed that one of his paws was covered in tar. I couldn’t believe he stepped in tar at the beach. To put it mildly I freaked out. I feared he would get sick from it because he licks his paws often. Anyhow, I google searched everything under the sun. I bathe him with dawn dish soap at first and the really cut through the grease, but it didn’t get all of the crud off. So as some of the comments on this blog suggested I used olive oil. I noticed when I rubbed it vigorously on his paw the oil was turning brown because it was working. It really broke down the tar. I alternated between dawn soap and olive oil and the tar was completely removed in 30-45 minutes. Believe me, it takes a lot of patients but it works.

    Thanks for all the help! I hope this also helps anyone who comes across the same unfortunate problem.

43. Thanks for sharing. I haven’t had a problem with tar in a while, but I’ll definitely keep using Dawn in mind.

44. My Puggle stepped in tar on our local beach and I used Dawn dishwasher soap and warm water and it came right off. Hope this helps.

45. Thank you for sharing your experience! Hopefully Linus will never get tar in his fur again, but if he does we may try using vegetable oil which sounds like a good alternative to other products.

46. Soak the paw in a cup of vegetable oil for a few minutes. The tar starts melting right off. My dog had a large piece of tar-covered gravel stuck between his foot pads and we did this and were able to just gently pick it out. Non-toxic too. We used rice bran oil – cheaper than olive oil! Follow the oil with dog shampoo or other gentle shampoo dissolved in water to clean away the residue.

47. Be careful with the Goo Gone. If you read through the comments some of our readers have used the goo gone and it irritated their pup’s skin. If you do use it make sure you wash it out thoroughly. Good luck!

48. Lol..I just reread my post and the auto correct put words in there for me..so I hope u can make sense of what I was trying to say..
    Thanks,
    Misty

49. Well four of our boxer pups that we had left from our dog Georgia’ s litter, well we are keeping two but still have two more. So today is one of the first beautiful days and the pups were outside. They all had gotten into a BUCKET OF TAR that someone left for some unknown reason…Well the pups have tar all over them like someone had just taken a paint brush and asking it all over though them. I think I’ll try the go gone cause years ago it kids got it on thought-provoking their feet and tracked it all all over our new burber carpet I used the goo gone and it really just disappeared like magic it just vanished as I used the goo gone. Well that was the first thing thought of when I saw Savannah and the other pups but was unsure if I could use it on them without hurting them. So thanks for posting this cause I have a huge mess to take care of…wish me luck..lol
    Thanks Again,
    Misty

50. Thanks for letting me know about simple green. I never thought about it, but I’ll give it a try next time (hopefully there isn’t a next time) one of my dogs ends up with tar stuck to his dog fur.

51. Simple Green works. I have used it for years on any petroleum based mess and it is non toxic. It is what they used on the animals in Alaska after the oil spill.

52. Hi Elaine,

    Thanks for letting us know about your experience with Goo Gone. I think I’m going to try Olive Oil next time. By the way, your dog may have any ear infection and if so you might want to take him to the vet. When Stetson gets an ear infection it sometimes smells kind of fisshy.

    Take care,
    Colby

53. Hi there,

    First, thanks Colby for posting this article. I came here out of concern for my little doberman pup, who is now three months old and has his ears taped. No matter what kind of tape we used, it was always extremely sticky and pulled some fur.

    We used Goo Gone with a paint brush on one ear, trying not to let the chemical solution make it to his skin (we just wanted a little on the tape to make it unstick). Well, it worked like a charm, the tape came off with no complaints, but we made the mistake of only washing the area with only a towel dipped in warm water. The side of his ear now smells sort of fishy, and it’s constantly wet-looking (even after a thorough bath the next day)… I fear it might be the body trying to expel the chemical. Hopefully all ends well… I’ll likely use Dawn dish soap next time (we use it at the local wildlife centre). Thanks to all for posting.

54. @Francie, I stepped in tar many years ago (before the internet) and had a heck of a time getting it out. I was using rubbing alcohol at the time and it did not work very well at all. I was miserable when I saw Linus had stepped in tar and feel lucky that I found a solution for removing it from his fur. I’m glad our article helped you out.

55. Colby, thanks for the post. I stepped on a tar patch this morning which was absolutely discusting feeling (between the toes and everything), couldn’t get it off…I first soaked in microbes which is all natural and it what they use to clean birds, and it did a good job. Then used cooking spray (after reading your article) and it all came off…thanks for the post, my foot is much happier 🙂

56. @Greg thanks for telling us about your experience and I’m glad the olive oil worked. If I any of my dogs end up with tar in their fur I think I’ll try the olive oil before using the Goo Gone as many people have said that the Goo Gone irritated their dogs skin. Interesting that your dogs coat is now has a yellow-olive tint and his fur is curling. I’m sure it will fade over time.

57. Summertime weather here in the Northern Catskills – temps in the mid-70’s – unreal – and winter still has 2 days left. Just last week the road crews were using cold patch on pot holes. Well, Miel, our 4 YO Sheltie went for his usual free walk around the neighborhood – unleashed, he has free rein of the area. He came back just covered in tar, blacktop, dirt, whatever. He must have gotten into one of the now ‘hot’ cold patches on the road. His gorgeous white chest and shoulders just covered in it.
    Thanks to the ‘net we decided to use olive oil to try to remove it. Seems to have worked – the chunks and bits of tar and blacktop loosened and fell off. It took a bit more effort to try to clean his long fur. Can’t tell if worked yet – his fur is a bit oily despite a good washing. At least it’s not ‘tacky’. 2 side effects tho – his once blazing white fur now has an yellow-olive tint; and his fur is curling, sort of like Kenny G. What better way to spend a couple of hours with the dog.

58. @Naomi, thanks for letting us know about your experience with Goo Gone. If we get tar in fur again we will try and alternate solution. I’ve also heard that Vegetable Oil works.

59. I thought I would let everyone know that I used Goo Gone on a little stray kitty’s paws after she got into roofing tar. She had it on the sides of her tummy too and her chest so I had to use a little there as well because I didn’t want her ingesting the tar. She had come to me weighing less than 3.5 pounds, completely dehydrated, with ear mites and an ear infection… and yes, tar caked in her paws and fur, so I didn’t want to risk her eating more tar than she already likely had. Anyway, while it did work wonderfully, she hated the Goo Gone, and judging by her reaction it seemed to burn her paws and stomach. I worked as quickly as possible and washed her with shampoo 3 times. I realized later that the fur on her stomach smelled like Goo Gone stronger than her back and such, so I gave her stomach a somewhat dry sponge bath with baby shampoo and water. I didn’t want to give her another bath after already spending 30+ minutes in there the first time. She was put through enough torture! AAAAND she wasn’t licking her fur (likely because for awhile there it was making her SICK to do so because of the tar) so she had to air dry after the bath! No bueno for a cat with and already compromised immune system.

    Later that night she was so uncomfortable, she couldn’t lay down without being in obvious pain of some sort. I had no idea what could be the cause as I also hadn’t seen her defecate nor urinate since I had taken her in (even though she ate a TON of food). I thought perhaps she was constipate or her bladder/urethral opening was irritated. By the following morning, she seemed better, and by the evening, she was fine. HOWEVER, today I was trying to check her stomach for a spaying scar and discovered that her skin on her stomach and chest was flaking off, and taking ALL of her fur with it. It wasn’t red underneath and there were no scabs. There arent any circular patterns and it’s nowhere else but on her stomach. She hasn’t been itching or anything either, which leads me to believe (after hours upon hours of research online) that it must be from the Goo Gone.

    She’s acting fine, she’ll just have a bald belly until (hopefully) her fur grows back, but still, I wanted to mention this as a warning to others. Some cats/dogs have more sensitive skin. If your cat/dog has sensitive skin, I suggest you either find another route, or if you must, be DAMN sure you have someone to help you so that you can be sure the cat/dog is washed THOROUGHLY at least 3 times with shampoo afterwards. A normal shampoo, once or twice wont cut it. You need to get in there good at least three times, and be sure they are rinsed completely all three times.

    PLUS, you want to spend the least amount of time with the chemical on the animal. The bath took a LOT longer than it should have because I was alone, trying to hold the cat still, keep her as calm as possible, keep her from scratching/biting me, and keep her from getting away, while squirting Goo Gone and using a rag and my fingernails to remove tar from her paws and fur, as she shook off the chemical-tar mixture ALL over me multiple times.

    It’s hard. You need 4 hands to do the job quickly.

    Hope this helps!

60. @Sue, I’m glad the goo gone worked for you. Thanks for leaving us a comment and telling us about your experience. Hopefully the gas smell doesn’t linger too long in your car.

61. well, Tar was on my Black labs front paws, we live infront of a small private paving company , for the past seven years she has not gone into the tar spots that are around, the company… but today she did, and I found this website, after she covered my car seats with the nasty spots of tar! ugh i used a rag with gas to get that off followed by a good scrubbing with a soapy rag! who knows if i will ever get the gas smell out, however i did use GOO GONE with her paws after i found this site! WOW she didnt mind it, squirted it right on inbetween her webs, of front feet, it softned the tar and i was able to pick off the balls and wipe the tar away, i then went outside with a bucket of warm water and dog shampoo and had her put her foot in one at a time to remove the goo-gone, she didnt like the bucket idea but put up with me until i was done. GREAT Idea! thanks !! Sue & Olive

62. @Barry sorry to hear about the tar on your yellow lab. It’s been several years, but as I recall the tar came out fairly easily when I used the goo gone. Perhaps they changed their formula. Unfortunately, I’m not too sure what else you can try besides as you mentioned shaving it out of her fur.

63. Just back from a trip to Jaluma Beach with a yellow lab with tar on her paws. Olive oil did not work at all. It didn’t even phase tar that was on her nails. Goo Gone would work if you had all the time in the world – but our dog had already spent some time trying to get the tar off herself and her paws were sensitive. She just about bit my hand off trying to use Goo Gone but even beyond that I would say it isn’t the practical solution. Maybe just shaving the hair best you can would be better?

64. heard the Dirty Dog Wash does a great job at this 🙂

65. I didn’t want to use Goo Gone because of the warnings on the label (“If ingested, call the poison center immediately”). So, I cut out as much tar as I could from my dog’s paw and then used vegetable oil on a dish rag and gently rubbed it out. Then, a little shampoo and water to get the oil out, and he was as good as new.

66. Eucalyptus essential oil works just fine – and on people too.

67. @Mari, I was having a fit when Linus got tar on his pad in the fur on his foot. I tried washing with soap…I tried rubbing alcohol…nothing worked, but the Goo Gone was like magic. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to get the tar out with the Goo Gone.

    I’m glad you found the information helpful and happy to hear that your lab is doing well.

68. Thank you so much! My husband took our 2 labs up the coast and came back with one sad dog. She had tar stuck on her pad and acted like she was sick. I tried Goo Gone, because that’s what I had and use it for everything else, and it immediately took the tar off. She perked up right away. I was home with our puppy-in-training for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and will pass this tip on to others. Thank you again, Mari

69. @Lori, thanks for letting us know about Thieves household cleaner. We’ll definitely try that or olive oil next time. Hopefully my dogs don’t walk through tar again, but just in case it’s good to know our options when cleaning out tar.

    At the time I thought I’d never get the tar out of Linus’s fur and thought anything I could use to remove the tar would be great. It’s nice to have a 100% natural and safe cleaner as an option.

    By the way when I used the Goo Gone I made sure to thoroughly wash Linus’s paw after the tar was all gone.

70. I just found this site because we are having our driveway re-paved today and my dog got out of the house and ran through it!! When I saw that the recommendations for removing tar were toxic chemicals, which we do not use in our house, and especially do not use on ourselves or our little girl (female miniature dachshund) I decided to use the first thing that came to my mind…Thieves household cleaner. Olive oil sound like a good idea too, definitely a safer alternative. However, olive oil is a bit sticky and messy!!

    This is a 100% pure natural and safe cleaner that uses therapeutic grade essential oils. I purchase it from Young Living and I have been a distributor with them for several years because I purchase such a large quantity of their products that I decided to save myself money by acquiring their wholesale membership. I sprayed this diluted cleaner on her feet and the tar just starting running off!! I rubbed her feet and sprayed the cleaner a few more times and it completely came off…no petroleum products or toxic chemicals needed!! I am so relieved!!

    If anyone is interested in this product you can purchase it at the Young Living website. My distributor number is 510736. You can order it there and choose to get your own wholesale membership also if you want to save money on these products.

    I am so happy about this that I just had to share it with everyone!! I am studying to be a holistic doctor so I am a bit on the cautious side when it comes to products that can harm you. These products definitely are safe.

71. Thanks Rob. I still have the Goo Gone, but will try the Olive Oil next time to see if it’s a better solution then the Goo gone.

72. Thanks for the suggestion. Olive Oil (the only oil we had around the house) worked!

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