Remove Chewing Gum from a Dog's Hair

If you have a pet dog that you take outside for walks a lot, or if you have kids who spend a lot of time with your dog, then chances are, you would have to deal with getting gum in your dog’s hair at some point. Chewing gum is challenging to remove from your dog’s fur because of its sticky nature; more so if your dog is long-haired. Fortunately, there are other methods you can try with some common household ingredients before having to resort to cutting off the affected chunk of your dog’s hair.

Steps

Ice Cube Method

Use the ice cube method if the chewing gum is just stuck on top of the dog’s coat.

  1. Take an ice cube and rub it over the chewing gum. Continue doing so until the gum hardens.
  2. Use your fingers to break apart the hardened gum. Gently peel off the gum one piece at a time, making sure not to pull at your dog’s hair.
  3. Rub another ice cube over the gum pieces if they start to soften. Repeat the process of rubbing the ice cube over the gum and peeling off the pieces until the gum is completely removed from your dog’s hair.
  4. Give your dog a bath afterwards to remove any remaining traces of stickiness. Shampoo and rinse the hair thoroughly.

Peanut Butter Method

The peanut butter method will be effective for chewing gum that has been rubbed into your dog’s hair. You can also use this as a follow-through for the ice cube method, if the gum is not completely removed with the first method.

  1. Scoop a handful of creamy peanut butter into your fingers.
  2. Rub the peanut butter into the chewing gum, as well as the affected fur surrounding it.
  3. Leave the peanut butter in your dog’s hair for around 3 minutes to let the oil of the peanut butter penetrate and loosen the gum.
  4. Start removing the chewing gum from your dog’s hair by sliding it off the hair gently. Make sure not to tug too hard at your dog’s hair.
  5. Continue working peanut butter into your dog’s hair and pulling the gum until it is completely removed.
  6. Give your dog a bath afterwards to remove any remaining traces of stickiness and peanut butter. Shampoo and rinse the hair thoroughly.

Tips

  • Aside from using peanut butter, you can also use other common ingredients from your kitchen such as mayonnaise or butter. The oil-based nature of these items will help break down the chewing gum’s stickiness and ease the removal.
  • If the gum is too deeply embedded into your dog’s hair that the above methods cannot remove the gum completely, it is best to just cut off the portion of affected hair as it would eventually grow back anyway.

Warnings

  • Make sure to be as gentle as possible when trying out above methods, so as not to cause discomfort to your dog.

Things You’ll Need

  • Ice cubes
  • Peanut butter
  • Scissors

Sources and Citations

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