Is it okay for dogs to eat Vaseline?

Im not a troll... im being serious, My dogs paws are so cracked, and he is always chewing at them because of it, someone told me to put Vaseline or petrolium jelly on his paws, like massage all 4 with Vaseline because it softens the cracks... btu I was wondering, what if he licked the vaseline off his paw? would that be toxic? or should I wash his paws after rubbing them?