Dolce & Gabbana Just Debuted a Dog Perfume—But Some Vets Aren’t Happy About It
As us dog owners know, our pups don’t always smell their freshest—especially after a downpour in the city. (I’m not speaking from recent experience, of course.) A quick bath or grooming session, though, can get them back to peak pooch.
Dolce & Gabbana has another idea: The brand recently released Fefé, a fragrance specifically designed for Fido, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. The $109 perfume contains notes of ylang, musk, and sandalwood, and it’s been certified by Safe Pet Cosmetics, an independent veterinary organization in Italy that assesses the safety of animal products. Still, many veterinarians aren’t on board with spritzing your pup with Fefé.
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“This is entirely for the owner’s benefit, not for the dogs,” Daniel Mills, a professor of veterinary behavioral medicine at England’s University of London, told the Times. “Dogs have a fantastic sense of smell, and changing their odor can cause significant issues . . . Overall, it’s a very bad idea.”
Among the problems, perfume can mask the scent signals that dogs pick up from their surroundings, which alert them to other animals, humans, food, and possible dangers, Mills explained to The New York Times. It can also lead other dogs to misidentify the scented animal, potentially causing aggression or leading them to be social ostracized. Plus, scent could cover up health problems that might otherwise be causing your dog to smell, added Anna Judson, the president of the British Veterinary Association.
Despite the potential issues, Dolce & Gabbana is just the latest company to get into the pet-fragrance category. The Times noted that dog-grooming companies have released perfumes in the past, and even Queen Elizabeth II launched her own Happy Hound Dog Cologne in 2022. But while some scents and oils, such as lavender, can be calming to dogs, these other fragrances can have adverse effects for animals.
“My concern is this is instrumentalizing the dog,” Mills said. “This is not giving the dog any choice in the matter. If your dog wants to rub itself in coyote scat or fox scat, that’s the dog’s choice. But if it gets a spray of Dolce & Gabbana on it, that is not its choice . . . We need to be far more respectful of dogs and their wishes.”
If you’re looking to pamper your pooch, maybe it’s a better idea to treat them to a members club or a semi-private-jet trip across the country.
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