Your favorite dog shampoo fragrance might not be his favorite

Did you know that 10 % of a dog’s brain processes olfactive impressions while a human’s only 0.3 %?

That means your dog’s sense of smell exceeds yours 13 times! Dogs’ heightened sense of smell gives them some pretty strong opinions on fragrances, and they often differ from your own preferences. For example, you might love a peppermint-scented shampoo, and your dog rejects the smell. As pet-owners, you want to make sure your dog likes the fragrances you use on or around it and that you choose smells that will make your pup feel relaxed and happy.

Developing fragrances that humans enjoy is much easier than creating fragrances pets will love. We wish pets could tell us what they like or don’t like the way humans can. People are usually happy to tell us their thoughts on which products they prefer for their dogs, and what would dogs tell us if they could talk?

What Pets Want

As much as we wish our dogs could talk, that remains a wish. At the same time they know of ways to tell us what they like and letting us know their preferences. For this reason dogs must approve first any fragrance we consider for a dog shampoo. So, how do we learn what dogs want?

We start with a sniff test. We hold a scented item for a dog to smell. If he sniffs it and continues to show curiosity by coming closer and closer to the scent, then we know that’s a sign he likes it. If we hold out a scented item and he immediately turns his head away, licks at the air, or backs away, that’s his way of telling us he rejects it, and we immediately remove that scent from the selection.

It took us almost two years to finalize our dog-smelling protocol. We wanted to make sure to take into account the different ways dogs talk to us: refusing to smell, licking, time spent smelling and more. Because our furry friends are important to us, we have ethologists (dog behavior specialists) and statisticians conduct our evaluation processes. We rely on them to translate these dog responses and help us better understand them.

We consider a scent to be dog-approved if interactions with dogs have amounted to a good amount of sniffing time, a low refusal rate and a low amount of licking. Once we narrow down the scents that dogs have approved, then we move on to finding out which of these pet owners like the most. 

What Pet Owners Want

When we think about what owners want and what pets want, it definitely goes beyond an Us-vs-Them scenario. As a pet owner, you probably want a shampoo that will leave your pet clean and smelling good. Your pet wants a shampoo that works in balance with its senses. We know of ways to make both you as an owner and your pet happy. After all, we ultimately want our pets to live happy lives.

• 

• 

As a company, ever since our work in 2001 on the iconic Oh My Dog! fine fragrance and shampoo for dogs, we’ve been crazy about making our fur babies smell good. This is a topic that is close to our hearts because we have a passion for creating fragrances that make dogs smell fresh and clean, but at the same time are safe and pleasing for pups.

This passion to please both human and pup is what drives us to keep finding new solutions for pet malodor, and our pet shampoo fragrances are specially formulated and designed to deal with what is commonly known as wet dog smell  We know the timing couldn’t be better! As current global circumstances force us to spend more time at home, a good dog shampoo means you can happily share your space with your pet while getting a handle on your  stinky pet. In other words, after smelling one whiff, the dogs give us a woof of approval!

Our ability to make shampoos that block and neutralize pet malodor comes from doing extensive research, even when we don’t have our furry clients in front of us. Our team developed a world-premiere synthetic dog malodor model that smells exactly like dog. We then use this man-made dog smell to test shampoos for effectiveness. All fragrances by Symrise have been evaluated and have shown to perform well against best-selling products while being cleaner and having stricter formulations for dogs’ safety.

So, what’s next for pets? We’re looking at many opportunities to create fragrances for products aimed at dogs, cats and their owners. We know people are looking for the best products for their pets including fragrances that can be applied directly onto pets, room sprays and litter. Keep checking back. We’ll bring you more information on how we take care of – and love – pets.

Have you noticed a scent your dog loves or hates? What’s important to you; what do you look for in dog shampoo? Drop us a comment below and make our day.