Is Perfume Safe for Pets?

While looking for a smelly dog remedy is considered normal, it is important to know that a perfectly healthy animal — may it be dogs, cats, or others —- shouldn’t have to stink to the point of looking into perfumes as a pet odor eliminator. According to Trupanion veterinarian Dr. Sarah Nold., “In my opinion, a healthy cat or dog doesn’t really have a smell, aside from the distinctive puppy and kitten breath, and who can refuse that?”

If you believe your pet is giving off a smell beyond normal or bearable, you may want to have them checked by a veterinarian as it may have an underlying concern other than insufficient pet care or lack of hygiene. Remember that pet perfumes, with the same function as human perfume, aren’t supposed to last and are only meant to either temporarily mask odors or add fragrance to the odorless. This means that it isn’t quite reliable if your pet’s smell is due to diseases of the skin, organs, or others.

Causes of Pet Odor

According to multiple sources, your pet smells bad due to various reasons. Here are a few common reasons:

Ear Infections

A yeast infection in the ear is one of the most common smelly infections among canines. Not only is it smelly, it also causes pain, itching, swelling, and redness. Apart from this, bacterial infection is also a frequent problem among dogs, especially those with long droopy ears.

Skin Problems

If consistent baths and varying shampoo scents and ingredients are useless when it comes to eliminating your pet’s bad smell, that should be enough of a sign that hygiene isn’t the issue. Your pet may have a skin problem that isn’t quite visible or you don’t pay enough attention to. If regular baths and conditioner or even apple cider vinegar rinses do not work, don’t expect perfumes to work either. Take your pet to the vet and make sure it isn’t suffering from a skin disease!

Excessive Gas

Excessive gas is one indistinctive cause your pet smells bad — you can’t see it or touch it, and the smell is just always there. This may be caused by either an underlying health issue or simply a wrong diet. If you’ve taken a trip to the vet and eliminated the possibility of it being a health issue, try to switch to a grain-free diet for your pet, as this can also lead to smaller stools and lesser ear and skin infections.

These are just some of the most common causes of bad pet smell. Make sure to keep an eye on your pet’s overall wellness to guarantee they aren’t suffering from any terrible illness that causes unpleasant odor.

Why Use Perfume on Your Pets?

Once you have cleared out the probability of your pet’s smell coming from a health condition, it’s probably the only acceptable time you use perfume on your pets, and there shouldn’t be anyone to question you or say otherwise, especially if pet-safe perfumes DO exist!

After all, it all depends on the owner’s preferences. You may simply want a fresh-smelling cuddle buddy at night or prefer to come home to a fragrant environment than that of reeking pet breath smell. It really should not matter, as long as it is safe and properly used!

Can I Use Human Perfume on my Pet?

There is a reason we call these things “human perfume” or “pet perfume.” One shouldn’t be used as an alternative to the other. The main reason is an ingredient in most human perfumes, called phthalates.

Even on human health, phthalates is now known to have harmful effects when inhaled. However, pets are at an even higher risk as their nature is to lick perfumes off their fur and skin.

Now you may think, ‘Ah, so all I need to do is to make sure the pet cologne I buy doesn’t contain phthalates in it. Got it!” Well, no. Most perfumes nowadays have gotten rid of phthalates as an ingredient, so in this context, looking for a “pet-safe perfume” isn’t entirely hard work. And even if that ingredient is indeed off the label list, the perfume may still contain other fragrances, such as essential oils, or other harmful ingredients like paraben and carcinogen.

Even then, don’t have a heavy heart! Real pet-safe perfumes still do exist in the market. You just need to have a keen eye in finding them and doing your research to make sure they are indeed safe as they are marketed to be.

One of the best pet perfumes you can buy locally is Pawlished Pet Cologne from O-Superstore! It is specially formulated to manage offensive odors without being overwhelming to your pet’s sensitive skin, making it a guaranteed safe dog perfume spray.

For more information, read: 5 Ways to Get Rid of Dog Smell in Your House