Dolce & Gabbana dog perfume foray draws mixed reactions from experts and consumers

08 Aug 2024 --- Dolce & Gabbana’s release of a scented mist for dogs is being criticized by some experts who have reservations about the use of dog perfumes. The alcohol-free mist is inspired by and named after co-founder Domenico Dolce’s dog, Fefé.

The Italian luxury fashion brand claims the product is certified as suitable for animal use and follows a Safe Pet Cosmetics protocol designed to ensure the safety of cosmetic products for animals comparable to that required for humans. 

However, PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk told Plant Based News: “PETA advises dog guardians never to apply any scented sprays to their animal companions and reminds people to consider that our dogs love us just as we are — and we should extend the same courtesy to them.”

Additionally, some veterinarians express concerns about using dog perfumes, as scent sometimes indicates ailments in dogs, and if covered up, it could lead to misdiagnosis.

Controversial scent
Dolce & Gabbana explains that the market has “reacted well” to the latest launch. “Everyone went crazy at the announcement,” Stefano Gabbana, the company’s other co-founder, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The luxury brand describes the scent as “delicate, authentic and charismatic” in an advertising campaign. The perfume has ylang-ylang, musk and sandalwood notes and retails for €99 (US$108.22) at 3.4 ounces.

“Through compliance recognition with this protocol granted by Bureau Veritas Italia, participating companies demonstrate their sensitivity in creating products that ensure the safety and respect of animals, in accordance with established standards,” says the company.

Bureau Veritas Italia provides inspection, laboratory verification and certification services.

According to Dolce & Gabbana, veterinarians approve of the product, but Newkirk asserts that since dogs have an “extraordinarily” sensitive sense of smell, perfume can “upset them greatly.”

Dog noses have hundreds of millions more receptors in their nostrils. They can smell 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans and pick up scents a mile away.

Senior scientific officer at The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Alice Potter, tells The Guardian: “Sometimes dogs can be anthropomorphized and the lines can become blurred between what dogs like and what we, as humans, think they’ll like.”

“Dogs rely on their sense of smell to communicate and interact with their environment as well as the people and other animals within it. Therefore, we advise that strong-scented products such as perfumes or sprays be avoided, especially as some smells can be really unpleasant for dogs.”

Dog perfumes have been on the market for some years and are available at pet stores and groomers.

By Sabine Waldeck