Dolce & Gabbana Launches $108 Perfume for Dog
Dolce & Gabbana Launches $108 Dog Perfume: Popular fashion company Dolce and Gabbana has launched a new $108 “alcohol-free scented mist for dogs.”
The perfume named ‘Fefé,’ honors the dog of the brand’s co-founder Domenico Dolce. It is available in a 3.4-ounce striking green glass bottle capped with a vibrant red lid, and a distinctive golden dog paw elegantly etched onto the bottle’s surface.
Fefé ‘blends “fresh and delicate notes” of ylang-ylang, musk, and sandalwood. “It’s a tender and embracing fragrance crafted for a playful beauty routine,” the company explained on a web page dedicated to Fefé.
Dolce & Gabbana, however, has confirmed that the new perfume is safe for pets, noting that the fragrance adheres to the Safe Pet Cosmetics protocol, which guarantees a safety standard equivalent to that of human cosmetic products.
“Through compliance with this protocol, granted by Bureau Veritas Italia, participating companies demonstrate their commitment to creating safe and respectful products for animals,” the company stated at the perfume’s launch.
Despite the company’s assurance of the perfume’s safety on dogs, its launch has sparked controversy with opinions sharply divided on whether or not to scent our furry friends.
The review cited on the perfume web page, suggests that Fefé perfume has garnered unanimous approval from both dog owners and veterinarians who claim the perfume is “gentle and well accepted by their pets.”
According to AP, Aliof Rilova Tano, a dog groomer at La Boutique delle Birbe in Rome, said he supports using fragrances for pets. “Our dogs live with us, so having a perfumed dog on the couch is pleasant,” he said.
Grooming customer Margarita Ricciardi said she is in favor of “anything that has to do with a natural scenting … and that can also help the quality of the hair.”
Some veterinarians, however, have raised concerns about the use of perfumes for dogs arguing it could disrupt their sense of smell and mask odors that indicate potential health issues.
“Dogs recognize themselves and others by smell,” explained Federico Coccía, a veterinarian in Rome with a doctorate from the University of Teramo.
“When the dog arrives, he sees you, wags his tail, but first smells you and then recognizes you because you are stored in one of his ‘smell drawers.’ Therefore, this world of smells should not be changed,” Coccia added.
Coccía further emphasizes that concealing a dog’s natural odor could make diagnosing dermatological conditions challenging.
“In cases like sebaceous dermatitis, the smell is part of the diagnosis. The scent of breath or earwax can also be disguised by perfume, posing problems for veterinarians,” he explained.
“The smell of breath, the smell of earwax are disguised by the perfume. So, it could be a problem even for us vets,” he added.
In a statement to AFP, International animal rights charity PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk said, “Squirting (dogs) with a fragrance designed to please humans, as this is, can upset them greatly.”
Dogs “have hundreds of millions more receptors in their nostrils and can smell 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans,” she said.
Perfumes sprayed on their fur “can cause them irritation and distress and interfere with their ability to detect other smells in their environment and communicate with other animals they encounter,” she added.
Dolce & Gabbana Launches $108 Dog Perfume
While Dolce and Gabbana assert the new product’s safety and has garnered support from some dog owners and groomers, concerns raised by veterinarians have cast a shadow over the fragrance’s potential benefits.
Ultimately, the decision to use a perfume for a dog rests with pet owners, who must carefully weigh the potential advantages against the potential risks for their furry friends.
