Do Dog Pheromones Really Work?
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 “Have you ever tried dog pheromones for her?” my vet, Dr. Johnson, asked when I mentioned that Riley tends to be a nervous, clingy dog. “No,” I said, awkwardly pausing to make sure he wasn’t joking. “Seriously?”
Shortly thereafter, he prescribed my dog with The D.A.P.™ (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) Diffuser. It basically functions like a Glade Plug-In and emits pheromones into your apartment or house for up to four weeks. It’s supposed to reduce or prevent stress-related behavior (eg, separation anxiety, destruction of your stuff, freaking when new visitors come over, etc.).
After Dr. Johnson handed it to me, I half-whispered, “It’s not going to make me act weird, is it?” (I had visions of myself getting inexplicable cases of the munchies or nodding off during Real Housewives, which would clearly never happen under normal circumstances.) Um, no, he assured me, they would not have any affect on me whatsoever. (I know, in retrospect I was embarrassed I asked.)
So, I took home the D.A.P. and plugged it in, and…nothing. Riley acted exactly the same as she had every single other day. Then, about a week in to my experiment, I realized the diffuser was leaking a hideous oil stain down my wall. So, I unplugged it, and that was that. The whole episode was along the lines of what I call “the Pedi-Paws incident.” Totally anticlimactic.
I’m curious, has anyone else ever tried dog pheromones for their pet?
Reader Comments (1)
I tried the diffuser when Pepper was about 12 weeks old and had been soiling her crate every time we left her in it. The trainer told us that the scent would remind Pepper of being with her mother and would soothe her into normal doggy crate behavior. It didnt work a bit. and in fact Pepper's behavior only improved when we moved the crate out of the room in which the diffuser was plugged. This was a failed $60 experiment.