26/08/2014
EAU DE OINK PERFUME
A new ‘eau de oink’ has been developed in America to help keep dogs under control. The “pig perfume” is said to stop dogs barking, frantically jumping and engaging in other unwanted behaviour.
Scientist John McGlone, who works for the Texas Tech University College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, developed the fragrance in a bid to stop his own terrier’s non-stop barking, with just one spritz enough to calm him down.
“It was completely serendipitous,” said McGlone. “One of the most difficult problems is that dogs bark a lot, and it’s one of the top reasons they are given back to shelters or pounds.”
The perfume’s key ingredient is androstenone, a steroid and pheromone produced by male pigs and released in their saliva and fat. When detected by female pigs in heat, they seem to find the male more attractive, but it can have an effect on the behaviour of other mammals also.
Following a series of tests, the scientist had a 100% success rate when spraying barking dogs with the perfume. “We sprayed it in their nose or toward their head while they were barking…barking and jumping, running back and forth,” McGlone said. “This whole behaviour stopped. You could almost see them thinking, ‘What was that?’”
The perfume is said to have no side effects and McGlone is now testing pheromones released by dogs, cats and horses.
Do you have a boisterous dog? Would you buy ‘eau de oink’ if it became available in the UK? Let us know and you could win cash to spend on the website at the end of the month.
