A mate of mine is a Vet.
We occasionally meet for a pint and unusually during our the last catch-up our professional worlds collided..
Innocently I asked him what if any trends he was seeing work wise?
He then tells me his practice has seen a significant increase of owners bringing their dogsš in concerned about skin irritation. He then plays, āPet detectiveā and ascertains that many dog owners bath their pooch using human shampoos. Ā š§“
We start talking about the differences between the epidermis of dogs and humans. In summary humans have approximately treble the skin layers of dogs. To make matters worse dogs are more susceptible to dermal absorption of chemicals. For obvious reasons many these instances go unreported a) dogs canāt fully describe the problem and their symptoms Ā & b) owners could feel guilty if they realised that they had inadvertently washed their pet with the wrong type of shampoo.
So it will come as no surprise that there is a massive market in the UK for dog shampoos, but unfortunately from a legal perspective the landscape is a bit of a ādogs dinnerā!.
If the product contains a certain % of āhazardousā chemicals then appropriate warning symbols etc must be displayed on the packaging. Here lies the problem, manufacturers donāt want to adorn their products with pictures of Skulls and Cross bones but likewise thereās a balance between the product being so mild and it being for purpose. ā ļø
Lastly several manufacturers label the product as if itās a human cosmetic (which it isnāt).
If you’re in the dog shampoo business and you want to sell your products in a compliant manner, Ā now would be the pawfect time to contact meā¦
