Pig pheromones: for a better-behaved dog

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

There's a new use for androstenone, the pheromone found in boar saliva that induces sows to mate. Animal behaviour scientist Dr. John McGlone of Texas Tech University has discovered it also has a calming effect on agitated dogs.

He told New Scientist that he made the "serendipitous finding" when he sprayed his own barking dog with the stuff. The dog was immediately silenced, and McGlone saw potential.

He then set up an experiment where dogs were sprayed with androstenone while simultaneously being subjected to a loud sound that would normally excite them. The spray was 100 per cent effective in calming the dogs. McGlone's study was published in Vol. 30 of The Professional Animal Scientist in February.

McGlone teamed with pet care company Sergeant's to market the spray. Vetscription PetSTOP!, available at Walmart stores across the United States, is said to be effective on both cats and dogs.

PetSTOP! will presumably be sold alongside existing pheromone therapy products that use Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) to calm stressed and anxious dogs. DAP products contain a synthetic hormone that mimics the pheromones given off by female dogs just after their puppies are born. BP