5 common beauty products and activities that can upset your dog

If you share your home with a dog, you have probably noticed that they have distinct preferences, likes and dislikes when it comes to the things that they are uncomfortable with or particularly enjoy, such as the sound and action of the hoover, which most dogs find very annoying and are apt to act out around every time you turn it on!

However, while every dog owner might be aware that their dogs dislike the sound and action of the hoover in their home, there are also several other normal, everyday products and activities that can upset your dog too, which may not always be obvious to you as they are usually simple, everyday activities that you don’t really think about, and many of them are related to a lot of people’s everyday hair and beauty routines!

If you have ever wondered why your dog goes loopy when you’re following a certain type of beauty routine, change your appearance or use a certain product, this article will give you an insight into some of the most common beauty routines and products that may upset your dog-and why! Read on to learn more.

Hairdryers

First up, hairdryers are one of the most common pieces of equipment that are apt to upset many dogs, for exactly the same reasons that many dogs react badly to the sound of the hoover! Hairdryers make a significant amount of noise given the size of them, and as well as the sound that you can hear, hairdryers also put out a much higher-pitched sound than people can hear, but that your dog certainly can-and that might well wind them up!

Aerosols

Aerosols of various types can all wind up dogs and generally upset them, and the reasoning behind this is very simple-hissing is a sound that brings out a very primeval fear in many animals, because it emulates the hissing sound of a dangerous snake! Not only snakes hiss, but also, a range of other animals do it too when emulating the sound of a snake, in order to deter potential threats from considering them to be easy game.

For this reason, many pets including dogs and cats find the sound of hissing very unnerving, and the sound of an aerosol being activated will often wake them up or make them jump!

Scented products

The strongest sense that dogs possess is their sense of smell, and their noses are very sensitive and able to differentiate between millions of different scents, including very subtle ones. This means that scented products such as bath bombs, perfumes and sprays or anything else that gives off a strong scent may well disturb or upset your dog, as the smell that they detect is so overpowering and unnatural to them.

If you can smell bath products yourself, they will appear to smell much more strongly to your dog, and this can both confuse and possibly, upset your pet.

Try to restrict very strongly smelling bath products to the bathroom only, in order to keep your dog’s exposure to them to a minimum.

Contouring

Contouring is a makeup application technique that has become very popular over the last couple of years, and which can dramatically alter the shape and dimensions of your face, simply thanks to the judicious application of makeup!

While dogs identify the people that they are familiar with due to their smell first and foremost, it may also confuse your dog if they look up at you and see what is to them a totally unfamiliar face on top of the body that they know so well! While your dog will usually be able to get to grips with this quickly as the sound of your voice and smell of you let your dog know that it is still you, don’t be surprised if your dog barks or appears confused by the change in the first instance!

Changing your perfume

As mentioned, dogs do not take well to overpowering or strong lingering scents in general, as they mask your dog’s ability to differentiate between other scents, and generally, act as an intrusion on your dog’s olfactory abilities! However, if you regularly wear the same perfume, your dog will soon get used to the smell of this and begin to recognise it as yours, and while they may not actively enjoy it if it is too strong, they will begin to build up positive associations with it, as it reminds them of you.

This means that if you then consequently change your perfume, the scent that you give off will of course change, and while your dog will still be able to identify your own natural scent underneath, a sudden change of perfume can confuse and possible even bother your dog, until they get used to the change!