BPALS TO REPEL DOGS?

[Lumina]

Couldn't find an existing thread for this (...no, really?! ) I guess it is just a little unusual. Well, here goes:

 

Okay, so I'm going to my Aunt's house for Christmas and I'm going to be wearing a new dress. Now my Aunt has this dog, and he's a great dog and everything, but do I want my new dress pawed on by a mutt? NO! And no, Auntie does not discipline this dog so that he doesn't jump on people. She thinks he's being cute. She also does not seem to believe in canine bathing or manicures, so clothes do get clawed up!

So I'd love to get some recs for dog-repelling bpals. My stipulations are:

1. It needs to work quickly - the beast gets excited when people come in the door and for the first couple of minutes they are in the house. So I'd like for the dog to catch the scent really early on and just keep away from it.

 

2. It needs to be one of the scents I already own, since it's too late now for a lab order. I have varying amounts of:

Samhain '05, Herr Drosselmeyer '06, Jacob's Ladder '06, Inferno, Saturnalia, Fallen, Mag Mell, Ulalume, Horreur Sympathique, Hellfire, Hades, Elegba, Danse Macabre, Le Serpent Qui Danse, The Red Queen, Hellion, Tweedledee.

I also have (non-bpal) single notes of: Frankincense, Myrrh, Vetivert, Lavender, Ylang-Ylang, Coffee, and Cedar.

 

My best guesses from the above would be Samhain (in which something amps all the way up on me), or Saturnalia, which even I find a little stinky (in a good way, but WOW STRONG!) But I would so much appreciate some help with this, so please give me your recs!

 

P.S. I hope it doesn't come across like I'm dog-bashing. I do love dogs, I just don't need them wrecking my clothes, y'know.

[zenvodunista]

Honestly, I'd say just don't wear your new dress - wear something that it is OK if it gets mauled. And if your Aunt complains that you aren't dressed for the occasion explain to her that you didn't want your nice clothes being ruined by her dog.

 

IME, different animals - like people - respond to different smells. So, there's no way to predict which scent the dog will hate.

 

Wear a pair of kakhis and a turtleneck. She'll get the picture.

 

N.

[ivyandpeony]

In more than three years of wearing BPAL and hanging out around in this forum, talking about BPAL at length, I have never heard of a scent having the effect that you're trying to achieve. Maybe once the dog has calmed down, you would be his least favorite in the room if you chose correctly, but I can't imagine any BPAL or commercial perfume working to literally repel a dog unless it was used in huge amounts or sprayed in the dog's face (which I would never, never advocate). If such a simple dog-repelling scent existed, postal employees would start dousing themselves in it and Beth could retire to the Riviera for having come up with such a brilliant, peaceful solution to dog attacks.

 

The scents that you find strong or slightly offensive - like Saturnalia - may in fact be loaded with musk &/or civet bouquet which my dog would probably love even more, stinky animal smells. Although in my experience, I find my dog's pretty indifferent to my BPAL one way or the other - he's curious if he sees me actually opening a bottle, but he doesn't try to sniff and lick my wrists, neck, etc. any more than other body parts. But other dog owners may have had different experiences and if so, perhaps they'll post about them here.

 

I'm sorry your aunt is so inconsiderate, but I think zenvodunista's advice might be the best - maybe even enlist your whole family to dress down and kindly say to your aunt, "Excuse the blue jeans for such a nice occasion, but I didn't want Rowdy to mess up my clothes like he has every other time I've visited."

[tarotbydiana]

From my experience of being around dogs, they seem to be more interested in scents than repelled by them.

 

I used to work retail years ago as a sales manager in a department store. I had to be up on ladders, moving merchandise etc and still look fashionable. What I wore a lot of around the holidays were dresses and separates in velvet that has a little stretch to it. It can take much more abuse than any dressy fabric I've ever worn. It doesn't seem to get those wear marks or scratches the way thicker, finer velvet does. You could always pair a stretch velvet top and a pretty pendant with sturdier black pants or a skirt and still look festive enough for your aunt and be dog friendly.

[Tulliver]

As a co-habitee with a very friendly, "paw-y" dog, I WISH I could help you. Unfortunately I have to say that, while she is most definitely attracted to some blends and ignores certain others, I haven't yet found one that out and out repels her.

 

I shall test her! This will cause untold degrees of confusion since she is a dog of very little brain, but I'll have fun doing it.

[kakiphony]

Just a note, I seem to get EXTRA mauled (by both cats and dogs) whenever I wear patchouli blands (Samhain, Samhainophobia, etc). Last time I was at a friend's house wearing Samhainophobia the cats literally started swarming me the minute I came in the door and draped themselves over me for the remainder of the visit. And when I wore Spanked last week another friend's dog couldn't be made to take his head out of my lap for the duration of a Scrabble game.

[Gnostril Probostril]

I just want to comment that I love this idea! There must be something universally despised by dogs; all we have to do is find it. I was wearing Faust the other day and a usually psychotic dog contented herself with sniffing and licking my hand. I think perfumes can at least distract them.

[cuervosueno]

I have four dogs. I am around many more dogs. Dogs, like people, are individuals, and would have different likes/dislikes about scent. Most dogs don't like STRONG scents of a perfume nature, but that's about it. My dogs have shown no more or less interest in any BPAL scent, though they do sneeze if I use a lot of Samhain atmosphere spray. That's it.

 

I'd suggest learning how to deal with dogs, rather than trying to find a universal dog despised scent, since there likely isn't one.

 

There are scents that do effect dogs--but they are not likely to be found in perfume (dog appeasing pheremones for example). Some people think lavender EO is calming to animals too--I'm not sure, as I haven't tried it out much, but who knows.

Edited May 11, 2012 by cuervosueno

[mooncityminx]

My dog seems to like every bpal I've ever worn, some more than others. Sometimes she likes them so much, that she tries to steal the imp's ears from my desk and starts chewing on them. She even likes tiger balm, while not a bpal at all, is certainly something I would have expected to repel her.

[Ravenclaw79]

Drat. I got so excited by this thread title, 'cause if there was a dog-be-gone BPAL, I'd be all over it. (I really, really dislike dogs, and there are way too many of them out in public these days, many of them all too eager to come sniff and slobber on me.)

[ModderRhu]

Something with a lot of clove. Dogs hate clove. If you must use bpal.