Pheromones for wild dogs

“Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collars” from Sergeant’s Pet Care Products are expected to assist in relocating endangered wild dogs in South Africa to protected wildlife parks. The collars, developed and used to help house pets overcome behavioural problems, are being used to help reduce aggression caused by stress during the initial introduction of wild dogs into newly created packs in protected areas. When you’re trying to change male dogs from one pack to another to prevent inbreeding, they often kill each other,” explained Peter Oberem, a veterinarian and managing director of Afrivet, who brought the collars to the KwaZulu-Natal Wild Dog Project. “These pheromone collars have been a success. They are long lasting and the mobility they provide, travelling on the dogs as they move about, has been a key part of the success.” The collars contain appeasing pheromones, created to mimic those produced naturally by mother dogs and cats to calm their young. The collars release the pheromones, helping animals to better handle stress and anxiety, common triggers to behavioural problems such as aggression and anti-social behaviours like hissing, inappropriate marking, and destructive behaviours like chewing.