The practice of dyeing dogs' hair in colorful colors is becoming more and more popular. Social networks are one of the main ways of propagating this recent fashion and there are hundreds of canine hairdressers and beauty centers that promote their extravagant cuts with dye included, especially when certain festivities such as carnival are approaching. But can a dog's hair be dyed? It's good?
Although there are products specially designed for dogs, this does not mean that the process is harmless to the animal. If you are thinking of giving your dog a makeover or you are interested in this practice, in this article on our site we explain why you should not dye your dog's hair, analyzing the risks on a physical, psychological and social level that it can pose to your furry friend. Keep reading!
1. He alth risks
There is a wide variety of dyes for animals on the market that, unfortunately, are very easy to access. These products are modified to adapt to the pH of the dog's skin and to avoid serious poisoning if ingested, however, they do not guarantee that the animal will not suffer any type of allergic reaction after its application. Many dyes cause itching, irritation and redness on the skin of dogs, even though they are theoretically harmless to them. In more serious cases, dogs with a predisposition to dermatological pathologies, puppies or those with greater sensitivity problems, such as albinos, can suffer from very strong skin reactions that require urgent veterinary assistance.
On the other hand, it goes without saying that human dyes should never be applied to animals, as they are highly toxic to them and it is very easy for them to ingest through licking. In addition, they can cause serious burns to your skin and organic damage that are fatal in many cases.
two. It's a stressful procedure
The level of stress that a dog reaches in this context will depend on several factors, including its level of habituation to handling and its tolerance to water or, if we put it in the hands of professional beauticians, to the invasive presence of strangers. However, we must bear in mind that we are subjecting the animal to a situation that it does not understand and that, moreover, often requires several hours.
Dogs generally experience a peak of distress (negative stress) when they are exposed to this type of manipulation, especially if they are in an unknown place or with people they do not trust. The smell of the dyes, the bath, the noise of the dryer, etc., are stimuli before which the animal can feel tension, fear or rejection Its heart rate speeds up, as well as their respiratory rate, their ability to reason is inhibited and the inability to flee can trigger reactive or defensive behaviors, including possible fear aggression.
In short, it is completely unnecessary to put a dog through such a stressful moment, putting its emotional he alth at risk only to obtain an aesthetic result that does not entail any benefit for the animal.
3. Camouflages the dog's scent and causes communication problems
Smell is the most important sense for a dog and in this species it is highly developed. Through smell, dogs are capable of obtaining a great deal of information, both from the environment and from other individuals, which allows them to adapt the way they behave in different contexts.
One of the main problems with dye for dogs is that seriously modifies the dog's natural smell and, although we cannot perceive it, they do. This, on the one hand, is annoying for the animal itself, who is bothered by the smell it gives off and can even harm themselves trying to remove the dye from their body. On the other hand, dyeing a dog harms its ability to communicate with its peers, since we must bear in mind that dogs greet each other by sniffing each other. The artificial smell that a dyed dog gives off can make other dogs reject it or, even worse, try to attack it.
In addition, dyes are often accompanied by ostentatious haircuts, especially in breeds such as poodles, chow chows, pomeranians, bichon frizes and the like. Some of these cuts include a shave on the animal's snout, which means the loss of its vibrissae (whiskers), a fundamental part of its sensory-perceptive system. Clipping a dog's whiskers can cause significant confusion and orientation problems. We talk about it in depth in this other article: "What are dog whiskers for?".
4. Encourages objectification of animals
Finally, dyeing a dog's hair is also an ethical problem, since trying to transform animals into stuffed animals and treating them like canvases on which we can paint we are ignoring their right to dignity and encouraging them to be seen more as objects than as sentient beings endowed with intelligence and the ability to experience and communicate emotions.
A dog does not need this type of aesthetic touch-ups and, although we do it with good intentions and look for products that are not harmful, we should think about the aforementioned implications and risks to assess whether it is really worth dyeing the hair to our dog, because there is no benefit that the animal can get from this procedure, only damages.
We encourage you to consult the 5 freedoms of animal welfare to check if you comply with all of them if you share your life with a dog or another animal.
