EO Gives an Entirely New Meaning to Smelly Dogs

Has anyone ever said to you, “You smell like a dog?” Well, if EO has its way, that
phrase might actually be a compliment.

EO (Essential Oils), the 16-year old Corte Madera-based, family-owned company whose blue-bottled aromatic products are infectiously popular worldwide in the natural human body care market, is now offering natural pet care products for your dog. EO introduced their pet line in February, and kicked it off with a promotional dog modeling competition that received more than two-hundred enthused entrants.

The new EO pet line appears to be consistent with the company’s long-held vision of being a certified organic manufacturer that provides natural and gentle products for its consumers made with organic ingredients that are eco-friendly and sustainable.

“The bottles the (pet products) are going in are made from 100 percent recycled product,” explained co-owner, Brad Black, “the essential oils are pure and aromatherapy grade, the surfactants aren’t harsh, they’re mild, and it’s a biodegradable product.”

The only difference: their new consumers have tails.

Essentially, EO’s pet line has all the makings of another successful EO product,
something that its customers have grown to expect from this major natural products company. And like many of EO’s current body care items, the idea originated from the personal experiences of its creative owners.

When Brad and his wife, Susan, along with other friends, truly looked into the pet
industry, they were very disappointed with what was looking back at them.

“(The pet industry) isn’t so natural,” Brad explained, “It’s sort of like where personal care was 10 years ago. There is no real leader in natural (for pets), there is no regulation — less in pet than in personal care. So, you don’t have to list all of your ingredients that go into your pet (products). You can say that your product is
organic in (the pet industry) with no regulation. Even though they are supposed to
follow the same USDA organic rules, no one is really enforcing them.”

This disturbed the Blacks, being dog owners themselves. Also, being leaders in the
natural product industry, they understood that most of the products, which lacked natural ingredients, available to pet owners were not only potentially physically harmful to the pets, but environmentally destructive as well.

Facing this reality, EO took action. With its immense success in the natural body
product realm, the Blacks already knew the recipe for human body care products,
and they chose to apply some of that knowledge to developing, marketing, and
distributing a new pet care line to pet owners who care about their pets’ well-being.

But if you think that EO simply slapped “EO For Dogs” stickers over its human
body care product labels, guess again. Apparently, all shampoos and conditioners
are not created equally … at least not at EO.

While the company uses the same high quality ingredients, EO’s new line aims
at providing a unique comfortable experience for your pets, something that a
normal pet shampoo or conditioner  might not. When researching for the line, people at EO consulted veterinarians about possible animal skin issues. They learned, for instance, that a dog’s skin has a different, slightly lower ph level than that of humans. Armed with this, and other, knowledge, EO went into their labs, made the necessary adjustments to their pet shampoos and conditioners to reflect these skin differences by balancing the ph to that of a dog’s skin. After more research, and a few more lab tweaks, the blend was perfect, and ready to put on the market.

EO hopes that the work it put into developing the product can not only ensure that the dogs will experience a more comfortable bath, but also assure those owners worried about their dog’s sensitive skin.

“I am really excited about our pet line," Brad Black said. "There is going to be a great awareness that people are open to because people love their pets, and when they start to hear that there are harsh chemicals in the other products out there, they will be happy to have an option like EO to turn to.”

And if you love the delicious flavors of EO’s body care products, you won’t be disappointed with their fur care products either. The lavender and aloe scent of EO’s shampoo, for instance, is sweetly potent and calmingly aromatic to both the washer and — perhaps surprising to some dog owners — even the washee. In addition to shampoo, EO offers a lavender and aloe conditioner, and a citrus and
mint groomer. While the groomer is handy for brushing in when “refreshing” an
un-bathed dog before having guests over, the conditioner, well, conditions.

Yes, I said it: a dog conditioner.

“My customers had never used conditioners on their dogs (prior to EO’s pet conditioner),” said Julianne Walsh, owner of Green Pawz, a trendy natural pet store
in San Francisco that offers grooming and self-washing tubs and now features EO
pet products, “but they love it now! ... They tell me they’re dogs are so smooth and
soft. This is precisely what I envisioned for the store: wash, bond with the dog ...
and get quality products.”

And, apparently, the bottles are flying off of her shelves for good reason.

“Our product is much better than the other products that are out there from a
sustainability part on the earth, from a product part on the dog, (our pet products
are) effective, and I think they are priced pretty competitively,” Brad put bluntly.

Put simply, “We believe that products don’t have to hurt your pet, and don’t have to
hurt the planet.”

** Check out a picture of my 60-pound golden mixed-breed, Dee Dee, after getting her bath with EO’s pet products. I’d say, the product passed with flying colors: She’s softer, shinier, smoother, and smells great! **

EO’s dog product line can be purchased online at www.eoproducts.com, or in person at Green Pawz, 772 Stanyan Street, San Francisco. EO invites you to become one of its 6,000-plus Facebook friends and possibly even be part of picking its dog contest winner.