Pheromone Collar Developed for Pets Helps
Save Endangered Species Half a World Away

Frustrated pet owners might refer to a shoe or sofa-eating dog as wild. But it’s hard to imagine a modern-day connection between the naughty family dog in suburban America and the endangered African Wild Dog. This three-million year old canine species known for its vicious hunting prowess and fierce fighting abilities could do a lot more harm than simply shredding the sofa.

The connection between these canine cousins goes further than just the behavior issues themselves – researchers and conservationists now have evidence that a solution developed for house pets is effective enough to successfully address severe behavior concerns in truly wild animals as well.

Current efforts to save the African Wild Dogs, who now number only 400 in South Africa and between 3,000 and 5,000 in all of sub-Saharan Africa, have received a new infusion of hope from an unexpected source - the Sentry®HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collar manufactured by Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Inc.

The collar was developed and is sold state-side to help pets overcome behavioral problems brought on by stress and anxiety. Half a world away in Africa, the collars are helping conservationists ensure that the Wild Dog species survives by treating the same issues, albeit on a much larger scale.

Pheromones to the Rescue

Both pet owners and veterinarians have long searched for ways to curb unwanted behavior in pets, but past solutions such as behavior modification training and sedatives presented problems. Behavior caused by stress and anxiety did not always respond to training alone and strong systemic medications presented side effects and potential dangers.

Appeasing pheromones, produced by mother dogs and cats during nursing, do not present these problems. These natural substances soothe and calm young pups and kittens, but the animals continue to recognize and respond to them throughout their lives. Even in adulthood, pheromone use with dogs and cats has proven to reduce or eliminate fears and phobias (such as trips to the vet or loud noises like fireworks or thunder storms), separation anxiety, stress associated with abandonment to shelters, adaptation to the shelter environment and settling in with new people and other pets after adoption.

The effectiveness of pheromones is well proven, but the delivery methods have historically been a challenge. While pheromone sprays and diffusers are used to treat anxious animals, their results are limited. They require the animal to be kept in one room or area and are often not strong enough to be effective over time.

Sergeant’s was determined to improve the delivery of pheromones for both dogs and cats. To do so, they worked with a team of product development specialists to create the patented Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collar for Dogs and the Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collar for Cats. The pheromones are released evenly over time, making the collars effective for 30 days. Because they are placed on the pet and go where the pet goes, they eliminated the need to restrict the animal’s movement.

Testing of the Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collar has been done by animal behaviorists with dogs and cats that were known to have behavior issues. The results were outstanding. More than 70% of dogs’ stress-induced behaviors were minimized or eliminated. Results of a similar study on cats were even more dramatic. Those behaviors included chewing, aggression towards people and other pets, separation anxiety and house soiling in household dogs. In cats, behaviors shown to improve with use of the pheromone collars included inappropriate marking, house soiling, antisocial behavior and aggression.

The Ultimate Challenge

While these collars proved to be extremely effective with the behavior problems most common to house pets, would they stand up to the worst of the worst? The answer is yes. The African Wild Dog is considered to be the most aggressive canine species. In fact, watching them hunt, it's hard to believe they are related to the chipper Chihuahua or benign Bassett Hound. They are considered better hunters than even lions or leopards, taking down prey as much as 10 times larger than themselves in mere seconds. Although they are relatively small, weighing an average of 50-70 pounds, they are fierce. They are also intensely social animals with very strong pack loyalty.

The Wild Dog is Africa’s most endangered carnivore and is considered to be extinct in 23 African countries. There are multiple causes for the demise of the population, which used to number in the hundreds of thousands. These include poaching and killing due to fear of the animals by those living near their traditional homelands. But perhaps the most complex reason for their dwindling population comes from their strong pack loyalty and rigid hierarchy. In each pack, the alpha male chooses one female and only this pair mate and bear offspring. Other pack members care for the offspring.

Serious conservation efforts to increase the numbers of this dwindling population are underway. One solution in expanding the African Wild Dog population is creating a larger numbers of packs. One of the largest conservation programs, the KwaZulu-Natal Wild Dog Project, is carried out through a partnership between the Endangered Wildlife Trusts’ Carnivore Conservation Group and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife; supported by The Green Trust and Land Rover South Africa, and in collaboration with The Smithsonian institute.

The project aims at integrating Wild Dogs born in the wild with their captive-reared brothers and sisters to create a series of new packs, with the hopes of more breeding and offspring at two different South African Game Reserves. This is easier than it sounds, however, because of the stress produced by attempts to create ‘artificial packs’. The challenge is keeping the newly-added Wild Dogs from attacking and killing the captive-raised Wild Dogs, due to their innate aggression and pack loyalty.

An Answer for Wild Dogs

Here's where the Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collars for Dogs came in to play. Veterinarians working with AfriVet, the largest animal health company in South Africa, the distributor of the pheromone collars, proposed the collars as a potential solution to help the dogs adjust to their new environment and pack, and to reduce the potential for serious violence to those at the Kwazulu-Natal Wild Dog Project.

Veterinarians with the project decided that fitting the dogs with the pheromone collars could reduce the aggression and help adaptation. They tranquilized the first group of Wild Dogs and volunteer pilots flew the dogs two hours to their new home in Kwa-Zulu Natal. They were fitted with the pheromone collars while asleep, and everyone hoped for the best. The pilots reported that all went smoothly.

The results have been extremely successful. According to representatives of the Wild Dog Project, dogs that were fitted with the collars have bonded smoothly with an alpha pair developing and mating. The strength and effectiveness of the pheromones used in the Good Behavior Collar over 30 days was enough to help these naturally aggressive dogs overcome the stress of integration, giving conservationists an answer that had previously eluded them.

To date, African Wild Dogs have been relocated to several different reserves within KwaZulu-Natal using the Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collars for Dogs, building new packs in Tembe, Hlambanyti and Mkuze.

The Future - Felines

The success has conservationists considering replicating the project using pheromone collars in more conservation projects in the future. Other wild canine varieties with endangered or dwindling populations such as the African Jackal, could also benefit from the pheromone collars.

The success of the pheromone collars on the African Wild Dogs was so impressive trials have started using the Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collar for Cats with African Wild Cats. This is the first pheromone collar for cats, and has had very high success rates with domesticated cats.

Recently, an African Wild Cat who was hand-raised by humans after being orphaned at birth was reintroduced to life in the wild at the Dabchick Wildlife Reserve and Conservancy in the in South Africa's northeastern Limpopo Province. At just four months of age, the cat was fitted with the Sentry HC Good Behavior Pheromone Collar for Cats.

She has gradually adapted to her new surroundings in part, according to representatives of the reserve, because of the calming effects of the pheromone collar. Ensuring that her behavior does not become aggressive because of the stress of adaptation is vital, because the reserve hosts researchers and safari guests.