Anger at alcoholic dog-calming remedy

US pet store Petco has come under fire for stocking an “all natural” remedy used to calm down unruly dogs that contains 13% alcohol.

Hundreds of people have signed an online petition calling for Good Dog, by Pet Organics, to be removed from Petco’s shelves.

The product is designed to calm down dogs that are “unruly or hyper” using “all natural ingredients”, including four flower essences. However it also includes an inactive ingredient of 13% alcohol “as a preservative”.

Alcohol is toxic to dogs and can prove fatal.

Yvette d’Entremont, leading the petition at Change.org, said: “Petco is, in general, a very responsible organization. However, they have started carrying remedies that include an amount of alcohol in them that could get a grown adult inebriated. Beyond the fact that it’s not generally indicated for dogs, a teenager could easily purchase it as Petco does not ask for ID.”

To make her point clear, d’Entremont posted a video of herself drinking a bottle of the remedy, to demonstrate how easy it was to become intoxicated.

She added: “Several products from Pet Organics purport to help calm your animals via their homeopathic components, but in fact they list 13% alcohol as an inactive ingredient. That’s as concentrated as wine.”

Good Dog is intended to be diluted in water before given to a dog, according to a Petco spokesperson.

“When used as directed, this product has no negative effect on pets, and no known pet deaths or illnesses have been associated with this product in the 10 years it has been sold at Petco,” said a spokesperson.

More than 400 people have so far signed the petition.