NOse Offense, an odor neutralizer that leaves behind no cloying after scent, features an active ingredient derived from caster oil. It doesn’t just cover pet odors up. It’s designed to make them go away. We gave the spray a try in a few ways around the house. Here are our results.
Pet Odors in the Air –>>> A-
Because we have hard surface flooring on two of the three levels in our house (main level and basement), I like to think that there is less to get smelly around here. Still … we do have a couple of what I affectionately call “dirty mountain dogs,” so I walked around and sprayed NOse Offense high in the air, letting it waft down as instructed.
Verdict? NOse Offense works really well freshen the air around this two-dog house.
Pet Odors on Surfaces –>>> C+
I tried 3 different surfaces:
- The carpeted stairs to the basement (which had just been brushed and vacuumed … thanks to Tom) … about 60 percent of the smell went away.
- The dog’s beds (which had been recently laundered, so they weren’t too bad) … about 50% of the smell went away.
- The dog’s blankets in their crates (which could probably have used a trip through the washing machine) … about 30% of the smell went away.
I gave things a good sniff (on my hands and knees) before and after using NOse Offense, and I know my percentages are subjective, but that’s how much LESS things smelled to me.
So, clearly:
- My monkeys smell more than I thought.
- I need to do their laundry more often.
Verdict? If you’re expecting the spray to work miracles on odor packed fabrics, it won’t … unless you’re already doing a good job of keeping odors to a minimum in other ways.
Pet Odors on Pets (Withdrawn Application)
Between the time I received my free bottle of NOse Offense a few weeks ago and preparing this review, they’ve removed the suggestion to spray the product on a cloth and then wipe down your pet … because animal testing is the only way to prove this was safe to do, and Rembo Corp, which makes NOse Offense is against animal testing.
I completely get that since animal testing often means bunnies and other lab animals get stuff sprayed in their eyes and mouths and such.
It’s kind of a shame, though, … because before I knew this application was being withdrawn … I indeed sprayed some on a cloth and wiped my dogs down.
And, it worked really well. I thought both Lilly and Ginko smelled MUCH better.
NOse Offense Ingredients
After I’d unwittingly “tested” the product on my own dogs, Tom grabbed the bottle and had a little bit of a fit because the label doesn’t list ingredients … at all.
I assume that’s because the formula is “patent pending,” but I stopped using/testing the product until I knew more.
I emailed to ask for ingredient information (since I could not find it on the bottle, promotional materials, or website) and received the following reply from Jaime Rembo with NOse Offense:
“The active ingredient in our product is plant based, specifically from a plant that many people grow in their ornamental gardens. Ricinoleic acid (12-hydroxy-9-cis-octadecenoic acid) is an unsaturated omega-9 fatty acid that naturally occurs in mature Castor plants (Ricinus communis L.). Castor oil is naturally derived by expressing the oil from the castor bean produced by the plant.
“There are other proprietary ingredients involved which are necessary for the emulsification and solubilization of the castor oil derived active ingredient. These materials are also derived form natural occurring sources and are well known in the literature for their use in many household and personal care products.
“The preservative, which is necessary for the long term integrity and shelf life of the product is there at an extremely low level, 0.15%, and is also used in the above mentioned consumer products.
“Based on this information, the ingredients, other than the preservative, are derived from naturally sourced, and organic raw materials.”
NOse Offense Product Review: Final Call
So, would I likely use NOse Offense?
Yes, but only in the air.
I just didn’t see a dramatic enough difference when applied to fabrics/surfaces, and I would hate to waste product trying to combat my two stinky beasts.
Maybe if your pups are less noxious than mine, you’d have better luck on fabrics and such.
*** FTC Disclosure ***
Marvin and Jaime Rembo, the father-daughter team behind Rembo Corp and NOse Offense, sent me a free, 8-ounce bottle so that I could give it a try around the house and perhaps write about it.
I was lucky enough to get to meet Jamie in person at Meet the Breeds last fall, and also got to try a bottle of NOse Offense. I love it for the Winnebago. With our frequent hikes, trips to the beach, and few opportunities to bathe the dogs it gets a little stinky in here. This product is great because other deodorizing products can be really overwhelming in our close quarters.
Hello readers of Champion of My Heart:
I am the daughter of the father/daughter team that has created NOse Offense…For Pets. It has come to my attention that there has been some confusion in the make-up of our product. Before I explain this ingredient issue in detail, I must say how horribly I feel that one would think we would use ANY type of resource that would in ANY way harm our animals. We developed this efficient odor neutralizer because of our Zoe and her ‘issues’, thinking that if we had this problem that other products couldn’t 100% fix, others out there in our pet community would be struggling as well…
Yes, Castor Beans are HIGHLY toxic not only to pets but humans as well! It is the seed in the bean that contains ricin, the deadly toxin.
However, Castor Beans are NOT used in making NOse Offense. A derivitive of the oil of the castor bean is used. This derivitive, Ricinoleic acid, which Roxanne mentioned in her review above, is a common ingredient used in many applications including the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, hydraulic and brake fluids, paints, dyes, coatings, inks, cold resistant plastics, waxes and polishes, nylon, pharmaceuticals and perfumes. It is a natural ingredient and is considered safe when used as directed.
We hope that this clears up any doubt that has crossed your mind in reading about NOse Offense. I encourage all concerned to please reach out to me with any questions that you may have (jrembo@noseoffense.com). We have spent a lot of time creating this wonderful product, with of course, health and safety as our number 1 priority.
I apologize for any confusion this has created. My dog Zoe is my life, I would NEVER produce ANYTHING that would in some way affect her negatively. Never.
Wags to all,
Jaime
Non-label label, that wouldn’t fly with me. I read labels before I do anything else.
It seems that the toxic part of the bean is a protein, so theoretically fatty acid isn’t protein and could be safe.
We don’t have dog odor issue or we just became immune to it 😉 For cleaning we use enzyme based product.
Thanks, Jana … for weighing in. I know that you are an awesome label reader.
And, now you know our secret … we’re a bunch of stinky petes around here. Ha!
Hmm…the manufacturer didn’t state that castor oil is used in Nose Offense. It stated that they use a fatty acid which they derive out of the same plant which also makes castor oil. The isolated fatty acid by itself, outside of the castor oil form, coming from a different part of the plant, may not be dangerous to dogs. Worth investigating. 🙂
Yes … Michelle is right. I’ve invited the Nose Offense team to reply directly, so stay tuned for that. In my intro I do say “derived from…” not actual castor oil, and in her email to me earlier, Jaime does talk about the fatty acid.
I’ll let them answer as they choose, but indeed I’ve been reassured that it’s safe, non-toxic in the form used.
Along the same lines as Pamela… did it leave ANY scent at all? I have asthma and am incredibly sensitive to chemical smells, especially perfumes and cleaning sprays.
So your review mentioned this product didn’t leave a strong scent behind. Did the dogs agree with this? I’ve found my dogs hate the smells of most cleaning/deodorizing products (except Nature’s Miracle; Honey seemed to love it although I couldn’t smell a thing).
Castor oil bushes turn up on lists of plans poisonous to dogs. Evidently the seeds taste really good. I think only using this product in the air is probably a good idea. You’d hate to see Lilly or Ginko licking the product off their coats and getting sick.
Holy cow, Pamela … you are right about the toxicity of castor. Thanks so much for letting all of us know.
And, Pamela and Crystal … I will do a quick test to see if the spray is scent free to the dogs. I’ll put some on a napkin and see if Lilly uses her Nose Work scent behavior to mark it or not.
OK. Reporting back on the scent question for both @Pamela and @Crystal… The dogs must be able to smell at least some scent, but I cannot smell anything. No after scent. Not just light scent. No scent, but Lilly can smell something.
How’d I test that?
1. Spray Nose Offense on a paper towel and let it dry.
2. Place the sprayed paper towel and a non-sprayed one on the floor.
3. Gave Lilly the chance to alert to a scent (lay down next to it), if she could smell anything.
She explored both towels with her nose, smelling the sprayed one first, then the non-sprayed one. She went back to the sprayed one and laid down next to it.
So, it must have something the dogs can smell, but I gave the paper towel a good sniff myself, and I could not smell anything, and Crystal … I nearly fall down in the laundry/cleaning aisle from the stench of all those cleaning products, and I’ve returned countless body lotions because they gave me a headache the smell was so strong. So, I may not be as sensitive as you are, but I certainly don’t smell anything.