Day three, and the smell is back.

Bathed every two or three weeks, because bathing a dog in an Indian flat is hard. The smell doesn't wait that long.

Two products, launching November. An odour neutraliser spray that works on the bacteria causing the smell rather than covering it, and a paw butter for what Indian roads do to paws.

The days between baths

Bathing a dog in an Indian flat is a production. No garden, no space to dry a wet dog, a bathroom that wasn't designed for it. So it happens every two or three weeks, which is reasonable.

The smell doesn't run on that schedule. By day three or four it's back — in a room with the windows shut, on a sofa the dog sleeps on, in front of whoever has just come to visit.

It isn't dirt. It's bacteria living on the skin, breaking down the oils in the coat. That's the source, and it's why a rinse doesn't fix it.

What's on the shelf for those days is perfume — which doesn't act on bacteria at all. It sits over the smell and waits to fade.

Two products, for the two things that need daily care

Coat & Paw Kit — ₹1,349
The spray and the paw butter together. The coat and the paws are the two surfaces that need attention between baths, and this covers both.

Odour Neutraliser Spray — 150 ml · ₹899
Acts on the odour-producing bacteria, instead of masking with fragrance. A light sandalwood finish.

Paw Butter — 50 g · ₹599
Daily protection for healthy paw pads. Indian-heritage butters and oils. A light rose finish.

Product photography goes up in late October, of the actual bottles.

These are the launch prices. There's no early-bird code and no waitlist price — being on the list gets you in first, not cheaper.

What's in it, and what each thing does

Every active is named, with its job stated.

Key ingredients in the Desi Paws Odour Neutraliser Spray, with INCI names, common names and what each one does
Key ingredients in Desi Paws Paw Butter, with INCI names, common names and what each one does

Full ingredient list on the pack, in INCI names.

If fragrance is the problem, why is this scented?

Fair question, and the honest answer is about what the fragrance is doing.

A pet perfume adds fragrance strong enough to hide the smell — the fragrance is the mechanism. Ours acts on the bacteria, and what's left is a light sandalwood finish, because a product you use daily in a shared room should smell pleasant.

If we removed the scent, the product would still work. If a perfume removed its fragrance, there'd be nothing left.

Your dog's going to lick it off

Dogs lick. It isn't a risk to work around, it's a condition to formulate for — so both products are built on that assumption, not around it.

No sulphates. No parabens. No synthetic nasties. Every ingredient listed, whatever its origin.

Formulated for dogs. We make no claim for any other animal.

What we've proved, and what we haven't yet

  • Confirmed

    Named actives, with what each one does stated on this page.

  • Confirmed

    Full ingredient list, in INCI names, including anything not sourced in India.

  • Confirmed

    Cosmetic-grade ingredients, at concentrations within established safe-use levels for topical products.

  • Results published

    Odour Neutraliser Spray
    Paw Butter

    Tested in August 2026 by a NABL-accredited laboratory, for heavy metals and microbial counts.

    These were tested at sample sizes, in the manufacturer's packaging. The formulation is the same one that goes into the retail bottles and jars.

  • Results in October

    Testing for stability and certificate of analysis.

  • Not available to us

    Third-party efficacy testing on dog odour.

  • Not available to us

    Toxicological assessment.

  • Not tested

    Anything to do with cats. We make no claim.

  • After launch

    Veterinary review, once there's evidence to review.

  • None yet

    Customer reviews. We launch in November.

On what's missing.

We wanted third-party efficacy testing on dog odour and a toxicological assessment. We approached six laboratories. Neither is routinely available for pet grooming products in India — the testing infrastructure exists for pet food and supplements, not for what we make.

So we won't tell you our spray was lab-proven to work for a set number of hours. We'll tell you what's in it, what each ingredient does, and we'll publish every result we do get. We're still asking.

Theo, a Shih Tzu, at home in Mumbai.

It started with our Shih Tzu, Theo

Theo starts to smell about three days after a bath. Everything we tried was a perfume — heavy fragrance layered straight over the problem. It irritated him, and in a closed Mumbai flat it irritated us.

So we read the labels. Fragrance high on every one, and not a single active doing anything about the bacteria causing the smell. They weren't built to work. They were built to smell like they worked.

That's why Desi Paws exists.

Two things you get for joining

The waitlist buys 48 hours before anyone else.

Every test result goes on this page as it comes in, and the list gets an email the same day.

Questions worth asking

Why is a spray ₹899 when pet deodorants are ₹200?

Because they're different products doing different things. A ₹200 deodorant is fragrance in a bottle — cheap to make, and it works by covering the smell until it fades. Ours carries three actives that act on the odour itself, and actives cost money.

The number that matters is cost per use, not cost per bottle. A 150 ml bottle covers a lot of applications, and you're not reapplying every few hours to chase a fading scent.

How often do I use it?

Once a day is enough for most dogs. Thick or double coats may need a little more, short coats a little less. You'll work out your dog's rhythm in the first week.

Is this a replacement for bathing?

No. It's for the days in between. Bath your dog as often as you normally would.

What if it doesn't work for my dog?

Tell us. We'll ask what breed, what coat, how much you used and how you applied it — usually it's application. If it isn't, we'll refund you without an argument.

Can I use it on my cat?

No. We've only tested on dogs, so we make no claim for any other animal. We'd rather say that than guess.

Will you email me constantly?

About once a week. Every email has something in it worth reading, or it doesn't go out. One click to unsubscribe, and we don't share your details with anyone.

Where do you ship, and how long does it take?

Anywhere in India. We're shipping from a single warehouse in Mumbai at launch, so delivery is quickest in Mumbai and the western metros and takes longer the further out you are. We'll give you real timelines at checkout rather than a promise we can't keep everywhere. As demand grows, we'll add warehouses.

Why should I trust a brand with no reviews?

You shouldn't yet. That's why the evidence section above exists, and why we publish what we haven't tested as well as what we have. Reviews come after November, from customers, unedited.

Day three doesn't have to be like this