The Groom Professional Chocolate Cologne is one of the brand's food scents -- a rich, sweet chocolate fragrance with vitamin E in the formula.

Key Features

• Chocolate scent: Warm and sweet, and genuinely recognisable
• Vitamin E: Included to nourish the coat as well as scent it
• Odour neutralising: Groom Professional say it works on the smell rather than just covering it
• Long lasting: The brand say the scent holds for days
• Size: 200ml
• Matching shampoo: There is a Chocolate shampoo in the range

How To Use It

• Use it on a clean, dry coat. Cologne on a dirty dog just smells like a dirty, perfumed dog.
• Hold the bottle a good arm's length away and mist the body and the back of the neck.
• Never spray at the face. Avoid the eyes, ears, nose and anywhere the dog licks constantly.
• One or two sprays is plenty. A dog's nose is many times better than yours, and what reads as light to you is overwhelming at their end.

How Long It Really Lasts

Groom Professional say the scent holds on the coat for days, and on a freshly groomed coat kept indoors it genuinely does last well. It will not survive a swim, a downpour or a roll in the garden, and a thick double coat holds fragrance much longer than a short smooth one. Treat the brand's figure as the best case rather than the average.

Cologne Is A Finish, Not A Fix

A dog that smells bad again within a day or two of a bath has something going on, and perfume over the top of it only hides the clue. The usual culprits are a skin infection, yeast in the folds or between the toes, infected ears, anal glands or teeth. All of those need a vet, not a stronger scent.

Who Makes It

Groom Professional launched in 2009 on the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland and is sold through the grooming trade supplier Christies Direct. The range was built for working salons rather than for the bathroom cupboard, which is why so much of it comes as a concentrate and in four-litre sizes. Groom Professional say the products are manufactured in the UK.

Good To Know

• This one is out of stock at the moment, so the page is here for reference while we wait on the next delivery.
• It smells of chocolate but contains none. Still, keep it well away from a dog that will investigate anything that smells like food, and never leave the bottle within reach -- real chocolate is toxic to dogs and you do not want to teach the association.
• Dog cologne. Do not use it on cats -- they groom everything straight off the coat and swallow it, and they tolerate fragrance far less well than dogs.
• Some dogs react to fragrance. Mist a small patch first, and stop if the skin goes pink or the dog starts scratching at it.
• Not for puppies under twelve weeks, or anywhere near a dog that is unwell, pregnant or recovering from surgery, unless your vet is happy with it.
• Keep it out of the eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Rinse with clean water if any gets in.
• Flammable aerosol and alcohol-based sprays should be kept away from heat and naked flame.
• Keep it out of reach of children and store it somewhere cool and dry.