Fed Up With Her Dog’s Skin Problems, This Malaysian Developed Her Own Pet Care Solution

Ask any devoted pet owner, and they'll probably tell you the same thing: their furry companions are more than just pets; they're family. And just like any family member, seeing them uncomfortable or in pain can leave us feeling helpless, especially when we've tried everything we can think of.

That was exactly how one Malaysian felt after watching her dog struggle with persistent skin problems for years without finding a lasting solution. The frustration eventually inspired her to create one herself.

It started with Euro

Euro, Yen Teng's 14-year-old Shih Tzu, struggled with recurring skin problems for much of his life.

"The itching, scratching through the night, the smell that came back a few days after every bath, the vet visits that helped for a while and then stopped helping. I've tried what felt like everything: medicated shampoos, steroids, you name it," she shared.

According to Yen Teng, the idea for her pet skincare products didn't begin as a business venture, but from a conversation with a friend who told her about the benefits of mangosteen skin when applied to wounds.

Image Credit: Curobuddy

Her friend suggested she try using mangosteen skin on Euro after hearing from his father about villagers in a rural community using it to treat wounds. While it sounded like a far-fetched idea, Yen Teng was desperate to find something that could help her beloved pet. So she gave it a try and, to her surprise, the remedy worked. Euro went on to enjoy an itch-free life in his senior years until his passing.

Yen Teng later learned that mangosteen skin possesses natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It may help address underlying irritation rather than simply masking symptoms, while remaining gentle enough for senior pets with sensitive skin.

From personal struggle to Curobuddy

Before creating her own pet skincare brand, Yen Teng spent years working in the corporate world. However, she also had a scientific background, having studied genetics and worked in a laboratory in Melbourne, Australia.

For Yen Teng, launching her brand was the moment everything finally came together.

"For years, I couldn't explain that to myself. I had this science training I wasn't using, and a corporate job that felt disconnected from it, and I just accepted that the two halves didn't fit together."

She added, "Building this brand needs both: the science to build the products and understand formulation data, and the corporate years to actually run a business."

In 2022, Yen Teng founded Curobuddy, a pet skincare brand inspired by Euro. The name itself serves as a tribute to her beloved dog, combining his name with her mission of creating products that help pets struggling with skin conditions.

Image Credit: Curobuddy

"The word 'curo' is 'cure' and 'Euro' put together. The name is literally curing Euro. On top of that, 'curo' happens to be Latin for care, to look after, to tend to, and 'buddy' is what our pets actually are to us. So it reads as 'care for your buddy' to everyone else, and to me it will always be the dog it started with," she said.

According to Yen Teng, what sets Curobuddy apart from other pet skincare brands is its formulation, which was designed specifically for senior pets with thinner skin and weaker immune systems.

Although it may sound like a niche focus, developing products for senior pets came with its own set of challenges. During the research phase, Yen Teng found herself ruling out many ingredients that would have made product development easier.

Image Credit: Curobuddy

Beyond sourcing ingredients that were free from harsh chemicals, gentle enough for daily use, and safe even if dogs licked the treated area, Yen Teng faced another challenge: Malaysia's humid climate.

Unlike the temperate markets many global brands formulate for, Malaysia's humidity can cause skin issues to recur more quickly, requiring products tailored to local conditions.

"Three common concerns come up constantly with pet parents. First, safety: 'Is this actually safe for my senior pet, who's already fragile?' Second, doubt: 'I've tried so many things that didn't work, why would this be different?' And third, the quiet one underneath both, which is the fear of regret."

"Nobody says it in those words, but what they're really asking is whether they're doing enough while there's still time. That fear is the real thing we're answering, and it's why we never use scare tactics in our marketing," said Yen Teng.

Building more than a pet skincare brand

Beyond skincare products, Curobuddy has grown into a community for pet owners through its podcast, Pawspective Petcast.

The idea for the podcast came from a deeply personal experience when Euro was diagnosed with an enlarged heart and given only a few months to live.

Image Credit: Curobuddy

Refusing to accept the prognosis, Yen Teng began searching for alternative ways to support her dog's quality of life and discovered services she never knew existed.

"Malaysia has pet acupuncturists, pet physiotherapists, pet chiropractors, pet nutritionists, pet communicators. There's even a mobile gym for dogs. All of this exists here in Malaysia," she explained.

"My question was, how did I not know any of this? The answer was that these experts had no platform to share what they know. That's the whole reason Pawspective Petcast exists. Not to sell anything, just to put those people in front of the pet parents who need them."

The podcast has since won Best New Podcast at the Asia Podcast Awards 2025, an achievement Yen Teng describes as surreal.

More importantly, she says it reinforced her belief that pet owners in Malaysia and Southeast Asia are not uncaring, but often under-informed.

Image Credit: Curobuddy

Yen Teng hopes the podcast has helped pet owners feel more empowered and less afraid to take steps that could improve their pets' quality of life.

The challenges of building a purpose-driven brand

Challenges can arise even in the most ordinary situations, and running a business is no exception.

Yen Teng said one of the biggest challenges she faces as a founder is staying true to Curobuddy's mission of giving pet owners more good days with their pets.

She admitted there's constant pressure to expand product ranges, chase trends, and reduce costs. However, she felt those decisions would pull the brand away from the pets it was originally created to serve.

"Staying focused on senior and sensitive pets means saying no a lot, sometimes to money, and that's genuinely hard when you're small. Operationally, running a physical product business in Malaysia comes with its own daily headaches, but that's the tax on doing anything real," she said.

Image Credit: Curobuddy

Despite the challenges, what surprised her most was discovering that Curobuddy often became a customer's last hope.

According to Yen Teng, many customers find the brand only after exhausting every other option.

One story that deeply moved her involved a customer named Amy and her two dogs, Scrappy and Snoopy, who had struggled with recurring skin issues and interdigital dermatitis for years.

"She'd watch Scrappy on CCTV licking her paws until they bled, and Snoopy had ulcers and swelling. She was close to breaking point, which is exactly where I was with Euro."

She added, "She found us through a friend after posting a story asking for help and tried our shampoo and antibacterial spray. The problems that had persisted for years finally cleared up. The fur regrew, the biting stopped, and her dogs now sleep peacefully.

What moved me most was that she wrote a long, completely unsponsored post about it, just to help us spread the word and support other pet parents who may be facing the same struggle."

Looking ahead

When asked what she envisions for Curobuddy over the next five years, Yen Teng said she wants the brand to become the first name pet owners across the region think of when their pets enter their senior years.

"That means going beyond topical skincare into more complete senior pet care, deeper regional presence after our first Singapore event this year, and eventually taking a Southeast Asian ingredient story to international markets."

"But the measure I care about isn't revenue. It's whether 'he's just old' stops being an acceptable answer for pet parents anywhere we operate," she shared.

Image Credit: Curobuddy

Yen Teng also revealed that Curobuddy is developing an ingestible product line focused on immunity and allergy support for cats and small dogs, as many skin issues originate internally.

She hopes to bring the community together through more in-person events while expanding the brand's free consultation services.

For more information on Curobuddy, visit its website and Instagram, or tune in to the Pawspective Petcast to hear more stories and insights from the pet community.

Featured Image Credit: Curobuddy