Owning a four-legged companion can be an absolute joy, but it can be a lot of work too. For starters, keeping your house from smelling like a dog can seem to be quite challenging. But loving a dog doesn’t mean that you have to stand the nasty dog odor as well.
The dog smell in the house can be very unpleasant and can create a lot of problems. It might be embarrassing to have guests over at your house, and your friends might even avoid visiting. Luckily, dealing with dog smell in the house is not as difficult as it seems.
Here is a complete guide on how to keep your house from smelling like a dog!
How to Prevent Your House from Smelling Like a Dog?
Keeping your house from smelling like a dog includes 3 essential steps. It is important to remember that it is not only your house that needs a thorough cleaning but your dog as well. The following three steps can help your house and your pooch be clean and smelling good. So, here are the 3 steps with 15 tips on how to keep your house from smelling like a dog.
Step 1. Cleaning of House and Furniture
House dogs tend to spend most of their time on the floor or furniture. So, the first step in getting rid of dog smell from your house is a thorough house cleaning. Cleaning the floors and carpets are vital to keeping the dog smell at bay.
If your flooring is appropriate, like hardwood floors or tiles, you can get rid of the carpets altogether. Even if you still have some carpets in the house, follow these tips:
As your pooch wanders around your house, it leaves a trail of its smell through its fur, sweat, dander, and traces of urine and poop. It is essential to vacuum your house regularly to get rid of these smelly trails. Remember to vacuum the floors, carpets, furniture, cushions, and other areas where your pet spends most of their time.
If your carpet is filthy and vacuum cannot do the job, you can use a professional service or steam clean your carpet. A professional carpet cleaning service will help you get rid of stains and smells.
Imagine your dog walking on your carpet all day and then ingesting the chemicals from carpet deodorizers when they lick their paw. Instead of using carpet deodorizers that contain chemicals that can be harmful to your dog, use this DIY tip to avoid using commercial deodorizers.
Sprinkle some baking soda on your carpet, especially on areas where your dog has left any stains. Leave it for a few minutes, which will allow it to soak up any odors from the carpet fibers.
Next, vacuum the carpet to remove the baking soda. Remember to test a small area of the carpet first before sprinkling baking soda all over your carpet to ensure it does not damage your carpet.
If you have wood flooring or tiles, the cleaning of your house becomes much more manageable. You can use a mop and an appropriate cleaner to remove stains and smell from your flooring.
In the case of dog messes, use an enzyme cleaner. Enzyme cleaners break down the protein in pet messes, like urine, feces, etc. This makes it easier to get rid of the smell caused by pet messes. More often than not, hidden stains or improper cleaning are the reasons of dog smell in the house.
If your dog has messed an area recently, spray that area with an enzyme cleaner. Leave the cleaner for 30 minutes and then wipe it off with a clean cloth. The nasty dog odor will likely disappear from the flooring.
The fabric of your dog’s bedding can also retain odors, preventing your house from getting rid of the smell. The easiest way to rule out this factor is by cleaning your dog’s bed at least once a week.
If the bed has a removable cover, you can wash it in your washing machine as well. Vacuum the cushion, and if it still smells, use the baking soda hack to get rid of the smell.
Your dog likely spends a good part of the day on your furniture. Therefore, you also need to clean your furniture regularly. If it is possible, take apart all your furniture every once in a while and clean it thoroughly.
Remove all the covers and wash them on high heat to get rid of bacteria. Next, vacuum all your furniture, including mattresses, sofas, cushions, etc. Remember to clean under the furniture too.
It is also essential to check the labels before washing any piece to prevent any damage. Care labels that have an ‘S’ mark should not be cleaned in water, while ‘X’ means you should only dry-clean the piece.
Leather furniture needs much more care than other types of furniture, but you can clean it just as well. A DIY tip for cleaning leather furniture is to take vinegar and water in equal parts. Soak a clean cloth in the solution and wring out as much liquid as possible. Now wipe the leather to remove any smells or toxins.
Step 2. Purifying Air at Home
The air quality around your house is also an important factor in getting rid of the dog smell. It should be a top priority as it is incremental in your dog’s health as well. However, this does not mean that reaching out to the air freshener would do the job. Following are some ways to ensure good quality of air at home:
Apart from cleaning, you must also protect the furniture from stains and damage as much as possible. The best way to do this is to cover up your furniture with furniture covers or sheets.
You can also throw a blanket on your couch for your dog to lay on. This will make the cleaning easier as you only have to take off the blanket and wash it. You can then clean the furniture once in a while.
The best way to purify air at home is to let the natural breeze to flow in. Open all the windows in your house to let fresh air flow in from one, and bad-smelling air out of the other window.
Even in winters, open one window once a day for a while. In spring, summer, and fall, you can leave the windows open in the day to ventilate the rooms appropriately.
People with allergies or breathing problems can also use an air purifier to keep the air inside the house fresh and clean. An air purifier with a HEPA filter can trap dog hair, dander, and other sources of dog odor. HEPA filters of air purifiers improve air quality by reducing dust and allergen.
It is also vital to replace the filters every few months or as per the instructions on the product to maintain air quality. Filters are usually rated with a MERV number, and it is best to get a filter with a MERV rating of 8 or above.
Placing bamboo charcoal bags in your home is another excellent way to get rid of dog smell. These air purifying bags contain activated bamboo charcoal that helps to eliminate pungent smells. Bamboo charcoal is porous, which allows the particles that cause bad odor to get trapped in the pores.
You will notice that the bags will get heavier over time due to the accumulation of particles. This is how they can help get rid of dog smell and other foul odors. However, it is not an alternative to cleaning.
Adding air purifying plants is also a good option to keep the air quality at home pristine. Research shows that plants can remove up to 87% of harmful organic compounds every day. They help you get rid of various toxins from the air around your house, including dog smell.
Some options that can overhaul the air quality in your house are Bamboo Palm, Aloe Vera, English Ivy, Peace Lily, Chinese Everygreen, etc. However, remember to keep your dog away from plants that can be poisonous or harmful for your pooch.
Step 3. Dog Care and Grooming
The third step of keeping your house from smelling like a dog is grooming your dog adequately. While this step will not help you get rid of dog smell for good, it can reduce it substantially. Dog care and grooming include all the essential steps to keep your dog and clean and healthy. These steps are as follows:
Bathing your dog will remove dead skin cells as well as bacteria from their body. You can clean your house as much as you want, but you cannot keep the smell out unless your dog is clean and healthy. You can also use water less shampoo, and dog wipes to keep your dog clean until the next bath.
Apart from bathing, you also have to make sure that your dog’s coat remains clean. Regardless of the size of their coat, it is important to brush it regularly.
You can also use grooming gloves to brush your dog. In summers, you can take your dog out to brush, rather than to brush inside the house. Alternatively, you can brush your dog before cleaning the house to get rid of the dog hair right after.
After you have brought your dog back home from a walk or a bathroom trip, wipe your dog’s paws clean. Your dog has just walked on different surfaces, like mud, grass, and possibly dog poop. If you do not clean the paws now, they will walk with all this right into your house.
You can get paw wipes from the market and use them every time you take the dog back inside. If you feel that the dog paws are too muddy, then washing the paws with water is a better option.
Since your dog is likely wearing a collar for the better part of the day, it must be stinking when you take it off. The best time to wash the dog collar is when you bathe your dog. Usually, dog collars are safe for machine washing as well. So, you can throw it in with the bedding and towels to give it a thorough wash.
Similarly, washing your dog’s toys will not only keep them clean, but it is also healthier for your dog. You can soak them in soapy water or vinegar and water solution for a while. Then rinse them thoroughly, and they are good to go back in your dog’s toy box once they are dry.
Another important aspect of dog care and grooming is cleaning their teeth and ears. It would just take a few minutes to brush their teeth or clean their ears with cotton balls soaked in mineral oil. But proper dental care and hygiene will help you prevent infections and dog smell as a result.
Why Do Dogs Make Your House Smell?
It is easy for us to understand that it is natural for dogs to have an odor of their own. We, humans, have our scent too. The smell is likely to be unpleasant and pungent. The best way to describe their smell is it smells like a dog.
The key to getting rid of this smell from your house is to figure out the source of the smell and how your dog is making the whole house smell like it. Let’s dig deep into the root cause of dog smell in the house.
Like in humans, most hair follicles of dogs have oil glands. These glands maintain the elasticity of the skin and keep their coats smooth. Thus, the secretion of oil protects their skin and fur and helps them stay healthy. The natural oil secreted by these glands has its unique scent, which can be a cause of dog smell in your house.
The anal glands of dogs can also be a cause of dog smell. Dogs have small sacs on either side of a dog’s rectum. The small sacs have glands that secrete sebaceous oil and sweat. Every time a dog poops, it releases an oily, brown fluid with an obnoxious smell. This smell can be a common reason why your dog is carrying around a scent in your house.
When female dogs are in heat, they release pheromones to attract male dogs. Dogs can detect pheromones by their sense of smell. The smell of pheromones can also contribute to the unique smell of dogs that they carry around.
You might have noticed how we sweat and smell excessively after strenuous activity or workout. It is no different for dogs either as they sweat too. Their sweat is not like our sweat; watery and visible. They sweat in their paws and through their fur. Since their sweat has a distinct odor, it makes them leave a trail of their sweat everywhere they walk. This makes your carpets, floors, and furniture smell like your dog.
Another source of dog smells can be a health problem that your dog might be suffering from. These problems include dental issues, skin issues, or infections. Bacterial and fungal infections can especially give off an unpleasant odor. If you doubt that it might be a reason for the dog smell in your house, you must consult a vet. Schedule a visit to the vet and get your dog a thorough check-up.
Being negligent in proper grooming and washing of your dog can also add up to the dog smell in the house. Your dog needs regular baths, brushing, and other essential grooming steps to keep it healthy and clean.
This also includes taking care of your dog’s diet as it can also be a cause of the unpleasant smell. Most dog foods contain a lot of grains. When your dog is consuming the right amount of starches and fatty acids, it can cause flaky skin. Such a skin condition can encourage the growth of bacteria, thus leading to infections.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. A list of 15 tips on how to keep your house smelling like a dog.
All dogs have a distinct smell. While it might not be a problem for you, it can be unappealing to anyone coming over to your house. For all we know, dogs do not care how they smell, so we are on our own to get rid of that unpleasant smell.
Following these easy guidelines, not only can you keep the dog smell at bay, but you can also keep your canine friend happy and healthy!
