How to Keep Your House From Smelling Like Your Dog

Nobody really likes living in a house that consistently smells like wet dog, litter boxes or pet accidents. Thankfully, it isn’t a mission to keep your home odour-free. Here are some steps you can take on how to prevent your house from pet odours and how to eliminate them as well because the reality is, it will happen. That’s the beauty of having dogs!

Fresh air

This is really important and can’t be emphasised enough! For instance, if you live in a new or recently refurbished house, chances are it’ll be pretty air-tight. Great for energy-saving, not so great for letting fresh air in and letting the stink out. So crack open a window any chance you get! If you live in an older establishment that isn’t as air-tight, make it a point to crack a window open when you’re cleaning or when you start to smell something in the air to catch any possible airflow in the house. Stagnant air is a catalyst for the bad smell to linger as well so if you do nothing else on this list, open a window! You won’t regret it.

Filter your environment

Use HEPA filters to keep your air as clean as possible. HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air, and the filters work by forcing the air through an ultra-fine mesh to trap tiny particles like dander, dust mites, pollen and smoke particles. During the colder months, make sure you buy HEPA filters for your furnace. It is strongly recommended to get HEPA filters for your vacuum cleaner too. 

Some vacuums allow you to swap filters. However, if you are in the market for a new vacuum, a quick thought on this would be to not compromise quality over price. Cheap vacuums burn out quickly, and most don’t take care of fine particles… such as pet dander. If you are looking for a long term investment for you and your pet, the Roborock H6 Adapt would be a fantastic option.

Use easy-to-clean pet products

Many pet products these days come with some kind of odour-resistant technology built into them, such as probiotic technology baked into most dog beds to prevent odour. If it doesn’t, at the very least, the bedding should come with an easily removable and washing machine friendly cover. You should also wash any sort of covers, towels and soft toys every week, if possible. Get machine-friendly products so you can wash all the items as mentioned above in one load, and you’re done for the week! If you are in the market for new pet products (definitely don’t replace any existing ones ‘just because’), look out for products labelled with ‘anti-microbial odour-resistant technology’ or something that says ‘easy-to-clean’.

Cover your furniture

This seems pretty obvious, but it has to be included since someone recently mentioned that their couch now smells more like their dog than their ACTUAL dog does. It’s quite understandable that no one wants their furniture covered by ugly sheets or dropped clothes but compared to those, your couch isn’t quite as easy to wash. So, find some blankets or throws that match your decor, make sure they’re things you like and add them to your sofa or bed as part of your aesthetics. 

Encourage your pet to lay there instead of your pillows, for example. The best part? All these things can be picked up and put through the washer as part of your weekly pet load! If your dog loves joining you for a ride on the weekends, you might want to look into getting a cargo liner for similar reasons.

Your new best friends - baking soda and vinegar

Alright, jokes aside, these two items should be bought in bulk if you’re an avid pet keeper. Pet odours will never taint your house again if you have these at hand! You can clean the entire house, top to bottom with them and save a ton of money in the process whilst being environmentally friendly. They work particularly well at eliminating dog odours. If you have wooden floorboards, scrub them with vinegar, and the smell dissipates after mere minutes (less if you include step number 1!) leaving behind... nothing. 

Just air, no chemical cleaning product odour, pet odour or vinegar smell. Baking soda is also well known for its uses to absorb odours from the air, but the cool bit is that you can also use this as a form of dry shampoo for your dog! When grooming your dog, sprinkle some onto its fur to absorb any musky smells, then brush it out. Other pro-tips: 

• Vinegar tip: This won’t be for everyone, but you can replace fabric softeners and dryer sheets with vinegar by adding it to the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine. This not only helps the environment by reducing waste but any form of odour that you could dream of will disappear. Pet odours, gym odours, baby odours and stale wet odours from washing machines. They’ll be gone!
• Baking soda tip: Sprinkle a thick coat of baking soda into your carpet or area rugs and work it in with a brush. Take your dog out for a LONG walk (you can also sprinkle some on your dog as well while you’re at it) and a groom! When you return, vacuum it all up, and you’ll have fresh - odour free air. 

Groom your dog

Everyone loves a good, long, well-deserved shower and your dog is no different! Depending on your dog-breed, a thorough brushing outdoors every couple of days can eliminate a large amount of indoor odour. A bath following, depending on your dog-breed again, will then take care of the remaining unpleasant smells. Here are some more tips to help groom your dog at home.

Clean accidents immediately

This might be quite difficult in some cases, say your dog poops while you’re out at work or something, but the quicker you get to an incident, the better. The smell can then be easily contained, not to mention reducing the chances of stains. Try using enzymatic cleaners to prevent marking, and of course, try your best to get to the root of the problem. Be it requiring more house training or whether your dog is sick, unless you identify the problem you’ll never really be odour-free in your house!

“Training your dog’s behaviour is also a significant part of the process in the long run”

Smelling like ‘dog’ at home really isn’t the most ideal no matter how much we love our pets. The great thing is, it isn’t hard to ensure it doesn’t. The secret is just to be consistent with the steps above and staying on top of things. Training your dog is also a significant part of the process in the long run. A quality, well-calibrated dog training e-collar is an excellent and safe tool that can ensure living and connecting with your dog remains a stress-free experience throughout their entire life. Dog Gear offers trusted electronic dog training collars, utilising warning tones to prompt your pup safely. With free Australian shipping and same-day dispatch, our products will be with you fast. Follow us on Facebook for the latest advice, updates and dog training tips!