Who doesn’t love dogs? Well, everyone loves dogs except for those people who are scared of this lovely creature. Who can blame them? Despite being a loving companion to humans, it can be intimidating to some people too.
Loving dogs is easy, but being a dog owner can be quite challenging. No matter how much you love them, sometimes they smell so bad that it sabotages the whole living situation inside your house. Sometimes it makes you choose between your loving dog and fresh air! Do not feel bad about yourself, we are not here to question your love toward your dog. We do understand your problem. If it makes you feel any better, you are not the only one in this situation.
A true dog lover doesn't really bother how his/her dog smells. Although other family members or guests may find it a bit annoying. You must have been wondering how to keep your house smelling good with a dog? Well, trust me, it's not rocket science. There are few easy steps to follow. These steps can help you have a good smelling atmosphere inside your house while petting a dog.
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Why do our lovely dogs smell so bad?
Before we begin, let's answer some questions first. Why do our lovely dogs smell so bad? Is it completely their fault? Is there any permanent solution for that?
Well, there are many possible reasons that may bring about a bad-smelling dog situation, such as, fungus, allergies, hormonal imbalances, parasites, gas, ear infection, anal sacs, and localized inflammation which leads to an overgrowth of yeast or bacteria on the skin and results in an unbearable smell. Having said that, none of these problems can be solved by the dog itself. Let’s not forget the fact that they are animals after all.
Here are 15 secrets that would help you keep your house smelling good with a dog.
1. Use an Air Purifier
Using an air purifier is one of the easiest ways to keep your house smelling good with a dog. The fundamental function of an air purifier is to extract air into the machine, filter out the odor particles, and push back fresh air into space. Furthermore, it can also help you get rid of airborne dog hair and dander. By this way, you would have not only a smell-free in-house living situation but also a relatively clean house too!
The best part about air purifiers is that they are quite affordable devices and super easy to operate. Sometimes you can control them with your smartphone too.
2. Get an odor-resistant bed
We love our dogs so much that sometimes we spend more money on their needs than ours. However, have you ever wondered whether all your spendings is worth it or not?
A dog’s bed can be one of the main sources of bad smell unless you use an odor-resistant bed. An odor-resistant bed usually comes with an antimicrobial that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. If you buy a bed that has antimicrobial properties, you can easily get rid of a bad-smelling dog problem. Despite being a wonderful companion to humans, there are certain things that a dog is incapable of doing. So as a dog owner, you have to take extra care in these regards.
3. Vacuum at Least Once a Week
Vacuuming is one of the most important and easiest ways to get rid of all the hair, dust, and dander from your carpet. Although we do suggest you get rid of your carpet if you want to have a dog inside your house. Truth to be told, Carpet and Dog do not really get along that much!
If you are in love with your dog and those beautiful carpets at the same time, you have to be more cautious about the potential bad smell both carpet and dog can make combined. Try to vacuum at least once a week. Once you are done with vacuuming your carpets, apply the same to all of your furniture and curtains. Any vacuum cleaner will do the trick, however, to minimize your effort, try to buy some dog-friendly carpets or curtains.
4. Get Your Dog Regularly Groomed
Well, grooming your dog wasn’t a hard part before the pandemic as you could leave it to a professional. Things are currently not the same and we have to maintain a great deal of social distancing. Therefore, it has become significantly challenging to groom your dog regularly by yourself.
Regardless, grooming your dog regularly plays a vital role to keep them healthy. As a result, you wouldn’t have to encounter any unpleasant smell. We know that bathing, brushing, and trimming your dog regularly is not something you are fond of. However, in order to keep everything under control, there is no alternative.
5. Get Rid of Your Dog Smell with Baking Soda
Baking soda is well known for its natural deodorizing properties which can absorb odors quite effectively. It’s a natural and comparatively easy way to get rid of all the unpleasant smells your dog may create. The process is quite simple, sparkle the baking soda to all the places your dog usually goes or plays, especially your carpets, and let it stay for a night. It will soak up any remaining odors in the carpet fibers before you vacuum them the next morning.
You can also put an open box of baking soda with your dog accessories and it will naturally absorb the smell.
6. Let Flow the Fresh Air Into Your House
It may seem unlikely for some parts of the world where winter lasts most of the year. I, however, would still suggest you keep your windows open at least for one hour once a day. This is a God-given way to get rid of unwanted dog smell.
Although, using air purifiers would demand keeping your windows closed because that is how it works. if you are not fond of electronic devices, this is the best possible remedy for the dog-smell problem.
7. Wash your pet’s bed & Items
Washing your dog’s bed and items can be exhausting sometimes . But this would help you a lot to solve your whole dog-smell situation.
Dog Items such as blankets, bedding, toys, and leashes have an infamous reputation for nurturing dogs' smell. Washing them at least once a week would help you hinder the process. Some people are so reluctant to wash their dogs’ beds that they go for odor-resistant beds. We recommend washing since this is more hygienic than anything else.
8. Use a Pet Odor Eliminating Candle
This could be one of those simple and instant solutions that would help you mask your dog's bad smell for a short period of time.
These candles are specially made to give your house a heavenly fragrance by repelling the natural odors of a room. Although they are mostly used to create a romantic vibe as we watch in the movies!
Well, Sometimes the bonding between you and your dog is nothing less than a romantic relationship either, is it?
Point to be noted, this trick is not a permanent solution and it does nothing to the original source of the bad smell. Additionally, there are few potential accident risks that may easily happen if you are not careful enough with those candles. Maximum caution to be maintained.
9. Get rid of the old collar
As we have already stated before, a dog is a sweet, friendly, loving creature yet they are incapable of maintaining certain things of its own.
A dog's collar is something it wears every moment and goes every place with it. We recommend you wash your dog’s collar every time you give your dog a bath and replace it with a new one once in a while. This way you can easily get rid of any further bad smell.
There are many collars now available in the market which are made of odor-resistant fabric. You may give them a shot.
10. After a bath, dry your dog completely
We all know how unsettling a dog can be, especially after you give them a bath. They are naturally like this and they love pacing around your house restlessly for no good reason. A wet dog can be one of the most important reasons to produce an unbearable smell. Try drying up your dog completely by toweling them off once you are done with bathing. Using a simple blow dryer would do the trick too.
11. Keep Your Dog’s Paws and Ears Clean
Like humans, pet animals also require regular hygiene maintenance. Usually, dogs enjoy when you rub their ears, but if they do not let you touch their ears or move away when you are about to rub them, it should indicate that they are having some sort of infection or injury that can produce an unpleasant smell.
Cleaning their ears and paws on a regular basis helps them avoid any kind of bacterial infection in those particular areas and they would smell good all the time.
12. Fresh Up Your Dog with Waterless Shampoo
As we mentioned earlier, giving baths to your dogs is one of the hardest parts of being a dog owner. Undoubtedly bath plays a pivotal role to get rid of dog smell, but it’s not possible for everyone to do it on a regular basis, to be honest. On the other hand, giving them a bath may trigger further smell if you fail to dry them up completely, so it’s a dilemmatic situation.
Well, you might wonder to know that this problem does have a solution and we call them ‘waterless shampoo’.
With this shampoo, you can actually give your dogs baths without even giving them baths! This shampoo would help you to refresh your dogs and get rid of odors completely.
This is an instant and temporary solution and you should not keep doing this every day, otherwise, you may end up damaging your dogs. Nothing beats the real baths.
13. Steam clean all the carpets in your home.
Usually, we rely on professionals to have our carpets cleaned yearly, however, you can steam clean your carpet yourself too.
Although if you groom your dogs regularly what we have already mentioned earlier, you might not need to steam clean your carpet. You will know when you need to have your carpet cleaned and you can choose whatever option you would find reasonable. Make sure, whatever option you are choosing does include pet-friendly chemicals to avoid any damage.
14. Wipe Everything with Vinegar
Vinegar is one of the most common ingredients in our home. It’s not only used for cooking. Vinegar is made from acetic acid which can easily dissolve mineral deposits, dirt, grease, and grime and kill bacteria.
If you are a dog owner and struggling to get rid of the doggy smell from your house, this simple household item can do the magic for you. Vinegar mixed with water can be applied to all the places your dogs may have been to. This simple and inexpensive item is available in almost all the supermarkets or you can get them delivered anytime. Make sure you use white vinegar, otherwise you may stain your furniture. This product should not be used on products that are made of granite or marble.
15. Cover up Your Furniture to Keep Them Fresh
Well, this must be the easiest solution to all your problems if you are reluctant to use any vacuum cleaner or wash your household items regularly. Covering your furniture while dogs are around can help you avoid lots of physical labor. It's relatively easier to wash your covers than cleaning every edge of your furniture with a vacuum cleaner week after week.
Does having a dog make your house smell?
Our house can smell bad for numerous reasons. Certainly having a dog around is one of them but it's not the only one. Dogs really do not care about how they smell. In some cases, they love how they smell, but we humans have certain boundaries we can hardly leave when it comes to bad smell. Regardless, we still love our dogs and want to have them in our lives because they are the most loyal non-human friends we can ever possibly dream of.
Final Thoughts:
The companionship dogs provide to humans is unimaginable, and that’s the reason why people love them very much and hardly care about how they smell. Their relentless afford to make our everyday lives full of joy is something that makes them the best friends of humans.
Dog smell is a very natural subject and How to keep your house smelling good with a dog is something a dog owner should be aware of. it can be easily avoided if we put some extra effort as we have discussed here.
