How to Get Rid of Dog Smell in Your Home

Dogs are family. Gone are the days where dogs are just working companions whose place is in the barn or, if they’re lucky, on a rug at the hearth. Nowadays, our beloved pets cuddle with us on the sofa as we watch TV, snuggle with us in bed, sit with us in the car and even go with us to the corner coffee shop for a muffin and a latte.

But all that bonding time has a downside—dog smell. Every pillow, every couch, your clothes, the backseat of the car–almost every furnishing in your home is bound to have that distinct, not so pleasant dog smell. Even the most fervent dog lovers wouldn’t want their entire house to smell of dog that needs a good washing. Fortunately, there are ways to get rid of unwanted dog smell in your house without removing your dog.

Sources of Dog Smell

1. Sweat

Dogs do sweat. They have the same sweat glands as humans do, but they don’t use them like the way humans do.

There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine or Atrichial glands that are ducted directly on the surface of the skin and apocrine or Epitrichial glands that are ducted into hair follicles. In humans, apocrine glands are largely responsible for sweat that produces body odor, while eccrine glands secrete fluid from the pores as a way for the body to cool down when it gets hot.

Most of a dog’s body, on the other hand, is covered with apocrine glands, which produces oil, which is of prime importance for healthy skin and hair. It also emits a light perspiration that carries a chemical scent distinct to the dog, which is, in turn, used as a chemical signal for other dogs.

Eccrine glands are found on the few bare parts of a dog like its nose and paws, which help keep them moist to function properly. Natural microorganisms living on your dog’s paw pads contribute to its odor, which slightly similar to the smell of cheese.

2. Ear glands

Dogs have numerous glands found in their external ear canal called ceruminous and sebaceous glands. These two sets of glands produce cerumen, or ear wax. Microorganisms that live on this material give the dog’s ear a slightly yeasty odor even when healthy.

3. Anal sacs

Dogs’ scent glands open on either side of the anus, which produce a natural secretion with a strong musty odor. These secretions are distinct to each dog and are part of the process by which dogs identify each other. For instance, when anal sacs release a small amount of secretion during defecation, this sends a signal to other dogs who left the fecal deposit. This is also the reason why strange dogs investigate each other by smelling the anal area.

4. Marking

Dogs like to roll in or mark themselves with the natural products of other animals found in their environment, including fecal deposits of their prey. This behavior, thought to be left over from their wolf ancestors, is thought to be a way of communicating with the pack members the other animals that are active in their territory.

Getting Rid of Dog Smell

Step1: Take apart everything.

Start by taking apart your furniture—blankets, pillow cases, slip covers—and vacuum everything thoroughly. Get into the deep crevices to make sure you’ve got all the hair, flip the mattress and couch cushions to get both sides, and make sure to get under the furniture where most hair bunnies tend to gather.

Step 2: Neutralize the odors.

Gather your deodorizing materials. Fortunately, everything you need for this step is most likely found in your cupboard—baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Take your linens and wash them with a mixture of laundry detergent and a box of baking soda or 1/4- cup of apple cider vinegar.

dog bath

Meanwhile, liberally sprinkle baking soda on the carpet, bed, pillow and other furnishings. Use a cleaning brush to spread it around and into the fabric. Leave this overnight to let the baking soda absorb all the odors. If you’re doing the bed, you might want to do this in the morning so you can clean and remake the bed by the end of the day.

Follow up by vacuuming all the baking soda from the carpet, bed pillow and other furnishings and slipping on the washed bed or slip covers.

Step 3: Stop dirty paws at the door.

Keep a mat at every door to cut down the dirt your dog tracks with his paws. Another way to keep mud tracks off the floor is by using baby or pet wipes. You’ll be surprised with how much dirt you can take off with this. Most dogs don’t seem to mind the routine.

Step 4: Clean messes ASAP.

Clean messes as soon as they happen to keep them from spreading and staining. Clean and neutralize the area of odors thoroughly. As long as your dog can still smell his personal scent, he’ll continue to return and soil that area.

For wet stains, soak up as much of the urine with newspapers and paper towels. Spread a thick layer of paper towels over the spot and a thick layer of newspaper over that. If possible, place a thick of newspaper below as well. Stand on this padding for a minute. Remove the padding and repeat the procedure until the spot is barely damp.

Rinse the accident area thoroughly with water. Then remove as much of the water by blotting with clean paper towels.

If the stain has already set, consider renting an extractor or wet vac. This machine works much like a vacuum cleaner by forcing clean water through your carpet then forcing the dirty water back out. Neutralized as much of the odor before you start shampooing though or else you’ll just be creating a hybrid of dog smell and shampoo. Avoid using strong cleaning chemicals, particularly those with strong odors like ammonia and vinegar. They smell like urine to dogs and this may encourage your dog to reinforce his scent mark on that area.

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