Help! My dog stinks!
Even if you dust like a ninja and scrub a toilet like nobody’s business, if you have a smelly dog, keeping your home odor-free can seem like a losing battle.
So what’s a desperate pet owner to do?
Keep reading for some easy “how-tos” to de-stink your smelly dog and keep your home fresh.
Once you get the routine down, you’ll have a “home sweet-smelling home” and enjoy those doggie snuggles so much more!
Smelly Dog Must-Do: Adopt a Washing Routine
A lot of times, it’s not the dog himself that’s to blame for all the odors in the home … it’s his things! Follow these washing guidelines to keep pet odors at bay, and even keep your dog healthy.
- Food bowls: wash with hot soapy water daily. Yes, daily! Just imagine if you ate off the same dirty plate each day. Not only would said plate be stinky, but it could make you sick with all the bacteria buildup. According to a study by NSF International, dog bowls are the fourth germiest item in the house! Also, it’s smart to use stainless steel bowls versus plastic, as they don’t harbor as much bacteria.
- Water bowls: wash once a week with hot soapy water. Rinse out as necessary in between thorough washings.
- Bed covers & blankets: wash once a week. This will keep pet hair, allergens and all the other icky smells they track in from the outdoors away.
- Collar: as often as you wash the dog. Collars can be super stinky with all the oils they absorb and all the debris they collect. To get your dog’s collar squeaky clean, fill a bowl with hot water and a few squirts of liquid soap. Let it soak for 15 minutes, rub out any soiled areas, then rinse and let air dry.
- Toys: wash once a month. Pet toys can be a source of Staph bacteria, yeast and mold – so no surprise that they take the cake as the seventh germiest item in the house. Wash both soft snuggly toys and hard playing toys like rubber bones. Hard toys can be washed thoroughly with hot soapy water and then left to air dry. Plush toys can be washed in the washing machine on delicate cycle.
Perfect Your Vacuuming Technique To Remove Dog Smells
Pet hair is stinky. Yet do you ever feel like vacuuming isn’t really making an impact on the pet hair problem? It could be your technique. Here are 5 vacuuming tips to get your carpets cleaner.
- Vacuum horizontally and then vertically to get trapped pet hair out of the carpet.
- Take your time. Make several slow passes over the same area. (If you go too fast, it just stirs up dust instead of trapping it in the vacuum.)
- Use a vacuum specific for pet hair.
- Make sure to get the corners of the rooms, especially in the areas where the dog sleeps. If your dog has a crate, move it and vacuum along the sides where it usually sits.
- Don’t forget to clean your vacuum’s components.
Are Smelly Dog Toots Taking Over Your Home?
Often silent but deadly, every pet owner knows the woes of dog farts. They can literally overtake an entire room. While this can come in handy on occasion (“It wasn’t me, it was the dog!”), these terrible toots can definitely “reek” havoc in the house.
Some dogs are simply more inclined to gas – we’re talkin’ to you boxers, bullies and boston terriers – because of their face shapes. Short, flat snouts will cause more air to be swallowed during eating and drinking, leading to gas. While dog farts are a normal part of life, if your dog seems to have them ALL THE TIME, here are some main causes:
- Table Scraps: Diet is the #1 culprit of excess dog flatulence. If you often give into that intense stare and feed your dog a large amount of table scraps, watch out for incoming toots.
- Low-Quality Dog Food: Cheap carb-loaded dog foods with fillers like corn, wheat and soy can be hard for dogs to digest, causing gas. Try switching to a grain-free dog food to see if that helps the problem.
- Gobbling Up Their Food: Wolfing down food too fast causes extra air in the stomach. If your dog is a speed-eater, there are more serious issues to be concerned about, such as bloat. Check out these tips to get your dog to eat more slowly.
- Not Enough Exercise: Dogs who exercise pass less gas. Yet one more reason to dust off those running shoes and get outdoors.
Practice Good Dog Grooming Habits
Proper grooming will help de-stink your smelly dog and keep him clean from head to tail.
- Coat. The average pooch needs a bath about once a month. Keep in mind, this varies by breed, length of coat and activity level. When bathing your pet, make sure to use a hypoallergenic dog shampoo that does not contain alcohol or harsh fragrances. These ingredients can cause skin problems, making odors even worse.
- Ears. Whether it’s from yeast, mites or a bacterial infection, stinky ears can be REALLY stinky. Keeping your dog’s ears clean will not only help with his smell, it’s also the best way to avoid painful ear infections. Use an alcohol-free dog ear cleaner to avoid drying out the ear canal and stinging their delicate ear tissue.
- Smile. Did you know that a dog’s breath actually shouldn’t have an odor at all? If your pet has stinky breath from a lack of oral care, that horrible smell can be transferred all over your furniture, bedding and carpet via the dog’s drool. Even more important than getting rid of the odor, pet dental care keeps dogs healthy and can even increase their lifespan by 2–5 years! Check out your options for at-home pet dental care.
Important: Rethink Those Air Fresheners!
According to an indoor air report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans, on average, spend 90 percent of their time indoors, where pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than the outdoor air.
What’s one of the biggest offenders for our polluted indoor air? Yep, those toxic air fresheners and plug-ins. From phthalates and pesticides to propane and formaldehyde, air fresheners contain a host of chemicals (disguised under the word “fragrance” or “perfume”) that aren’t just harmful to the humans in the household … they’re harmful to our pets!
Introducing the Safe Alternative to Freshen Your Home from Doggie Smells, Fast …
Oxyfresh Pet Deodorizer is the quickest and easiest way to keep your pet and your home smelling fresh, without the worries of harmful ingredients.
Unlike air fresheners that just mask odors with strong fragrances (aka chemicals), Oxyfresh Pet Deodorizer is fragrance-free and uses our secret ingredient Oxygene® to neutralize odors completely. This exclusive ingredient is safe, gentle, effective and 100% non-toxic to people and pets!
Whether your house smells like dog, litter box, or some bad combination of the two, just give Oxyfresh Pet Deodorizer 60 seconds to unleash some serious freshness.
No time for a bath? This doggie deodorizer is so safe and gentle, it can even be sprayed directly on your pet.
This is the go-to product that has changed the pet odor-game for thousands of dog owners. Try it, love it!
P.S. Got some friends in your pack who struggle with smelly dog odors? Share this post with them!
