Keeping a clean home with dogs can be challenging. You have pet hair, mud, dirt, odors, and scratched furniture to regularly attend to.
In addition to this, there will be times when other accidents occur that are out of your control and one of the most common is dogs peeing indoors.
It isn’t a particularly pleasant thing for you to come home to after a long day at work and although your dog may be house trained well it is inevitable at one time or another an accident like this will happen.
Two of the most common places for dogs to pee in the home are the carpet and couch. Time is of the essence in a house peeing scenario and you must get to cleaning as soon as you can. Getting down to cleaning early on is usually the best way to get rid of pee.
Before we delve into the various methods of the best way to get rid of dog pee, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why a dog may choose to pee in your home rather than outside
Why Do Dogs Pee in the Home?
There are a few key reasons why dogs would choose to be pee in the home rather than waiting for walk time.
They couldn’t wait!
This is probably one of the most common reasons, they genuinely just couldn’t wait any longer. Maybe you were later home from work than normal or they didn’t feel like they needed to go during their morning walk. Getting out of a routine can sometimes happen and it is in your best interest to get back to that routine as quickly as possible to avoid any further accidents. Dogs love routine.
Health Implications
Sometimes poor health can be a contributor to this behavior. If this is something that has started all of a sudden and is slightly out of character for your pooch you may want to take a trip to your vets to rule out any medical issues such as a urinary tract infection. UTI’s are responsible for urgent and frequent needs to pee and can be treated pretty easily by your vet.
Training
Puppies are prone to pee a lot indoors and if your pooch is still in house training, peeing indoors will, unfortunately, be a common occurrence. Keep up with the puppy training and this issue will rectify itself over time.
Aging Dogs
Older dogs are often prone to peeing indoors. Illnesses such as dementia can make a dog forget their house training and health issues such as kidney failure can crop up in old age. A trip to your vet is always advised as dementia symptoms can be routinely managed with medication and some owners chose doggy diapers as a good solution whilst their dog is indoors.
Bad Behaviour
If you have ruled out health issues, puppy training, aging, and a change in routine then you could likely be dealing with behavioural problems. Some male dogs exhibit marking behavior fueled by sex hormones. This can become a bit of a habit.
Another possibility is your dog may be exhibiting submissive or excitement urination. Stress and anxiety are other probable causes. Thoroughly check your home for any instigators to try to get to the bottom of this. There is usually a route cause.
Best way to get dog pee smell out of couch
Peeing on the couch is a dog owner’s worst nightmare. They are not particularly easy to clean and the lingering smell can be pungent and hard to get rid of. There are some easy steps you can take to get rid of dog pee smell which will have your couch back to new in no time.
Treat the urine spot immediately is one of the best ways to eliminate dog urine odor!
The longer you leave it the harder it will be to get rid of the pee smell. Dog urine has a very distinct whiff and often smells like ammonia.
Firstly, soak up any urine with a paper towel to blot away any excess pee.
The longer you leave this process the more urine will have soaked into the fabrics of your coach making this a much bigger job.
Place the pee-soaked paper towels in a place where you would like your dog to urinate such as the garden.
This can be a very positive training tool by transferring the urine smell to an appropriate location, letting your dog know ‘this is where it is ok to pee’.
Rinse the area thoroughly with clean water and then soak up the water again with paper towels.
Do not rub dry or you will end up with bits of paper towel everywhere!
Use an enzymatic cleaner spray on the affected area.
There are specialist pet odor-reducing cleaners that can be bought specifically for this use. Most chemicals in the urine can, fortunately, be broken down by water and household detergents alone however, the uric acid in pee is the one component that is not water soluable and must be broken down by enzymes. Using an enzymatic cleaner is a must for eliminating smells completely.
If you don’t have an enzymatic cleaner to hand a good idea is to mix water, baking soda, and vinegar.
Unfortunately, this will only mask the smell temporarily, but it can be a great short term quick fix to the problem. Eventually, the area will begin to smell again and you will need to take further action or your dog will associate the location as an appropriate place to pee.
Make sure whichever chemicals you choose to use, you cover the area afterwards whilst the chemicals take effect.
Many owners choose to cover the affected area with tin foil. Your dog will not like the crinkly sound it displays when they tread on it so will keep them away.
Pee Stains do not disappear straight away and can take several days to vanish completely.
The smell will not be eliminated instantly and you may need to carry out a second clean.
Best way to get rid of dog pee smell on carpet
Dog pee on the carpet is not pleasant but is commonplace for dogs to urinate indoors.
You will find that if you have not cleaned the affected area properly, the scent will still be present and your dog will continue to use that area to toilet.
Let’s look at the best way to get rid of dog pee smell on carpet. This is a very similar process to removing dog pee from the couch, but with some additional actions. By taking these steps you will be well on your way to a pee free, clean, and tidy home. Get ready for some expert tips!
As with any type of pee stain you need to make sure you start cleaning straight away.
Pee that has dried into a carpet already will be much more difficult to clean and eliminate the smell. This can be difficult if you don’t see the incident occur, but if you are at home, don’t leave the job until later.
Identify the exact location on the carpet.
Sometimes it isn’t quite so obvious where the smell is coming from. It is so stifling, it can be hard to tell exactly where it is coming from.
Firstly use paper towels to soak up as much pee and possible.
This will help eliminate some of the problem. Be sure to take the dirty paper towels and leave them in an area that is considered ok for your dog to toilet. This would usually be the garden rather somewhere else in the house. Your dog will eventually understand that where you have placed the dirty towels is a ‘safe toilet zone’.
Use a pet odor eliminating enzymatic cleaner on the affected area which will neutralize the smell of pee.
Water alone will not be good enough. Some owners like to make their own formula using baking soda, water, and vinegar. Although this is a great short term solution eventually the smell will return so a stronger chemical is required.
Once you have completed treating your carpet with chemicals do not wash away.
Leave the chemicals to soak into the carpet completely and dry. The drying process can take a few days, depending on the severity of the accident so make sure you cover up the affected area to keep your dog away.
Once the carpet has dried the odor should have disappeared completely.
If this is not the case, you may be required to repeat the process until the smell has vanished.
Make regular checks to see if the carpet is dry.
Once you are satisfied, run over the area with your hoover. There are some great pet stain and odor eliminating hoovers on the market today that will continually keep your carpet smelling fresh and as good as new.
Final Thoughts
Managing pet pee in your home can be easy to manage once you know-how. Following the simple steps above can allow you to have the nice clean home you have been longing for whilst still being able to share these joys with your best friend by your side.
Having a dog that pees in your home can be frustrating. We get it. It doesn’t feel good knowing that your home is unclean and smells bad thanks to dog pee. Accidents do happen and sometimes our canine friends go through phases in their life where this behavior transpires.
If you are at all worried about your dog peeing in your home, always speak to a qualified vet as your first port of call. Many health issues trigger this type of behavior and proper treatment is likely the answer.