My dog is making my house smell

[VivaLeBeaver]

Not sure whether to post here or in Good Housekeeping but I'm getting desperate.

The dog herself doesn't smell, she's a greyhound so not loads of damp/wet fur at all. She's bathed frequently. Had a good bath only 2 days ago with Aloe Vera dog shampoo and smells nice.

However we have an old carpet in the hall with fairly deep pile and if she lies on it for 10 minutes the carpet smells. I have a Bissel thingy so can shampoo the carpet and it then smells ok. 2 hours later she's on the carpet again and it smells.

Is the only answer to get rid of the carpet?? She's started lying in the dining room now and I'm worried the dining room carpet will start to smell though that is much shorter pile. Wish she would just lie on her bed.

Is there anything else I can use to disguise the smell which doesn't involve shampooing the carpet? Febreeze doesn't make a difference.

[ChickensArentEligableForGold]

We have wooden floors throughout downstairs, but did have a deep pile woollen rug in the living room. It got very, very stinky. We tried cleaning it, shake and vaccing it, bicarb overnight etc etc, but in the end I got rid. The smell got right down to the backing and it was vile. I now have short pile rugs and they don't hold the smell in the same way at all. I hoover daily and spray febreze type gubbins on the rugs weekly, but honestly they don't smell 'doggy' even if he has used them to dry off. I think the deep pile is your problem.

[Cuebill]

Vet bed is your friend Put it where your dogs sleeps wash regularly on 60 degree wash and no dog smell at all. It is not the most stylish of mats but will prevent any lingering doggy smell if washed regularly

[VivaLeBeaver]

Vet bed sounds good however DH is cross with the dog sleeping at the bottom of the stairs. He wants me to discourage her from sleeping in the hall, not to start putting mats out for her.

[GobblersKnob]

Vet bed is fab as are no carpets tbh.

You could try tap-a-drop it is brilliant at removing smells and I have no idea why is has never become widely available in the UK. I would give you a link, but I usually buy it from The Rat Warehouse, and for some reason I can't get onto their website atm. It costs £4/£5 ish and I really can't recommend it enough. You just put one drop on a tissue every 24 hours and it will neutralize all smells in your whole house (if all conecting doors are open obv.).

[AdoraBell]

A tip I got from the Good Housekeeping threads was to put vinegar around the house, in pots, to neutralise the airborne pong you can get. I also use bicard on the carpets to good effect.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Right, I've sprinkled some bicarbonate on the carpets so will see if that helps.

Is it white vinegar or malt vinegar?

I used to have the tap a drop stuff when we had rats. Had forgotten about it, will order some. Thanks.

[LadyTurmoil]

I've just ordered that Tap-a-drop, sounds great for all kinds of smells! Thanks for tip

[GobblersKnob]

LadyTurmoil hope you like it

Other good things to do with it are; get a cotton wool ball and put about 6 drops on it and bung it in the hoover, makes your whole house small nice every time you hoover, stick a couple of drops on a tissue ot hanky and chuck it in the tumble dryer to make things smell nice (esp. good for towels), add a couple of drops in your washing machine drawer with detergent if washing anything a bit stinky like trainers.

Also if you have an old car hanging up air freshener thing you can refresh it with tap a drop, or fashion your own with cotton wool.

[Marne]

We have wood floors and leather sofas, we do have a rug where she likes to lie but TBH we dont spend anymore on the rugs than we would a dog bed so when it gets too smelly we replace . It still smells a bit of dog but only in the living room as she's not allowed in the rest of the house.

[crazy8]

Marne am intrigued with how you stop the dog from going in the rest of your house. I have a constant battle with my kids about this. I want the dog to be outside or in one room in the house. I cant bear the constant cleaning and hoovering otherwise. Also, I think I have a pathological fear of dog hairs my excuse anyway!!!

[belindarose]

The tap a drop stuff looks great. Does anyone know what the fragranced ones are like? Rat website is out of original and I don't want to replace smells with nasty air freshener smells.

[Marne]

crazy8- we use stair gates, the dd's now leave them open but she knows she's not allowed out (will try but as soon as i call her name she runs back in), we are lucky that the living room backs on to the garden so she doesn't need to go into the rest of the house. I hate dog hairs so theres no way she's going upstairs where theres carpet (although the cat is allowed up there).

[crazy8]

Marne, I know I'm being extremely OCD but how do you stop the dog hairs going everywhere when they transfer from the clothes you wear around the dog? Am asking as I really really don't like dog hairs!

[GobblersKnob]

You might have to be patient with the Rat Warehouse site, I'm not sure if they are experiencing problems. I am waiting for some food I buy from there to come back into stock and some days I can get on and some days I can't they are a very small outfit, but I have been getting stuff from them for years and they are very reliable when the site works

AFAIAA there isn't anywhere else you can get if from in the UK, it is used extensively in the US though where they use it in hospitals and all sorts.

As to scents personally I love the Red Clover Tea, the Soft Linen is also nice. the Citrus is good but so strong was too overpowering for me. Have never tried the Mint and the Baby Powder is totally vom inducing, stay well clear

[JaxTellerIsMyFriend]

been trying to get onto rat warehouse site but nothing happens. really wanted to try the tap a drop.

[GobblersKnob]

Keep trying Jax

It was definately up for a bit yesterday. They are on Facebook (don't know if you use?) so you could message them.

[JaxTellerIsMyFriend]

I will do gobbler bit of a shame that is the only UK site that sells it.

[JaxTellerIsMyFriend]

woohoo, site seems to be up and working again, Ive ordered 3, in 'flavours' of whats left. mint, baby powder and citrus.