If you have a dog that lives in your house, how do you stop your house smelling of dog? Is that even possible?

[Woodspritely]

I’ve only had working dogs before, who don’t come into the house (farm dogs) but the kids want a house dog, and one of the things I’ve been considering is how to not have a ‘doggy’ house (we no longer live on a farm).

How often do you wash and brush the dog, wash dog beds, hoover, and what else can be done? Do you wash/brush dry off when you come back from a walk?

We rarely used to do any of those things - a wash was only when they rolled in fox poo!

[LemonRoses]

Basic housekeeping and dog care.
Don’t have dog on furniture. Hard floors washed frequently. Rugs cleaned frequently. Restrict areas dog can use.

Sufficient room for the size of dog. A slobbering great bloodhound drooling everywhere is going to be smelly in a hermetically sealed tiny terrace. A JRT who is mainly outside, but lives in a decent sized kitchen/boot room/conservatory is going to be less smelly.

Breed of dog. Spaniels get manky ears so need attention. Drooling dogs are going to be more noticeable because they slobber everywhere.

Wash dogs bedding frequently. Don’t give dog rubbish to eat. Brush their teeth. Keep them brushed and in good health.
Fresh air.

[Alannathelioness]

We have a short haired lurcher X Saluki and in all honesty she smells lovely! Not at all doggy and people always comment how she doesn't smell! Only if she has a bone or a particularly smelly dinner does she give off a whiff. So I'd recommend the breed for that reason. Not for any others though, she's mad as a box of frogs.

[PennyArcade]

If you don’t want your house to smell of dog don’t get a dog! All dogs who are allowed to be dogs - wading through mud, swimming in rivers, oceans and streams will smell of wet dog - more often than not. It isn’t fair to keep dogs on lead only to be allowed to walk through streets (to make sure they stay clean) for the rest of their lives

[LolaSmiles]

We sweep and hoover daily, have hard floors, dog beds in the utility, wash any dog blankets regularly and have windows open most days. I'm sure a non-dog owner would be able to smell a hint of dog, but I think all homes have a different smell unless you're someone who zofloras or room sprays your house to smell of springtime clean cotton meadow freshness.

[whenwillthemadnessend]

I have A dog and I still hate his smell

I wash beds frequently
I Hoover frequently
Moving all floors gradually to wood

Hoping that will help

I have two cats too and they genuinely don't smell I think I'm a cat person at heart

[userxx]

Yep, the answer is get a sighthound of some kind

To be fair, they are less doggy smelling.

[bluetongue]

@balzamico

I have a Lurcher - my very good friends who do not have a dog say that our house doesn't smell and I believe them. We have wooden floors downstairs and he only smells vaguely doggy when he's damp but he dries really quickly

Yep, the answer is get a sighthound of some kind.

I have a whippet and he doesn’t smell. I’m very sensitive to smells and they can make me feel ill. I had a foster dog that I didn’t end up adopting partly because I couldn’t stand my house smelling of dog (don’t worry, he went to a lovely home).

I’ve asked my sister of my house or car smell of dog (she’s not a dog owner and also bluntly honest) and she assured me they don’t.

[Crappyfridays7]

My house probably does smell of dog. But he’s a clean dog. Different if my house smelled of Anal glands and dog poo. Can’t imagine anyone complaining when visiting a doggy household that is smells of dog. Don’t visit then?...quite simple

[AprilThe8th]

Make sure I wash throws and cushions regularly plus I wash ddog in a baby powder scented dog shampoo

[TryingNotToPanicOverCovid]

I think that's the main thing - you can't really prevent the house having a "smell of dog" maybe just whether its just dog or bad whiffy dog.

However the benefits for most dog owners outweigh that fact and you're likely not to notice it anyway :) All good.

[ineedaholidayandwine]

@HermioneWeasley

I also know dog owners who think their houses don’t smell.

They do. Always. Some worse than others.

If you have a dog, your house will smell of dog.

Same with cats :-(
Whatever i try, my house still smells of them, i have 2 air purifiers on which really helps, also a humidifier with essential oil in. I think with cats or dogs you'll always get a degree of smell

[HexWitch]

I think the main thing is even if your house does develop a doggy whiff, you'll love your dog enough not to care. My exh comes into my house and complains it smells of wet dogs sometimes. Well yes, because my dogs have been out for a run in the rain and they're still damp. So what? Don't like it, don't come inside at pick up/drop off, it's their home not yours

[dottiedodah]

We have a spotted 4 legged friend! She is lovely ,and I have her bathed regularly and wipe her paws and so on .However we dont live in a scented "show home" enviroment and feel any sort of "doggy" smell is a small price to pay for the love and companionship (esp now in LD) you get from a dog.

[Namethatuser]

I wouldn't be too bothered if a friend told me my house smelled of dog - in fact one of them is so bloody honest about stuff - she verges on the rude but she even she says my dog doesn't smell - he rarely pants indoors and when he does that is pongy and when he's wet he smells - like a wool jumper. He doesn't shed much either.
Having grown up with smelly labs - I thought all dogs smelled and left fur balls everywhere - it was a revelation that they didn't. Clearly if you have a very sensitive nose you will smell everything and it might be more accurate to say - our dogs don't smell strongly and neither do the humans.

[bluebluezoo]

Wax melts help. Strong ones

God no. Fake fragrance is awful. There seems to be a fashion for having really strong smelling laundry now too. I find it deeply unpleasant.

I actually left a house viewing because I couldn’t stand the overpowering smell of all the “fragrance”

Most people’s houses smell.

[CallmeAngelina]

I have a poodle mix and would have said my house didn't smell, until once we came home after a few days away and the house had all been shut up with no ventilation.
Got a definite whiff as we came in.
But hey, if anyone objects, they don't have to visit.

[userxx]

Wax melts help. Strong ones,

[lynsey91]

@Marchitectmummy

Ha reading this reminds me of smokers who are in deep denial that thry smell of smoke. Argue till you are out of breath but houses with dogs always smell of dog, it isn't just their fur that smells it's also their breath, their food, their water after they have had one lap of it. Of course a dog with more dog or more fur or less clean teeth will smell more but that does not mean a clean hairless dog will not smell.

Sorry but if you think it doesn't its because you are used to it. The lengths people will go to to deny it is so funny, if your closest friend who would never lie says it doesn't smell they are lying, But if you love having a dog that's the sacrifice you make and it's fine.

Sorry but you are wrong. Smokers houses smell because cigarettes stink that is a fact.

NOT ALL DOG BREEDS SMELL. Why can people not accept that? Poodles are one of the breeds but not the only one.

I honestly could not care less if my house does smell of my dogs as I love them to bits but I know it doesn't. My mother in law would never had lied if my house did smell. In fact she would have loved being able to tell me it did.

My dogs don't moult, are fed raw food so don't fart and just do not smell even when wet.

I have a good sense of smell and can usually smell if a house has a dog in it. The only friends' houses who don't smell are friends who have the same breed of dog as me, a couple of friends with greyhounds and a friend with a poodle

[lynsey91]

@Justmuddlingalong

Some houses with dogs have a hint of a smell, some absolutely reek. But I've never been in a dog owner's house and not noticed a doggy wiff, regardless of the cleaning regime.

I doubt you have been in a house with every dog breed in the world so you cannot possibly know whether all houses with dogs smell. THEY DON'T

[JimmyTheBrave]

A friend of mine has a cockapoo and her house genuinely doesn't smell of dog. Every other dog owner house I've ever been in has smelt of dog though, I think perhaps it's due to the cockapoo's size (she's smaller than average) and the fact that she doesn't really shed.

[NotExactlyHappyToHelp]

I have a big collie x Alsatian cross and my house does smell of dog. It’s inevitable.

There’s a difference between dog smell and stale dog smell though I think.

We have all hard floors downstairs and hoover daily mop every other day. Her bed blankets are washed weekly if not more.

She’s an old girl now and smells more than she used to but I don’t mind, she’s a senior citizen and has earned the right to hum a bit .

[joystir59]

I wash his towels bedding and sofa throw regularly- the sofa throw he goes UNDER for a snooze 😁 as a nod to an odour free house. I give the dog a warm water shower but no odour killing products used on him, only ever water (except once when he came home slathered in very fresh fox poo) so he smells of Dog alright. Lovely lovely homely smell.

[joystir59]

My house is reasonably clean. I have a JRT. I adore his smell. Everyone who comes to my house either have dogs or love dogs. Job's a good'un

[Marchitectmummy]

Ha reading this reminds me of smokers who are in deep denial that thry smell of smoke. Argue till you are out of breath but houses with dogs always smell of dog, it isn't just their fur that smells it's also their breath, their food, their water after they have had one lap of it. Of course a dog with more dog or more fur or less clean teeth will smell more but that does not mean a clean hairless dog will not smell.

Sorry but if you think it doesn't its because you are used to it. The lengths people will go to to deny it is so funny, if your closest friend who would never lie says it doesn't smell they are lying, But if you love having a dog that's the sacrifice you make and it's fine.

[llamafarmers]

He's always cleaned before coming home after a walk, they have a day g bath where we walk regularly, at least before covid. Now we do it when we get in. He has his own towels which are washed immediately, we have wooden floors which helps. He's also a short haired breed.