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!

[Basqueroony]

Instead of a show cocker consider a slow cooker, makes the house smell good and much easier to clean.

[Oldandcobwebby]

All dog owning houses smell of dog, except where the dog is a spaniel. Those houses reek of dog.

[polkadotpjs]

I have two friends with poodle cross dogs. They do not smell. I have a terrier puppy and he stinks snd my house smells
We are washing throws and his bed and his harness all the time but it smells. It's awful but the dog groomer says he doesn't whiff particularly and I asked her to be honest so maybe I am just hyper aware of it. We have carpet in lounge whereas friends have hard floor through downstairs though so maybe that's it

[Suzi888]

One Labrador. He gets brushed every day for ten mins and has a pleasant doggy deodorant spray. Has his feet/body washed down with warm water and a clean towel when he goes outside/gets muddy/Sandy. Has regular grooms.
Has his bedding vacuumed every day and clean bedding at least once a week.
Wooden floors with large rugs, vacuumed/mopped through daily. Wash carpets once a month.
We don’t wear shoes in the house either and DDog can’t get up the stairs anyway.

Visitors don’t know we have a DDog until he shows himself.....and one visitor was very surprised the house doesn’t whiff thanks for the compliment- I think!

[wetotter]

@Ducksurprise

Its easy. You go nose blind.

Yes, this is us.

And during lockdown no-one else is here to notice

I dint like to wash the dogs too often, because I didn't want to strip the natural oils from their coats.

But rinsing with water and drying them well might help. As will teaching your dog from early puppyhood to accept a toothbrush. Plus wash bedding frequently, and only allow then on the sofa when there's a washable throw on it.

Keep your windows open. Use the pet safe zoflora on hard floors in high traffic areas

[TheVolturi]

You can actually get a spray for the dog, like a dry shampoo, to freshen their coat and absorb smells. Never used it though so can't say how well they work.

[doubleleopardy]

We do what we can. Hard floors not carpet downstairs.
Leather sofas not fabric and throws over the seats that we wash regularly.
They don't sleep on our bed mostly although one sometimes starts on there and gets off when he's too hot.
We've got a pet vacuum and use it a lot. We have a spare filter so we can swap and clean regularly.
They're fed raw so no stinky dog food and no farting.
I'm sure it still smells doggy but I don't think you can avoid it completely.

[MrBullinaChinaShop]

I can’t smell our dog but I assume our house has a slight dog odour, despite us being very clean.
I don’t really care though, if people don’t like the smell they don’t have to come round.

[LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow]

open windows, hard floors, throws on furniture and dog beds washed frequently, wash filthy dog feet and dry them off after any dampness. Keeps the dog aroma down to a dull roar.


One of our previous dogs used to pee up the back of his front legs sometimes...he got wetwiped before reentry to the house....little minger.

[SimonJT]

It depends on the breed, next door has a very mild doggy smell, they have a frenchie and two basset hounds. Their home only smells when they haven’t been opening the windows enough, in the spring/summer you can’t smell their dogs unless one of them has farted.

A friend has a miniature poodle, as a result there is no doggie smell as they have fur rather than hair and don’t have oily skin.

We have a breed that has very little smell, so you can’t smell him, he doesn’t even have a smell when he is wet which did surprise us as we did think he would have a doggy smell when his fur was wet.

[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.

[TheDoctorDances]

My labrador has smelly feet in the summer, they smell cheesy. Took me ages to work out what the smell was. I washed curtains, changed the flooring but it always came back.

Feet!

They get a weekly wash now, much to his dismay.

[BeautyQueenIamNot]

I think it’s a breed thing. I’ve been some houses which have had a really bad dog smell, and some I wouldn’t have even know a dog lived with them.

Mine don’t smell when we were allowed guests Which was often it was never commented on and my friends are the type to tell you!

That said they don’t go in the carpeted area of the house and bedding is washed often. I rarely bother bathing mine as it’s bad for them.

[Fridget]

OP are you bothered about the smell for yourself or because of guests?

If it’s yourself then I don’t think you’ll notice any smell, you’ll very likely get used to it.

If it’s for guests (in that future utopia where they’re allowed!) I think pre-ventilation and a decent scented candle should do it. A friend of mine who I used to have regular play dates with has 2 Labradors and I always hated the smell, but when I went once for a fancy dinner party and she had a big candle on I couldn’t really smell the dogs on that occasion at all.

[JayAlfredPrufrock]

No wiping here. If he is really filthy he gets a hose down then a drying coat.

Joss sticks were invented for this very reason.

[SmallPrawnEnergy]

Everyone’s home has it’s own smell. I know very clean and tidy people with no pets but their houses smell of “them”... sometimes it’s fine sometimes it’s a bit boaky it’s just that families smell. Especially if they’ve got kids.

[HexWitch]

I have 4 Akita's (2 fully grown, 2 pups). They're not allowed on the sofa or in the bedrooms, all hardwood floors, bedding washed every week. Also mopping floors with a biological washing liquid neutralises any doggy odour at floor level. They don't particularly smell unless they're wet. The main problem is when they blow their coats. If I knew his how to spin I could make jumpers with the doggy wool there's that much of it

[Alternista]

I hoover every day, I open the windows to air downstairs, we mostly have hard floors and I shampoo the carpet we do have once a month. Dog beds washed every couple of weeks. I’m sure there’s some level of dog smell but several people have (uninvited) asked me how come my house doesn’t smell doggy so I don’t think it can be that bad.
I have one dog who doesn’t smell at all, and one who does, worse if she’s stressed.

[bluebluezoo]

Mine doesn’t. It’s not that I’m nose blind- i have a very sensitive sense of smell and if i’ve been out there’s no dog smell returning.

In fact we had workmen in the other week and they were in two days before they realised we had a dog.

However my house is wood floor throughout. No carpets, sofa’s are leather etc. We have washable rugs and throws.

Also my dog is very small and a yorkie, so no “fur”. No shedding, and we keep him clipped short.

I’d say he smells about as much as a baby does. I love sniffing his head close up , but I wouldn’t say houses smell of baby.

[BigWolfLittleWolf]

My dog is brushed daily, her teeth are brushed at least once daily too.
She is pretty much never bathed but I do wash her feet if muddy.
She eats a very ‘clean’ healthy diet aswell

Over the years my (non pet owning so fed not nose blind) mum has always told me my house doesn’t smell when I’ve asked, and she absolutely would tell me if my house smelt!

[AnotherKrampus]

Having had Greyhounds for many years, I would say that they hardly smell if at all and I have a very sensitive nose. But I totally get that you get 'nose-blind'. However, I have had people visit and tradespeople come in that were visibly surprised when they actually saw the hounds, as they could not smell them. But we have hard floors and no carpets. We brush the dogs but they have no dander, which I believe is what creates the smell and also causes allergies. They don't seem to have that typical wet dog smell either that many dogs get. Seeing how easy they are to look after and their gentle nature actually prompted a couple of visitors to adopt a greyhound themselves.

[Purplecatshopaholic]

I wash his bedding, throws on sofas, etc regularly, and wipe his paws after walks. Hard floors downstairs probably helps. And I Hoover probably twice a week as I have cats too who are much hairier than the dog. I don’t obsess about it though - everyone round my way has dogs and cats and we are all happily nose blind. Defo don’t keep dog treats in pockets though - all my gloves smell of bacon..

[LadyLolaRuben]

Wooden floors. Leather sofas. Clean the dog bedding every few days. Regularly bath the dog or send to groomers. All visitors say that they dont know i have a dog until they see or hear him. He is a westie

[Alienchannell21]

I have a cockapoo and I don't think my house smells. When I have visitors they always comment how lovely it smells- it's usually my favourite neals yard diffuser! Aside from that we have hardwood floors that are cleaned at least once per day, dogs feet are wiped with a towel after being in the garden and with a paw cleaner after a walk. They wear an equafleece so their body never gets wet. My dh grooms the dog so he's kept short and he's showered at least once a fortnight. I also use a doggy spray on him which makes his coat shiny and smells lovely.

[tsmainsqueeze]

My late mother in law who wasn't a dog fan at all , and called a spade a spade always said my house did not smell of dogs , i had 2 then ,
I have 2 again now .I have throws on settees that are washed very regularly and windows are opened most days .
They are both short , smooth haired with short ears which i think helps.
The house is roomy and i hoover a lot .
I get a wiff of their feet now and again if they have been curled up close by , i like that smell anyway !
When i come into the house i can't smell them , lots of houses do smell of dogs but not all !
If your dog has skin ,ear ,teeth issues then your house very likely will smell of dog no matter how clean you keep it .