Tips for making dog pee smell tolerable during a visit

[Bentoforthehorde]

Family member has a male puppy and wood (not laminate) floor throughout downstairs.
Puppy pees on the floor a lot, has stained the floor in the room they shut it in. Family member has a bucket of water (no cleaning products in it) with a mop. Mop comes out to 'clean up' the pee, goes back in the bucket of pee water. Not sure how often the water is changed.
The smell is overpowering, hits you as you enter the house.
I don't want to stop visiting, family member is not approachable to help combat the problem.. is there something that I can wear to mask the smell? Essential oils, vicks etc?

That's disgusting, why aren't they toilet training the puppy?

I just wouldn’t go tbh. You’ll still smell it if you’re there long enough.

Toilet training a puppy isn’t THAT hard. And not mopping up with any disinfectant is just grim. Are they usually so lazy?

I love dogs. But no way would I sit in a house that smelt like piss and wasn’t cleaned properly.

Your family member needs to clean the accidents up properly. Water won't cut it.

And you could try stuff under your nose but I suspect all it will do is make it smell of a mixture of both 😬

Camel cigarettes, preferably chain-smoked 👍🏻

Ewww...you're brave. Could you say you're boiling hot when you walk in and ask to have the windows open or sit in the garden if there is one?

I don't know why these filthy people get to dictate the terms of visiting. It's disgusting.

Poor puppy. As long as the pee smell remains he's going to think it's an acceptable place to pee - and they'll never break the cycle, and will probably end up punishing him for something he doesn't know is wrong. The bacteria in the urine need to be broken down with either a proper pet urine remover or biological washing powder.

Why can't you be blunt? Take some white vinegar or biological washing powder and tell them you can smell it, no need to shame them.

Failing that, perfume on your sleeve to sniff?

Batshittery of this situation aside, I used to put Vicks on the inside of my nostrils when I did home visits to hoarder houses.

Proper pet urine remover and be blunt.

Scrub the wood floor with cleaning products designed for pet urine- Bio one for example.

Then threaten to report your family member to the RSPCA for shutting a puppy in a room in its own piss.

If they are not mentally or physically capable of training a puppy and addressing its needs, it needs re homing.

I couldn’t visit wearing strong perfume or using Vicks and ignoring an animal being neglected.

Did this or mint lip balm and your lips are ever so dry so you have to put it on every few minutes.
but just tell them their house smells of stale pee

if this is a genuine issue can you give more detail as to why you’re being so passive?

Is the puppy being trained and looked after?
The smell will be the least of your worries if the dog grows up un socialised with behavioural issues and wants to rip your face off when you go round.

Does the relative have mental health problems? Are they looking after themselves and the dog? If not, adult social services might help. If they are of sound mind, meet in a park on a walk or sit outside in the garden. Give them a pet urine spray type cleaner, puppy pads along with a few doggy toys- and make it look like a gift.
If you MUST go inside the house, open a window and leave the door open for fresh air and take a tissue or handkerchief you have dipped in vick/eucalyptus or any nice essential oil. Keep it near your nose to sniff on and just say you have hayfever. I'm unsure why you cant be blunt though- even if just for the puppies welfare.

I don't really want to be negative about them so I'm not going to comment on their character but they live a distance away. So even if they would accept help, I'm not close enough to do it. We bought a basket of supplies when they got the puppy which included cleaning supplies. Was kind of expected that they wouldn't train the dog properly, or walk it themselves, but we didn't expect this smell.
I would literally have to walk in and say, right let's have a good clean, and we definitely don't have that relationship.
The family dynamic with this one is a whole other thread and I specifically left out the gender and relation to avoid a derail.

It has been months since I last visited and was shocked by the smell. Puppy seemed happy and healthy, had food/water/treats is walked by someone else.

No mental health issues, older than me but not elderly.

I didn't want the thread derailed because of the relationship but it's MIL. She's not approachable by DH any more than she is by me. House looks nice, no hoarding or anything. Some members of DH family have weird boundaries in general but definitely when it comes to dog hygiene. We have been out with family and their dogs and this puppy was irritating other people/approaching food/knocking drinks. As I say it's been a few months so maybe things have turned around, but I need to plan ahead because I genuinely struggled to cope with the smell last time. The pups behaviour with our children makes me nervous to send them without going myself but if the smell is worse I think I might be sick.

If you feel sick, be sick. It might be the quickest and most direct way of letting her know that this is unacceptable for everyone, including the dog. Plus, she'll have to get the Flash out to deal with your vom, and can do the dog's room at the same time.

The "dogs room" is the dining room...
He has the run of downstairs but is shut in the dining room when hes put away, again I can't say how often or long he is in there.
Pee floor is dining room and living room, kitchen has lino so I assume not as bad.

😆

Buy them a bag of World's Best Cat Litter. It is superb at cleaning up accidents (my elderly dog used to have issues occasionally). Sprinkle it over the puddle, leave for a minute, sweep it up. Then a quick wipe with a spray cleaner.

it won't get rid of the current smell but it will make cleaning up easier for the family member meaning it might fade.

Ooh This must be from the old fashioned method of puppy toilet training -poor pup .

Ok. I mean if you and your husband feel you can’t address this with her then can you keep visits short or meet on neutral ground?

The pups behaviour in public and around your dc is concerning. That will get worse if ignored.
Keep your children safe.

If you have any more “normal” relationships with other in laws (Sil, bil, cousins?) then perhaps they could broach the cleaning aspect with MIL.

Could your husband take them out while you sort the floor? Has she lost her sense of smell? If so, you may be able to give it a good mop with something that will break down the urine and smell nice.

It's temporary. Meet out of the home for a few weeks e.g. cafes, restaurants, parks etc

MIL is the type of person that nobody can approach, other family members live locally and some visit almost daily but I assume nobody has spoken to her.
Right. I will just brave it and take cleaning supplies.

This all sounds a bit fucked up. Dh can’t speak to his own mother?

Assuming there are mobility issues preventing her walking the dog, then I’d guess she’s not capable of cleaning properly either?

If you want to offer “help” then broach it kindly, or perhaps suggest hiring a cleaner to stay on top of it.
Putting some dog friendly cleaning product in the “wee bucket” might be a start. And replacing the mop. That’s probably just smearing bacteria, faeces and whatever else around the room at this point. 🤮

I’m rolling my eyes at a person taking on a puppy when they cannot (or will not) train or even walk it.
It’s bloody irresponsible to say the least.