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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think the house might smell?

83 replies

NewtoCornland · 04/04/2016 08:04

Ds and I were just talking to dsd about when we get a puppy. It's been in the pipeline for a while but we've had to puppy proof our garden (we're rural and have lambs out front and calfs to the side so needed to plug the fence). She looked very unimpressed and asked if we were getting just one puppy because, at her mum's house, she has 3 dogs (including a 6 month old puppy) 5 cats, 2 ferrets, 2 hedgehogs (I believe her dm used to breed them at some point), a rabbit, a snake and fish

We knew they had animals but, bloody hell, my nose hurts just thinking about it. The sad thing is she just said she can't play in their garden because it is covered in poo of various types.

Is it possible to keep that many animals and the house not smell?

OP posts:

hesterton · 04/04/2016 11:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GrumpyMcGrumpyFace · 04/04/2016 11:20

20+ animals in one house is excessive. I think if you had asked if that number of animals in a house was healthy especially given that they are having problems caring for them all (excrement in the garden) then the answer would have been a resounding yes. Perhaps I've made a bit of a leap saying that the animals are not being cared for properly simply because of the garden comment. However it is an indication of lack of care/difficulties in managing such a number of animals. It will be a full time job looking after 20+.

As for the question about smelling, yes their house will smell but then so will yours. Your puppy will be pissing everywhere and no matter how much you clean there will be a smell. My house smells. I have a cat and a dog. I don't care. I'm used to the smell and to be perfectly honest I smell too and DD's room stinks!

pictish · 04/04/2016 11:24

Alright alright...keep your hair on.
I'm saying...you already know the answer.
I'm not in the report-report-report brigade. I hadn't assumed you were either.

Original poster

NewtoCornland · 04/04/2016 11:26

donkey oh obviously has thoughts/feelings about it but I really don't want to bring that into it, this has never been about who has so many animals and, contrary to popular belief, I was genuinely curious as to whether a house would smell bad. I could have been talking about anyone's house but some pp's have chosen to jump on the fact it is dsd dm's house.

hester I have always wanted a dog, ever since leaving dm/care but have never been in a position to get one until now.
There is no competition tbh, we give dsd things her dm can't and vice versa.

OP posts:

parmalilac · 04/04/2016 11:34

At the risk of getting shot down in flames, in my experience you can ALWAYS smell the pet smell in someone's house, unless they have a budgie or fish, but they usually don't notice it themselves. No matter how smelly that home gets, it's one of those things that no-one will mention. When I was a kid my auntie's house was really smelly, and even as kids we wondered how she could not notice when she'd been out and came back in the house, but I guess it's the smell of 'home'. We were viewing houses to buy last year, and a few of them were stinkers, with one, a lovely house, taking our breath away when they opened the door.They were a nice elderly couple, with their two elderly dogs, looking at us hopefully. I put my scarf over my mouth, and said I had a terrible cold. We whizzed round the house at top speed while trying not to breathe, and could smell the stink on us all the way home. Whoever bought that house would need to gut it completely and have it fumigated, the smell of dog was so impregnated into everything.

hesterton · 04/04/2016 11:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

NewtoCornland · 04/04/2016 11:35

I'm not pictish and I genuinely didn't know if the house would smell seeing as I've only ever had fish!

I didn't think one puppy would smell.....you live and learn

OP posts:

FrizzlyAdams · 04/04/2016 11:38

OP.

Yes, a house with lots of pets in stinks.

Your house with just one puppy in will also stink (to someone with no pets).

Were you really, seriously, genuinely 'not sure' if a house containing all those animals would smell?

Odd.

Original poster

NewtoCornland · 04/04/2016 11:38

Thank you hester

OP posts:

Original poster

NewtoCornland · 04/04/2016 11:40

frizzly why is that odd? I was unsure if it was possible to have animals and not smell.

OP posts:

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 04/04/2016 11:41

It will almost certainly have a smell, not necessarily an offensive smell but a smell that says 'we have pets'. Ferrets have a very distinctive smell too, despite being very clean creatures (they'll have a certain corner which is where they will toilet making it easy to clean on a daily/twice daily basis). I do understand your concerns though as if you're DSD can't play in the garden due to animal mess they obviously aren't being fully looked after.

I clean any dog mess from my garden every morning & as soon as she goes in summer when the children are playing outside not that it stops them stepping in it occasionally in the 2 bloody minutes it takes me to get to it. My house most likely has a dog odour particularly on days when the doors & windows are shut & she's got wet but I do my best to keep her well groomed & I hoover, mop & dust daily as well as airing the house as much as possible to keep it to a minimum.

SalemSaberhagen · 04/04/2016 11:47

I'm surprised you haven't smelt it on DSD. Do you not see her much? Seems odd that you have only found out about her menagerie today.

But yeah, it will smell. I have no pets, and can always tell if I am walking into a pet owning household. You knew this though, you just wanted to bask in the knowledge your DP's ex has a smelly house, IMO.

Original poster

NewtoCornland · 04/04/2016 11:49

salem the ex bashing ship has sailed and I'm a little bored of the implication.

No we don't see dsd often, school holidays only due to distance.

OP posts:

Original poster

NewtoCornland · 04/04/2016 11:52

God I wish there were an edit button so I could add stuff rather than posting loads of replies

And we knew there were 2 dogs but not the other animals as it's never really come up in conversation until now, because we're getting a puppy.

OP posts:

SalemSaberhagen · 04/04/2016 11:54

What did you want to know for though?

OP: will it smell?
Everyone: yes
OP:.........

Now that you have that knowledge, what?

(Also, you knew it would bloody smell).

TimeToMuskUp · 04/04/2016 11:57

We have a dog, four cats and two rabbits (outdoor ones though). Our house smells ok but there's no doubt you can smell the pets. We're pretty clean and tidy and there's no pet fur on sofas and filthy litter trays (we bought them a ridiculous £90 litter tray from Amazon that's meant to prevent odour; they prefer poop and pee in my veg patch, which I am no longer able to grow anything in, ungrateful filthy bastards) and the dog has regular baths because she's a scutty fox-shit-lover. But yeah, you can smell them.

I can walk into a home and know if they have pets or not. It's not even a bad smell; just a different smell. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing for children to grow up in homes with lots of pets. So long as they're not at risk, there's no harm.

FrizzlyAdams · 04/04/2016 12:01

You said you had a goldfish?

They stink too.

I can smell a fish tank when I walk into a house, even if it's only one goldfish.

All animals stink.

TheFlyingFauxPas · 04/04/2016 12:01

Neighbours had a lovely little spaniel. They were nice clean people. They wanted to let the house out. I went round to see house. Dog long moved to new house, the house had neem completely repainted and carpets shampooed. However, as I walked through the door, I was hit by a cloud of doggy smell! It wasn't nice and I. Like dogs! We now have a little dog
I've asked people and so far they day ours doesn't smell. Fingers crossed 😊

BabyDubsEverywhere · 04/04/2016 12:05

I've had lots of inside pets at some points, and at those times, my whole house smelled like fresh animal bedding, but that felt like a 'clean' smell to me, and I quite liked it I didn't, and still don't care what others think of that, i know my home is clean (rarely tidy, but always clean!)
I cleaned everyone out every morning (rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, mice, degu, piggies, quail, tortoise etc) the chickens were cleaned out every day and the garden was cleaned after the dogs went out there every single time. I cant imagine not being able to use the garden because it was full of poo! That's awful!
Though I can think of a couple of friends who would ask how my house doesn't smell of animals when they only had a couple of cats and theirs stank (to them) But they didn't clean the litter trays as soon as used like I did... so that was probably why really.

FrizzlyAdams · 04/04/2016 12:06

We have a cat, our house doesn't smell & is clean.
When I've been away for a few days though and come back, I can smell the cat.

Whenever I Hoover (more than once a week btw) clouds of grey hair seem to appear in the dirt catcher bit, she is short haired and I swear she doesn't get in about all the places where her fur accumulates.

Pets are minging.

BabyDubsEverywhere · 04/04/2016 12:07

I find the worst smell belongs to houses where they have those nappy bins in the house - they make me gag, give me a well groomed dog and open windows any day!

FarrowandBallAche · 04/04/2016 12:12

Well if there's dog poo all over the garden I guess the mother won't be too fastidious with her animal husbandry.

HazelBite · 04/04/2016 12:26

Its not the cats that smell in our house (no litter trays) but the cat food stinks especially Sheba (which appears to be the current favourite).

I don't notice it day to day but when we come back from holiday if their plates have not been plunged into the sink there is a smell!

Original poster

NewtoCornland · 04/04/2016 13:34

Tropical fish frizzly does it make a difference?

timeto

OP posts:

BoatyMcBoat · 04/04/2016 14:56

I like the smell of pets. Except for bearded dragon poo. That's vile.

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