Hi All
Just wanted to ask what others do to get rid or mask the smell of dogs in the house??

We arrived back tonight and both kids immediately complained about the smell of the 5 dogs in the kitchen - They had been shut in there for a couple of hours whilst we were at my sisters for dinner. It did smell 'doggy' but obviously i couldn't leave windows open whilst we were out.

The dogs are not allowed into the rest of the house (i have a large kitchen & utility), mainly to stop the cat from being dead and because i dont want a doggy smell all through the house and my sofa being used as an extention of their beds.

Beds are washed every 3 days, as all of them swim in the river daily and kitchen floor is washed very regularly.

any ideas of keeping a kitchen more fresh smelling????

We found that hard floors were far less smelly than carpets, but I presume you probably have some kind of hard floor in the kitchen? If you do have carpets, be careful with anything like shake and vac as that can play havoc with dogs' paws. Don't know if febreze affect them.
Those plug in air fresheners can be good - but be careful the dogs don't react to them. Ours don't mind them at all.
Maybe longterm fitting an extractor fan? You can have them put into windows, you don't have to knock into a wall.
Good luck!

Swimming doesn't necessarily mean they're clean (at least not judging by the rivers near me)! In fact it encourages the production of the waterproofing oil that is what creates the 'doggy' smell.

What breed are they?

Hi
Yes the kitchen floor is fully tiled so no carpet & i dont have a door mat either as they all try to sleep on it and it does hold smells. I have got a plug in air freshner thing which helps in the utility but i'm not keen on them in the kitchen, they get up your nose sometimes with that fake perfume smell - i'd rather smell the dogs but dont want visitors to think i have a stinky kitchen.

>they get up your nose sometimes with that fake perfume smell - i'd rather smell the dogs but dont want visitors to think i have a stinky kitchen

I agree - plug-ins always make me wonder what people are trying to hide!

I have 2 springers, 2 scotties and a westie. The westie is more smelly, he's 10 and has a that 'old dog blanket' smell to him. He gets bathed a least every 2 weeks in malaseb as he has a yeast thing on his skin (vet said) he has blackened areas underneath.

The river is pretty clear water but can understand what your saying about the coat oils. Somthing has to get the mud off after they've been running in the woods!

Turbo our puppy whos now 7 months seems to be getting a 'doggy' small lol Mitzy smells fresh as a daisy constantly and we wash Turbo when he's dirty of course but do believe in not washing un needed.
We wash their fleeces once a week and we use Oil Burners (Lavender etc) and incense sticks and they works wonders :) Also there isnt the risk of any chemicals or that horrible fake perfume small as much as manufactured air fresheners as we used shake and vac and febreeze before but Turbo seemed to have a reaction so we went for a more tranquil approach :)

ETA - We dont leave these on when were out just to clarify but they remove that 'doggy' smell instantly when you get in or if you use them before you go out the smell lasts all day ;)

If you put several drops of real lavender oil in the bucket when you mop the floor it's heavenly but it has to be the real stuff.  Any oil would be lovely but lavender is one of the cheaper ones, much better than any fake smell not to mention nice and relaxing.

Hi,
I too worry about 'doggy smells' - I would be devastated if a visitor thought that my house was smelly. I bought some plug in ionic air purifiers from Lloyds Pharmacy and have noticed a slight improvement - I have one in the kitchen and one in my sons bedroom where he has his pet hamster - I clean the hamsters bed daily and can still smell him usually but the air purifier really helps. I bathe my two frequently - 3 weeks is the longest I can go because they stink by this time. I use epi-soothe shampoo which is very mild and moisturising and have found that their coats have improved with regular baths using this. I wash their vet bed every other day, mop daily using a dilute of dettox anti bacterial cleaner and a squirt of thick bleach and I too use oil burners - I love the body shops green tea oil and also their spa minerals oil - they both smell amazing. I have also seen an air purifier demonstrated in a local shopping centre which has water swishing around in a ball which you add oils to - they seem really good and my local Asda is stocking them now so I might try one - these are £30 I think. Another point that I think helps,   my two are confined to the kitchen when we are not home but instead of closing the kitchen door, I prefer to leave it open with a gate in the doorway so that air can circulate better but this might be a problem with the springers as they would probably jump a gate? People who really know me often comment that they would never have had me down as owning dogs because I am so house proud but as long as the housework regime is maintained, the dogs are not a problem and any amount of smell or mess could ever over shadow the joy my little men bring to us. One other thing I am obsessed about - nose prints on the patio doors - I clean these windows several times a day......gosh, reading that back I think that I had better get a life!

Hi yes i have one of the ball things you add oils too, they are great, yes i got mine form asda it was £39.99, made by JML, you can probably buy direct from JML website, that reminds me im on my last bottle of oil.

Blimy!!! I just do the usuall housework...now and again! Wouldn't say I was messy but lived in and yes sometimes my house smells a bit doggy but then it's lived in by three hulking great dogs!! No one ever comments...and to be honest it wouldn't worry me if they did. I do have plug ins about but not specifically for the doggy smell..I just like the odd waft that breaks through the thick fog of damp bernese accasionally!!! LOL
Aileen and the girlies....xxx

Ha Aileen, I was just thinking what a minger I was, reading how often other people wash dog bedding etc. Join me on the mingers' bench LOL.

M.

> The westie is more smelly, he's 10 and has a that 'old dog blanket' smell to him. He gets bathed a least every 2 weeks in malaseb as he has a yeast thing on his skin (vet said) he has blackened areas underneath.

My poor old boy that was recently PTS was suffering with a yeast skin complaint and being treated with malaseb, the poor old thing reeked to high heaven. Now he isn't here the doggy smell has gone from the house (I miss that stinky smell now :( ).

I think it's worth taking your dog back to the vet and get his treatment revised, in some cases the malaseb needs more frequent use and there are there may be secondary skin infections adding to the smell which can be treated with ab's (as was the case with my poor old stinker).

thank you all for your replies.

I do leave the door open from the kitchen to hall way when we are out and have a child gate to stop dogs romping through the house (springers have never jumped it once), I will shut it though if the cat is in and we're going out cos if they see her they go balistic at the gate and i wouldn't trust them not to barge it down.

Would people really tell you if your house smelled of dog? i'm not sure they would. I have asked friends and they say no, my sister was the only one that mentioned the kitchen can have a smell of dog to it on occassions.

I light a sented candle in the evenings in our hallway which has a christmas smell about it so hopefully when kids freinds come in they smell that first.

Will look out for one of those ball things with oils.

My westie prob needs bathing more frequently in the malaseb to get it under control, there is a little difference in the colour of his skin but within a few days he has 'that' smell about him.

Hi

I have 5 dogs and I think you have to accept that they will have some doggy smell, so some 'masking' of the smell is probably inevitable.

I buy those small bottles of Zoflora, they are just concentrated disinfectant but with a good strong scent...lavender is lovely! Whenever I think of it I drop a few drops into the sink, and the smell wafts up!!  LOL
When you run water into the sink it seems to reactivate it and it is really effective.

They are quite cheap too, about £1.15 per bottle. I buy half a dozen at a time and they last for months.

The lavender and zoflora are the best for a light scent, our boy smells doggy after a walk and he is sleeping and goes all hot, the lounge smells 'biscuity', i think people would tell you if it was doggy and especially your sister, so if it's only occassionally don't worry, and try the oils in the bucket.
Sandra

I use a plug in in my hallway (away from the dogs who are in the kitchen). That seems to freshen up the place. 

It could be the swimming?  Neither of mine are interested in swimming, but my previous dog was and she used to have that wet dog smell about her. I use a really good grooming spray called Ring 5 outrage which smells nice (and is excellent with matts) or Pet Silk Safari Cologne which I got at Crufts.

think i should join you on the mingers bench too! :-) my house doesnt smell too bad! well i hope it doesnt! lol! the dogs are allowed everywhere in the house just not on the sofa, bed etc they have their own nice beds! the beds get washed when they need it which isnt that often! i rent a carpet shampoo thingy every 3/4 months and clean the kitchen floor twice a week an can honestly say the only time the house smells like dog is when they have come in soaking wet! my bigger dog also suffers from a yeast type thing on her skin and gets bathed in malseb when it gets bad which hasnt happened in about 10 months! :-)

I have 5 dogs with the occasional pup staying.  I have 2 jml air fresh globes in the kitchen. they are good for dust also. So I am told.  if I want an extra nice smell I have Cath Collins light rings. they are felt type rings that fit on top of light bulbs u put a wee drop smelly stuff on the ring and when the light has been on a wee while the smell is really good.

Yes  the JML things are good for dust, the water is dirty when i empty mine, i usually forget to do it everyday, i was my dogs bedding everyday its only vet bedding so it dries near the aga very quickly.  i dont change my own bed that often ha ha!

Well i was watching a property programme and the people on it were dog sitters and the developers suggested plants a few house plants that get rid of doggy smell you will have to google it, but i prefer doggy smells to fags any day. they bring some sort of comfort if you go to a new place and it smells like dog, you know you have something in common. a nail bar i used to go to had an EBT and i could smell him straight away but thts coz i know what a doggy smell it. If people complain send em packing.

I too prefer the doggy smells to all those false chemical air fresheners. It can't be good for humans or dogs to be breathing those things in constantly. If using anything it's a natural product like pure lavender oil in my mop bucket or sometimes one of those reed things that that the oil creeps up. I wash their vet bed once a week and they are bathed about every 6 weeks. My old pug is super smelly, I sometimes bath her in nizoral to cut down on the fungus, but she hates the bath and its upsetting for her as she's blind and deaf now, so we just put up with it. One of the "joys of dog owning" and I don't care what other people think of the smell in my house, it is my house after all, so it's tough if they don't like it.

Liz

I have 4 dogs and since feeding them raw they don't seem to smell as much as they did!
I keep one of those airwick things that give a quick squirt of sent every 9/18/36 minutes near the front door (away from dogs) so the hallway always smells nice for visitors, and a jml fresh air globe in the family room where the dogs and I spend most of our time. I don't close doors much inside the house just use stairgates to keep the devils where I want them!!
Dogs get a bath when I think they need it, more often if we have a special trip/show planned! I wash their bedding about every 2 weeks and any soft furnishings (curtains/cushions) in the family room about once a month. Never had a complaint from family/friends and none of my family are very "doggy" people,( they love my dogs, but none have their own as they see how much hard work they can be!! ) So they would defiantly tell me LOL
Wet dog is a smell that comes with the territory this time of year, lovely rainy walks! LOL
Paula

Hi lorripop,
My dogs swim daily in the sea and then "wash" off the salt water in the freshwater pond alongside the solent,my bitch dosent ever smell at all but my big boy (both Goldies) always does.I,ve found that sprinkling him with a light dusting of a medicated talc really takes the smell away and leaves him smelling fresh,it also makes him dry clean and bright.He's 14 now so dont think it does any harm used sparingly.Hope this helps.