Hubby said our house smells of wet dog. I can't smell anything, I don't have a good spence of smell, but he said the smell is quite strong when he comes home from work. I'm not surprised as Homer goes for a swim in the river almost every walk and he's got a small paddling pool in the garden which he will wallow in from time to time then comes in and shakes. Apparently Homer smells too so will hive him a bath. What do you do to get rid of doggy smell in the house?
I'm assuming we have a doggy smell but I don't detect it (even after being out of the house for a few days). Maybe we are just really used to it. Management strategies would be things like regular washing of dog bedding, vacuuming etc. We don't wash Obi much (maybe a couple of times a year).
My house has definitely smelled of Labrador since Betsy arrived! It's either the addition of a dog, or different dogs smell more, or Betsy's smell is new so I can actually smell it (most likely, I think....). It has motivated me to hoover up more. Plus, my furniture and carpets are brown/green so I never noticed Charlie's dog hair so much. Betsy's cream hair has highlighted just how much there is around the place! Agree hoovering, mopping and getting dog beds washed/aired etc. will help. I suspect my fabric sofa is giving off great clouds of Labrador smell so I might try airing all the cushions from that too and giving everything a good shake and a brush outside...
I don't smell doggie smell in our house and regularly ask our visitors who say the same, I wonder if it's because I have throws on the fabric sofas that are washed every week, regularly wash cushion covers, I hoover/sweep every day, wash dog beds every week. Also I think having a very cold house (made of chalk) so cold all year round which doesn't encourage smells like warm/hot houses x
It helps not to have the types of covers that hold smells. We have wooden and tiled floors, and leather furniture. Their beds get washed regularly, and I don't think we have any doggy smell - like Helen, I ask visitors from time to time. Welcome to the joys of yellow ownership! Shadow certainly sheds more than Willow anyway, but it shows up terribly, whereas her hair is far less obvious.
Our home smells of dog, and the hairs reappear immediately after we've hoovered. The official greeter will meet visitors excitedly at the door with a toy in her mouth and a lethal tail, leaving a few hairs on their clothes as a gesture of welcome. Our friends and family just have to accept that we're Labrador owners. I think that the smell of wet Lab is a small price to play for the happiness that Holly brings into our lives.
Be grateful you don't have a white spaniel! I thought labs had a distinct whiff and the hair was a pain. Obi spaniel has taken this to a whole other level Seriously though minimising through management as above is your best bet especially if Homer is often wet. They're definitely worth it
I've spent the morning using vanish carpet cleaner and giving a good vacuume. Now on the sofa with a slightly damp dog next to me after his swim in the river He's usually at his dog sitter for most of the day but during school holidays he's at home with me. So the smell might be worse at the moment. This is the first time in four years hubby has said anything. He said Homer is smelly too and this was also commented on by a friend when he was at the pub. Only ever commented on this before when H was rolled in poop. Homer is 4 now I wander if dogs begin to smell more as they get older? Or he needs a bath, although I don't like to bath him too often. I've done a bit of sofa research and bicarbonate of soda is suggested so will try that.
It might be worth looking at his diet? Sometimes that can cause them to be a bit pongy. A word with your vet wouldn't be a bad idea, too, if it's something that's come on over time. It's worth checking his ears and skin for signs of infection, and having his anal glands checked.
Jubilee is very stinky this summer. She gets wet every day and doesn't always get completely dry because she still has her thick undercoat. I brush her every day and try to keep bedding, etc. clean, but the only thing that has helped is some homemade doggy deodorant. I mix up a half gallon of warm water, a quarter of a cup of white vinegar and a quarter cup of baking soda. You can use it in a spray bottle if you cover their eyes, but I put it on a dish rag and rub her with it. It really neutralizes the stink. You can store the extra for another day.
You lab is in the water everyday? That explains it. Wet labs smell unless their getting a daily shampoo bath which probably is not recommended. Maybe your husband needs to get his own place.
Saba was a very stinky puppy, but now he's only stinky when wet. I have had to increase the frequency of my housework, hoovering (and emptying said hoover!) daily to keep on top of all the chocolate brown hairs around the room. Saba is only allowed in our main living area, so the rest of the house is a dog-free zone. Like previous posters, I also ask visitors if they can detect a smell, and of course there is always the bluntly truthful eldest granddaughter (aged 7, no diplomatic filter), who will let me know if there's a pong!
I wash all dog beds/mats once a week and never bath the dogs - this removes their natural oils which stop the stinkyness. Bathing = smelly dogs. If they get muddy I hose them down outside, no shampoos ever. ...
Even a friend of mine who adores Homer admitted he was a bit smelly. So he's had a bath, and a brush and will be brushed more often. He hasn't had a bath for quite a while so not too much harm done. His towels and bedding all go through the washing machine regularly. And try to limit swims to morning walks not three swims a day! Which has sometimes happened when it's been hot. The house now smell of carpet cleaner.
I quite like the smell of wet dog (unless it's stinky-mud wet), I find it comforting. Coco has a faint smell when dry, but only if you bury your nose in his fur and inhale, and it's rather a nice smell. Our old Lab Scooby was a bit of a stinkster though, he made the house smell a bit doggy.
To be fair to Homer the house was probably due a good spring clean. First thing hubby said when he came home was 'the house smells of cleaner'. Poor H wasn't allowed a swim in the river today.
Is this a new thing? Are you having terrible heat and humidity like we are? Our house smells of all kinds of awful things because it's so humid. I took my own socks off in the bathroom after working in the garden wearing rubber boots and nearly keeled over from wet, stinky wool smell. Even after removing the socks from my bathroom the smell remained in that room for two days. It's the humidity I guess.
Or there is a teenage boy living secretly in your house I gave up on dog smells years ago , unless my mother is coming , then it's frantic washing , cleaning , windows open !
