When you are housebreaking a puppy, odor elimination is important for many reasons.
Though the obvious is that you would rather your home did not smell like urine or feces, there is another critical reason for potty training a dog.
That reason is that dogs like to go in the same place over and over.
Therefore, if your dog can still smell where he or she eliminated, he or she is more likely to go there again and again.
You need to be very careful in the method you choose to use to eliminate the smell -- especially when it comes to urine.
This is because some products can be harmful to your pet, and others simply mask the smell so that you can not detect it but your dog still will because his or her sense of smell is much more acute.
Make sure that you use a product that is designed not only to clean the stain from the surface -- such as carpet or flooring -- and that it can effectively neutralize the odor of pet urine, not just cover it up.
If the smell has not been effectively neutralized, it will not take long for your dog to find it again and eliminate there or in a nearby area, setting your housebreaking efforts backward.
If you'd rather use a home-made product that works effectively for beating urine odors in the house, try using simple white vinegar.
It's cheap and will eliminate a stain while removing the smell of the urine.
On flooring or carpet (as well as on furniture) use a bit of vinegar on a small hidden location first to make sure that you will not harm the material.
Once you have discovered that vinegar will not, for example, take up the color from the fabric, you can use it to remove the urine.
All you need to do is simply use a sponge or towel, applying vinegar liberally, and blotting (do not rub it in).
Baking soda is another product that many people find will take up a stain and fight the lingering odor of dog urine.
This needs to be done while the stain is still very fresh.
If it has dried, you will not be successful.
Sprinkle the baking soda onto the urine mark.
Then, using a dampened sponge or towel, continue blotting until you've drawn both the urine and the baking soda up and out of the carpet or off the flooring.
If you find that there is a lingering odor, sprinkle baking soda onto the area, leave it for twenty minutes, and then vacuum it up.
If your dog has urinated on flooring and not carpet, simple dish soap in water is often enough to clean the mess.
To be sure, you can also add a bit of white vinegar to the mix.
Simply apply it with a sponge, then rinse with a clean wet sponge, and allow it to air dry.
A similar rule about urine smell works for you when it comes to teaching your dog to use the same location to eliminate outside.
Since dogs do like to use the same spot over and over, once he or she has used the area a few times, your dog will be able to detect the smell and will feel more comfortable and confident using that particular spot.
A corner or along a fence line usually works most effectively.
Though the obvious is that you would rather your home did not smell like urine or feces, there is another critical reason for potty training a dog.
That reason is that dogs like to go in the same place over and over.
Therefore, if your dog can still smell where he or she eliminated, he or she is more likely to go there again and again.
You need to be very careful in the method you choose to use to eliminate the smell -- especially when it comes to urine.
This is because some products can be harmful to your pet, and others simply mask the smell so that you can not detect it but your dog still will because his or her sense of smell is much more acute.
Make sure that you use a product that is designed not only to clean the stain from the surface -- such as carpet or flooring -- and that it can effectively neutralize the odor of pet urine, not just cover it up.
If the smell has not been effectively neutralized, it will not take long for your dog to find it again and eliminate there or in a nearby area, setting your housebreaking efforts backward.
If you'd rather use a home-made product that works effectively for beating urine odors in the house, try using simple white vinegar.
It's cheap and will eliminate a stain while removing the smell of the urine.
On flooring or carpet (as well as on furniture) use a bit of vinegar on a small hidden location first to make sure that you will not harm the material.
Once you have discovered that vinegar will not, for example, take up the color from the fabric, you can use it to remove the urine.
All you need to do is simply use a sponge or towel, applying vinegar liberally, and blotting (do not rub it in).
Baking soda is another product that many people find will take up a stain and fight the lingering odor of dog urine.
This needs to be done while the stain is still very fresh.
If it has dried, you will not be successful.
Sprinkle the baking soda onto the urine mark.
Then, using a dampened sponge or towel, continue blotting until you've drawn both the urine and the baking soda up and out of the carpet or off the flooring.
If you find that there is a lingering odor, sprinkle baking soda onto the area, leave it for twenty minutes, and then vacuum it up.
If your dog has urinated on flooring and not carpet, simple dish soap in water is often enough to clean the mess.
To be sure, you can also add a bit of white vinegar to the mix.
Simply apply it with a sponge, then rinse with a clean wet sponge, and allow it to air dry.
A similar rule about urine smell works for you when it comes to teaching your dog to use the same location to eliminate outside.
Since dogs do like to use the same spot over and over, once he or she has used the area a few times, your dog will be able to detect the smell and will feel more comfortable and confident using that particular spot.
A corner or along a fence line usually works most effectively.