Home Cleaning Tips for Dog Owners
Owning any pet can be hugely rewarding, but it can turn your neat and tidy house, into a bit of a pet filled nightmare. From constant fur dropping, to the odd accident and of course sometimes those pet smells, it is a must to try and stay on top of all those “could be” issues.
Over the years of owning Sal I’ve come up with a few home cleaning hints and tips that might help you keep your home a little less dogified.
Fur.
If your dog is anything like Sally, the main issue you might have is fur. It gets everywhere, from in the corners of the room, to in the bed and of course all over your clothes.
The first way to tackle it is of course groom your pet. Get a good brush, (we use a deshedding tool on Sal) and just spend 5 – 10 minutes grooming them as often as they need it done.
When it comes to area’s they lay in a lot, such as their own beds, take them out into the garden at least weekly and give them a good shake. This will help get rid of any loose pieces and stop it spreading around your home too much.
Your vacuum will become a good friend. Use it as often as you feel you need to, to keep on top of the shedding of your dog.
This will most likely be more often than you were previously used to.
Accidents.
Sally has always been a fastidiously clean dog, but she has stomach issues and so there have of course been accidents, added to which she is now 15 and has gone through times of being incontinent (now thankfully controlled by medication).
When it comes to dog urine accidents you want to soak up any excess using paper towel or newspapers (if you are puppy training you could leave them outside to try and reinforce where the puppy should be going), rinse with water and then use an enzyme based pet odour neutraliser to completely clean the area.
When it comes to other accidents once again you want to clean them up as soon as you can – however whatever you do, don’t be angry at your pet. They don’t mean to do it, just clean it with as little fuss as possible and get on with your dog.
Paw Prints.
Paw prints are the artwork of a pet filled home and believe me there will be times you wonder how did a paw print get there?
Keeping a mop at hand, with a prediluted bottle of flash so you can just spray and wipe, will help you wash away the prints with ease and stop you having to scrub so hard later on when you come to give the floor a real good wash over.
So there are a few cleaning tips on how to get rid of pet smells, to see some more head over to the Cleaning Wizard to find out more great hints and tips on ridding your home of dog smells.
What are your top home cleaning tips?
*‘This post is brought to you by The Cleaning Wizard. Visit their website to find out more about household cleaning advice.
We have two black Labradors. They are great dogs but their hairs get everywhere.
I can’t speak for dog owners but these excellent tips are certainly true for my cats and bunnies. The fur at the moment is like balls of tumble weed and because we have a lot more doors and winsows open those pesky paw prints are in the oddest of places!
It is amazing I don’t know where all the fur comes from how do the moult so much and still say fluffy! x
I have a dog and these tips are absolutely helpful!! She is only 8 pounds and yet her furry presence has taken over the entire condo! Thanks for sharing.
Aww bless her – what a tiny thing <3 x
Fantastic tips that work equally well for cats too! I am going to bookmark this page 🙂
We don’t have a dog, but I imagine that it could be difficult to keep their mess isolated.
Haha they do like to spread themselves about everywhere I have to admit >.< x
I don’t have a dog but my friends have lots. Her main problem is they destroy all the rugs around. But these tips would be useful for her as well. Will be sharig this to my friend.
Oh gosh I can imagine that is a bit of a nightmare if the rugs keep getting destroyed! x
These are really great tips. I will pass these on to my mom that has a doggie.
These are the reasons I can not have a dog right now until the kids are grown up! My partner has finally calmed down on the idea though!
Aw yeah I can understand that – they can be so so much, worth it but you have to make sure the time is right for you! x
I don’t have a dog but I have two bunnies and the fur that is everywhere is ridiculous!
It is crazy isn’t it how much even the smallest furies manage moult! x
These are all great tips on getting rid of pet smells!! I need these bad, LOL!!
Haha I really hope they help – it can be so bad when they have an accident. x
Similar tips for those of us with cats too… ooh clean window, cats dribbles down it, paw prints on clean floor and if they have muddy feet, walk all over nice clean bedding x
Oh gosh the nose prints and drool on windows it’s crazy – Sally loves leaving her marks that is for sure! x
Great tips! We have 3 dogs, two of which shed a lot so I’m always using the vacuum and sweeping! Drives me nuts! But they are family!
It is so hard keeping on top of everything sometimes isn’t it – you get up some and more than you got up falls off! x
There are dogs breeds out there with hair instead of fur so a lot less shredding, not beagles however like mine, every day I Should vacuum!
I’ve heard you can get some like that, which would definitely make things a lot less furry! x
My partner wants us to get a dog and the cleaning is the aspect that most puts me off, great tips here x
It can be so hard, they are definitely worth all the hard work but you do need to be ready for it. x
These are all great tips for dog owners home cleaning. For urine accidents I use rubbing alcohol after cleaning up the spot and it gets rid of the odor completely. Thanks for sharing the tips.
Ohh I’ll have to give that a try next time, thank you so much for sharing! x
I’m not too keen on having pets in the house, we have bunnies but I hoover after I bring them in as the fur goes everywhere.
I can imagine for some people it would be a bit much – they do definitely change the whole way your home runs. x
Cat fur gets everything in our house. I feel like we are constantly hoovering.
It is amazing all the places it managed to end up – I look at things sometime and think how on earth did fur end up on this! x
Some great tips here, and agree with them all, with having 2 very fluffy dogs grooming is a major part of our lives, as is hoovering. As for accidents this is a battle I am having with the puppy this week, as he has decided he doesn’t like the rain so will go upstairs and have a wee on my bathroom floor, so mop always to hand.
Ekk that must be a bit of a battle to contend with! I hope he realises ran isn’t so bad soon! x
These are great tips! I don’t have a dog but I always have wanted a puppy so this is great!
They are definitely worth all the hard work, but it is such a big commitment to make. x
These are great tips for cleaning up after dogs. I have a very large dog who likes to leave paw prints on my hard wood floor. I can’t keep up with it!
They do love to let you know where they have been don’t they! Naughty things haha.
What great tips for home cleaning with dogs, I am constantly arriving at my destination covered in dog fur ;(
It can be awful can’t it – you think your clean then you look down and there is fur everywhere! x
This is a great post! We have one maltese pup and she doesn’t shed a bit! We may find one little fluff ball of hair twice a year, and that’s all 🙂 It’s really nice! My sister has two huskies, and they shed a TON! 🙂 Thanks for these awesome tips. I’ll have to share this with her!
Aww bless I bet she is just the cutest bundle of fur ever! x
Aww, Sally is such a cutie! I love dogs so much, but I am allergic to them and I really wish that I wasn’t. There is some really good advice here for dog owners, I know that brushing really helps with shedding for cats as I used to have a couple of them (I’m not allergic to cats… no idea how that works!!). x
Oh no what a nightmare for you 🙁 I think it is probably one of my worst nightmares being allergic to animals. x
Our dog sheds a lot and it does cause more cleaning to need to be done. While it is extra work, pets are so worth it! We tend to use our vacuum system like you suggested as a way to quickly and easily clean up pet hair.
They are most definitely worth it, I couldn’t imagine for one moment not having Sal. x
It is a good idea to not get angry at pets when they wee or poop by accident because sometimes they can’t help it especially in old age or when they are a puppy.
Exactly – I’ve come across people who do and I thought it was very sad that they could get liek that. x
This is great advice. You really have to be proactive with all of that fur. Brushing makes a huge difference.
It is a nice bonding activity as well, when I got Sal she didn’t know how to play she just sat in the corner shaking and we bonded over the fact she loved brushes, just do for a few minutes a few times a day and it got her out of shell a bit. x
Our dog left black fur all over the house and it drove me nuts, but now that she passed I realize how much of a cleaning service she did for us. I can’t believe the amount of crumbs my kids leave around, I never had that problem while my dog was alive.
Hahah it is amazing isn’t it – they can spot (or smell) crumbs at 100 paces I am sure. x
Having dogs definitely changes how you need to clean your house. These are great tips for any dog owner!
Haha it really does, it is amazing the chaos they can cause. x
Sally is such a beautiful doggie! When I get a dog someday soon I will be takin your advice! Thanks for the post! xoxo
I have three inside fur babies and we struggle with pet hair. We have hardwood floors so it seems we have to sweep at least daily. Great tips.
That is the plus side to not having carpets I think they seem to hold the fur a lot more. x
We don’t have a dog yet, but we’re looking at getting one in the near future. The kids would love a puppy! I’ll forward this post to my friend, who just got a new dog!
Ekk good luck if you ever do decide to get yourself a puppy – lots of work but well worth it 😉 x
These are such great tips. Pets are a wonderful part of life. They’re also a messy part of life. 😉
Hahah so very true – I sometimes wonder where all the mess comes from! x
You definitely have to stay ahead of the game when you’re a dog owner. Your tips are awesome, especially the one about always having that mop on hand to get rid of muddy paw prints.
I sometimes wonder how she gets paw prints in places it is crazy lol. x
That’s what I was saying. They end up in the strangest places, really makes me wonder what they do when I’m not here!
It is madness isn’t it.. One day I’m going to catch her or camera and work it out! x