How To Get Rid Of Dog Smell In Your House

Looking to get rid of the odor that comes along with owning dogs? Today I’m sharing how to get rid of dog smell in your house!

I love my dogs, I really do, but one of the things I always get nervous about is if my house smells like I own two large dogs. Sometimes I’ll ask people – does it smell like dogs in here? Even though we regularly bathe our dogs, they still get that houndy smell. It’s just a fact of pet ownership – dogs smell! 

In any case, I try really hard to keep the inevitable dog stink at bay and today I’m sharing some of my best tips.

How To Get Rid Of Dog Smell In Your House 

Now, I know that we all know how to clean our houses. Vacuuming, mopping, wiping down surfaces, doing laundry – that all seems very straightforward. Here are the steps I take that are a little above-and-beyond normal cleaning to keep the dog smell away.

Clean Your Vacuum Filter

This might be my biggest tip, because your vacuum can be a trap for dog stink. Really – all stink. Cleaning the filter removes the dirt, dander and hair that is trapped. If your dogs shed like mine, you probably vacuum at least once a day, or every other day, giving the vacuum filter a workout! Warm, soapy water is the best way to clean your filter and make sure that it’s completely dry before putting it back in.

Also, empty the canister after every run to get rid of hair, dirt, and dander build up. Letting it sit in there makes it smell!

Wash Dog Bed Covers Regularly

This is another big one, because I feel like my dogs in particular spend a lot of time laying in their beds. When they do this, so much of their body oils and fur sinks into the material, so washing them every other week helps to get rid of that sunk-in smell.

Strip Dog Toys

Stripping your laundry means removing sunk-in smells, hard water build up and sebum (think skin oil and particles) that gets stuck in the fibers of clothes, towels, and sheets. This process (How To Strip Your Laundry) works so amazingly well on my clothes, I thought – I should try that with dog toys. I practiced on a couple (as well as their leashes), before I did every toy.

I was nervous the dogs wouldn’t like them without their “smell” on there. Turns out, they love them more. I think their toys feel softer, if I’m being honest, and all of the dried slobber is gone! This works way better than just throwing them in the washing machine, but I would only recommend doing it every six months or so. 

Rocco + Roxie Products

I discovered this brand several years back when I attended a BlogPaws conference. I was definitely curious, because every urine smell remover I had ever used took away the urine smell, but replaced it with another unique/not great smell. 

At the time, one of our dogs was still a puppy, so we were getting serious use out of Rocco + Roxie cleaning products! After the first time Bill accidentally peed on a rug, I was hooked. I’m convinced the Stain + Odor Eliminator has magic in it. I have no idea what formula they use, but it has completely gotten rid of urine and puke smells out of our thick rugs.