Pepper’s first day in her new home became quite an event. The black Cocker Spaniel puppy was excited to explore her new family and surroundings, running all over the place, ears flapping behind her, the kids not far behind.
She got to meet the family cat, the neighbors and got a bundle of tasty treats. Not long after the treats, Pepper had another first -- a nice little mess on the carpet. The good news was that her owners didn’t blame her. They had realized that in their excitement, they forgot to take Pepper outside for a potty break. The bad news was that now Pepper’s owners were left with a spot on their carpet -- a spot that would hold the potty scent, drawing Pepper there again for another elimination.
Spic & Span
The first thing to do when there’s a potty accident is to clean it up as best as possible. With urine, blot up as much of the liquid as possible with paper towels. With feces, pick it up gently without rubbing it further into the floor. Do not grab your usual household carpet cleaner; it won’t work on this kind of stain.
“On the whole, regular household detergents and cleaners don’t help with cleaning up after accidents because the scent always remains, encouraging the puppy or other dogs to reuse the area,” says Kim Barnett, a dog behavior consultant and owner of Follow My Lead communication and training services in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
“There are a couple of spray cleaners available specifically for pet cleanup that contain odor and stain removers,” she says. “They are excellent for small accidents. There also are products that contain enzymes that work by naturally breaking down the chemicals in the waste and eradicating any odors. These products are effective, though it’s important not to use other cleaners before the enzyme product. Be sure to use these products thoroughly because dog noses are many times more sensitive than our own.”
The enzyme solutions “digest” the organic material in the carpet or wood and eliminate the odor. If you don’t use an enzyme product, your dog is likely to be drawn back to the same spot to use it again.
“Cleaning accidents properly with an enzyme solution will dramatically reduce the time it takes to housetrain your dog because he won’t be drawn back to the same areas,” says Dawn Wolfe, owner of Lucky Dog Academy in Lumberton, New Jersey. “Sometimes, a black light is helpful because you can use it to see soiled areas that you can’t see with the naked eye. After identifying a soiled area, treat it with the enzyme solution.”
Use the enzyme product according to the directions on the bottle. Most of these products have little or no scent and won’t stain carpets.
Tips List
Here are some other tips for cleaning potty accidents.
• Never use ammonia for cleaning an accident. Urine contains ammonia, so the chemical will keep attracting your dog to the spot. Bleach is a better cleaner, but rinse it well. Be sure to use color-safe bleach on certain areas.
• White vinegar is a good odor remover if you don’t have any professional cleaners on hand; use 1/4 cup to a quart of water.
• Salt will absorb fresh urine and remove some of the scent.
• In a pinch, rubbing the area with a dryer sheet can remove some of the odor.
• Baking soda rubbed into a urine stain can remove some of the odor.
• If the urine scent on your wooden floor won’t come out, consider painting or sealing it.
• A peroxide-and-water solution will help get rid of carpet stains. Experiment with various strengths of solution.
• White toothpaste can get some tough stains out of carpets.
• If the stains are bad, call a professional carpet cleaner.