What scents deter dogs from peeing?

Dogs are great companions, but when they are being potty trained, they may have accidents or may start peeing in locations where they shouldn’t.

You can deter your dog from this behavior by adding a scent that they find offensive to keep them away.

What smells deter dogs from peeing? Citrus and spicy scents are some of the best smells to deter a dog from peeing somewhere he shouldn’t. If your dog is peeing in your home or even in sections of your yard, spraying or sprinkling things with these scents in the location may deter him. 

If your dog is peeing in your home or another location where you don’t want him or her to urinate, read on to learn more about what scents can stop the behavior.

5 Most Effective Scents To Deter Dogs From Peeing

While there are many scents that dogs do not find appealing and will avoid, these are the five most effective scents for deterring dogs from peeing where they shouldn’t. 

1. Citrus

Dogs are very sensitive to citrus scents and the oils found in citrus fruits. These scents are extremely strong to dogs, and they tend to avoid them whenever possible.

How To Use

You can peel an orange, lemon, or lime and place the peels in the area. The peels contain a lot of oils that carry a strong scent.

You can also boil the citrus peels on the stove to extract the oils, and then add the mixture to a spray bottle, and spray the solution in the area.

2. Vinegar

Vinegar also has a very strong scent that can irritate the sensitive nose of your dog.

A little vinegar goes a long way, and while the scent doesn’t stay noticeable to humans for long, dogs will be able to smell it for much longer.

How To Use

Simply mix one part vinegar with one part water in a spray bottle, and spray it around the area where the dog is peeing. You can do this several times a day if needed.

3. Chili Peppers

Chili peppers are spicy, and dogs cannot stand to be around this scent. It tends to stay in their noses for long periods of time and block other smells. It also irritates their nasal cavities.

How To Use

You can sprinkle chili pepper flakes directly in the area of your choice.

You can also add the whole chili peppers to the location or blend the peppers with some water in your blender, strain, and spray the solution to cover a larger area.

4. Ammonia

Ammonia has a very strong scent, and it can affect dogs much worse than it affects humans.

Ammonia can also be used to help cover up other scents, so if your dog is peeing in a location because he can smell his previous pee spot, the ammonia can help remove the smell.

How To Use

To apply ammonia to your home or outdoor area, simply mix even parts of ammonia and water in a spray bottle and apply it to the area.

The odor will seem strong at first, but it will fade. Dogs will be able to smell it much longer and will avoid the area.

5. Citronella

Citronella may not seem like a strong scent to humans, but it’s very strong and offensive to dogs.

It’s also natural and safe, so you won’t have to worry about it harming your dog if he does get too close to an area treated with citronella.

How To Use

You can find citronella in candles, sprays, oils, and even plug-ins. Citronella is often used to deter insects, and it works the same for dogs.

Simply put the citronella of your choice in the area, and the dog will find a new place to urinate. 

Best Dog Pee Repellent Spray

There are many commercial sprays that are available to apply to areas of your home or yard to deter your dog from peeing there. Here are some of the best options.

EverJoice Dog Not Here! Spray

This spray can be used to deter dogs from areas inside and outside.

Not only will it keep your dog from peeing in a certain spot, but it can also deter your dog from chewing or even lying in a certain area of your yard or home.

It’s safe, easy to use, and doesn’t have a smell that is offensive to humans.

Four Paws Keep Off!

This product comes in an aerosol can and is easy to use. It has an odor that is strong enough to deter both cats and dogs from an area, and it works both indoors and outdoors. 

Nature’s Miracle No More Marking

Natural ingredients make this spray safe to use around humans and animals. It includes lemongrass and cinnamon, which are strong scents that deter dogs and even cats.

Homemade Dog Urine Repellent

You can make your own dog urine repellent by boiling lemon and orange peels on the stove combined with two cups of water.

Once the solution cools, strain out the solids, add the liquid to a spray bottle, and spray it in an area to deter your dog from urinating there.

Related Questions:

What Repels Dogs From Chewing?

Dogs will not chew on things that taste bad. Spraying a solution of chili flakes mixed with water on the area where the dog is chewing will cause the area or object to taste bad and deter the dog from chewing on it. 

How Do You Keep Dogs Out of Your Yard?

The best way to keep a dog out of your yard is to create a barrier that will not allow them to enter. This may be a fence, row of bushes, or other obstacles that dogs will not be able to climb over or under.

You can also spray the entire perimeter of your yard with a deterrent such as ammonia or vinegar that may help prevent dogs from entering the yard.

Conclusion 

If your dog is peeing in your home or yard and you want to deter him, there are numerous scents that you can use to keep him away from a certain area.

You can make many of these deterrents yourself, or you can buy them online and at local pet supply stores. If you choose a deterrent for your home or yard, make sure it’s safe for pets.

Last update on 2022-07-17 at 05:44 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Isn’t it the worst when your dog would rather pee on your floor than go outside to do it? One of the main instigators in this situation (other than your dog) is the smell of the urine they have previously deposited on your carpet or floor. The best way to combat this is to essentially erase the smell, so please read on for a variety of sprays you can use to stop this annoying behavior.

Why is My Dog Peeing in the House?

Housebreaking

First, we need to have a brief look at why your dog might be urinating in your house. It’s a very common occurrence while housebreaking your puppy. Therefore, provided you are retraining your dog or training your puppy for the first time, please keep in mind that it’s a process that could take as long as 6 months.

Training Aids

Using training aids, such as training pads, in addition to the variety of sprays discussed below, will help you with the challenge of housebreaking.

Health Check

If your dog was already housebroken and has started urinating inside the house, you need first to rule out any medical or emotional issues. Talk to your vet if you’re concerned about your dog’s wellbeing. Your vet will check for kidney disease, bladder stones, and diabetes in your dog since these conditions cause frequent urination.

Dog Bladder Control

Another possibility to consider is if your dog is home alone throughout the day, he might lack bladder control. It would help if you had a friend, a neighbor, or someone in your family let your dog out halfway through the day. You could also look into hiring a dog walker, which would be very beneficial for your dog if you are away for long hours.

Whether you’re training your puppy or dog for the first time or need to retrain, we’ve listed some ideas for sprays that should help you throughout this process.

Purchased Sprays to Make Dogs Not Pee

We’re not actually starting with a spray as promised. This Arf Pets Flashlight Urine Detector could be very helpful before you actually spray anything. If you’ve ever watched crime shows like CSI (or any version of CSI), you know they use UV light to find bloodstains. Well, UV can also highlight everything from vomit to feces to urine. Finding the exact spots to clean up will ensure you’re actually cleaning it up properly.

Now, on to the sprays. There is a large variety of sprays that use enzymes to break down the odor and stains of urine available on the market, such as:

Having a pet means cleaning up smells, stains, hair, vomit, and more...and you can add to your pet clean-up routine with the Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray. It's our product, and we love it so much, we just have to share! It permanently removes the very worst smells and stains, and we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee! Click here to get yourself a bottle!

It claims to work on old, stubborn odors and stains and has a light, orange scent (most dogs dislike the smell of citrus). It is advertised as safe for furniture, fabric, hardwood floors and carpets (although you do need to read the label as there are a number of fabrics that you shouldn’t use it on).

You can find Nature’s Miracle Spray here

This spray doesn’t use a scent as a deterrent to dogs but eliminates the odor entirely. If your dog can’t smell the area where he has urinated, he is less likely to return to the same spot.

These kinds of commercial sprays are proven and have many positive reviews online. They are also touted as environmentally friendly, all-natural and safe. However, if you make the spray yourself, you can save some money, and you’ll know exactly what is in your spray. It also allows you to experiment if one or more of the sprays don’t work.

You can find Rocco & Roxie Pet Stain spray here

DIY Spray to Make Dogs Not Pee

Making your own spray means you need to start with a clean spray bottle. You can purchase one like this, or if you have an empty bottle at home, be sure to clean it thoroughly before adding your ingredients.

Fill your spray bottle with 1.5 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, and about 20 drops of citrus (orange, grapefruit, lime, or lemon) or eucalyptus essential oil. Shake well before each use. Because essential oil breaks down after time, remake this (if necessary) after 6 months and keep it in a dark space.

Or you can make a mixture of freshly squeezed lemon juice and water to spray around your house as this is a great smelling and inexpensive deterrent for your dog.

However, some dogs don’t mind the smell of citrus, so here are a few other options for you to try:

Adding ¼ cup of baking soda to about 30 oz of water will create a spray that will erase the odor.

Applied directly to the area will also eliminate the odor, but it could cause discoloration of your carpet.

When you consider that mouthwash is designed to remove bad breath, it can do the same to any bad odor in the house. You can dilute with a little water and spray the offending odor.

Mixed with water and sprayed on the area will reduce and eliminate the smell. Dogs won’t want to go near the area with the strong odor from the alcohol. Again, be wary of any discoloration that might occur on your carpets.

Some of these scents aren’t necessarily sweet-smelling to us humans either. Having your house smell like vinegar isn’t necessarily pleasant (unless you love salt and vinegar chips, but then you might just crave chips all of the time). Still, it might be a necessary evil until you solve the problem of your dog peeing inside your house.

Other Products to Stop Dog From Peeing in House

If your dog continues to pee in the same spot, whether or not you’ve tried a spray, there are other options in the housebreaking process.  Many people will use the training pads already mentioned, but others opt for this indoor grass mat, which is designed to look and feel like real grass. It’s easy to clean and would be an excellent intermediate step while getting them used to going outdoors in real grass.

Some people like to use these bells as another method to housebreak your dog. They can let you know when they need to go outside, and the bells come with instructions on how train your dog to use them.

If you read books like this one, you might discover additional ideas on how to housetrain your dog correctly. It gets into any issues that might be impacting on your dog. Everything from your dog’s diet, to potential medical issues, to working on enhancing the bond with your dog.

Lastly and unbelievably, if you’re desperate and just can’t bring yourself to clean yet another mess, you can outfit your dog in this adorable diaper (although they call this one a “wrap”). However, it is recommended that you continue housebreaking your dog as you probably don’t want to have your dog in diapers for the rest of his life.

Conclusion: Spray to Make Dogs Not Pee

There could be a number of reasons why your dog is peeing inside. You need to find the root of the problem (is it medical or something else) and retrain if this behavior has started after successful housebreaking.

You can purchase a spray that drives your dog away from the area or eliminates the smell entirely, or you can make your own spray that can have the same outcome. Your dog will keep going back to the same spot when he can smell that he has urinated there before.

If, for budgetary reasons, you can’t let your dog out during the day while you’re at work, you can try out the grass mat as a reasonable alternative. Hopefully, this is just a temporary problem that you can fix using a variety of methods to housebreak your dog. All of this will lead to a positive outcome if you persevere and show your dog a lot of patience and love.

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Featured Image Credit: New Africa, Shutterstock