Smelly Couch (clean, cleaning, odor, natural)

[dmarie123]

I'm sure this has already been asked, but I need some advice regardless.
My dogs have free run of the house. Nothing smells except the couch. We don't let them on the couch much when we're home, but I'm sure they spend all their time there when we are away.
I've tried Nature's Miracle, arm and hammer, covering with blankets, vacuuming, etc. I HATE the smell of febreeze. I don't want ANYTHING with an odor.

Any suggestions?

it's not urine.... it's just "dog"

[cleosmom]

Let's see you've tried baking soda, an enzymatic product and neither has worked and you don't like any other neutralizer.... I'll be interested in what others come up with myself.

When were the dogs last bathed?

[gentlearts]

Can you actually take off the cushions and wash them? If not, I'd get them professionally cleaned and then keep a washable blanket over it whenever I left the house.
This is what I do, and I need to wash that blanket at least every two weeks or it's gets pretty "doggy".

[Brittanyk25]

Try a slip cover over your couch that can be taken off and washed whenever you need to. They have some inexpensive ones at Bed bath and beyond and target they are nice. I hope this helps! (we had to do this too! but I would eventually like a leather one that doesn't hold smells and lay a blanket on it to wash when they sneek on during the day!)

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I hate to say this, but your whole house smells and you are just used to it. I had the same problem, only noticing the couch where it was strongest, then I had to leave town for my mother's eventual death and funeral. When I got back, I was overpowered by the wave of "dog" that hit me when I opened the door! A commercial cleaning of all rugs and furniture is in order.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

I hate to say this, but your whole house smells and you are just used to it.

Ditto.

Couch pad covers generally come off and can be thrown into the washing machine.

Otherwise, a top to bottom cleaning of the house is in order, and doing this will avoid the issue again:

Weekly dog scrubbings with the strongest dog shampoo you can find. And I mean scrubbing.
Anal gland expunging every other bath.
Use of a Dyson Animal vacuum, used 2x a week for carpet & tile.
Use of a Bissell carpet cleaner twice a year and for every accident, also for carpet & tile.
Change air filters every 30 days.

[jm24]

I learned the hard way and now have a plastic cover topped with a machine washable fabric cover. This way, if one of my guys gets sick, the cloth cover can be washed, and the plastic barrier keeps anything (including that dog smell) from reaching the sofa. This doesn't help with you question about how to get rid of the smell, but once you do, you may want to try this.

[ShepsMom]

I must proudly announce that my house does not smell llike a dog!!

You can come over anytime and test it!

I have no carpets in the house, tile everywhere, my couches are leather, I replaced them all just for the reason of having 2 dogs.
I clean my house every week, and my dogs eat raw food, which pretty much eliminate distinctive doggy smell.

You can have your dogs NOT go on the couch by placing rubber mats with prickly things up, see what happens. They will learn not to be on the couch very quickly.
Meanwhile, do pro cleaning of the furniture and keep it clean and dog free.

Good luck!

[titaniummd]

I use couch covers and febreeze on the couch.

I also bath the dog twice a week and use a pet perfume on him. We have plug in air fresheners in the hallways.

[cleosmom]

I wouldn't suggest bathing your dog any more frequently than every 8 weeks as it diminishes their natural oils