Scents and Sensibility: Deterrents and Attractants

There’s a reason your dog can detect two-day old chicken wings at fifty yards. His nose is incredibly sensitive. In fact, a dog’s nose is between 10,000 and 100,000 times more sensitive than yours. Which means there are many cues that you might not pick up on, but any number of them can trigger your pup to behave in ways that stink.

Introducing attractants.

An attractant is exactly what it sounds like—a smell that gets your dog interested. Whether it’s a hint of urine, feces or even the spray from a female in heat, dogs are instinctively drawn to these scents, and behave accordingly, usually by adding to the smells and stains.

Remember, just because you can’t smell it, it doesn’t mean your dog can’t. So it’s important you not just remove a stain, but also break down the compounds that produce smells by using an enzymatic cleaner like our Extreme Pet Stain & Odor Remover.

Deterring your dog.

If you’ve ever had a puppy, you know that they go through stages of chewing . . . absolutely everything. If you want to protect that antique dining table, you’ll need to signal to them that these objects are off limits. Deterrent sprays are great for this. They typically smell and taste extremely bitter, so that when your dog sniffs, licks or chews them, you’re teaching your pup to stay away.

Not all deterrent sprays work well with all dogs, so you might have to test a few to find out which ones are most effective. When you’re done, you’ll be able to better control how your dog interacts with your home.