How to prevent dogs from urinating on rugs and carpets.

By Katrina Smith

While staying as a guest in my son’s home for the last 6 weeks, Mabel and Vera have urinated on my daughter in law's front room area rug. As a good mother in law, and many dollars later, we have another new rug. I am going to have to get a part time job at this rate.

I decided to do some research and experiments on this topic. I’ve learned that apparently dogs do not like the smell of citrus or vinegar. So I thought and I thought….

I went to the store and bought 3 types of essential oils - grapefruit, orange and lemon.  I also purchased a .99 cent spray bottle in the travel section of the beauty area.  I laid out a new rug with the back side up and began to spray heavily the entire back side and edges.

Flip it over and go again.  As an extra precaution, I added paper towels drenched and dried in pure citric oils underneath the rug in random areas. Now for the test subjects.

I called the 3 dogs in to see how they would react to the new odor.  My girls could have cared less and plopped right down on the rug. Their dog would not go anywhere near the rug, skirted the area entirely and then sneezed.  I have not seen her on or near that rug in 6 weeks.  Mabel and Vera tend to bypass the rug and sit on the chairs that rest upon it.  

To date we have no incidents to report.  As a precautionary measure, I reapplied lemon oil to the paper towels that are underneath the rug several times while I was still there. I stopped just short of cutting up whole fruits and laying them around the perimeter. 

Your room will smell great overall ( if you enjoy citrus).  I do not know if this will work on your pets, but it has had a marked effect on my pup's behavior. Days past the initial application they will lay on the rug, but I did observe they do not stay long. 

On another note, a mysterious piddle spot appeared in one of the carpeted bedrooms.  As usual no one will come forward.  My first response was “ I am going to have to purchase new carpeting for a 5,000 sq ft house!” Quietly, I soaked up the urine with a towel then added a lot of water to dilute. I kept blotting and repeating until the towel came up clear - praying that my son did not see me doing it. I then poured the remainder of the essential oil mix from the spray bottle on to the area - let sit a few minutes, blotted up and rinsed again. Please be aware that I am not suggesting that you use it on your carpet without testing it first to see if it will damage or discolor the carpet. I am not a scientist or chemist - just a mother in law in distress.  I figured if I have to buy all new carpet - it was worth the risk to try and fix it.  

You can use whatever amount of drops you decide.  I used heavy oils because I had an absorbent natural fiber rug and 3 dogs with 20 gallon tanks each. Your pet might not need an elephant deterrent. 

This was my mixture, adjust as you see fit. 

Equal drops of lemon & grapefruit & orange ( use one or all - your choice)

1:1 ratio of water and vinegar.  

Shaken Not Stirred.