Hello,
I started to sit this year. I’ve done a few! Of the few, two (one during summer and the one I’m in now) have a dog urine stench. The one over summer smelt so strong that I needed to choose to wear a mask to get through the sit. I know some pet owners are used to this smell, but it’s not something I’m comfortable with. So I’m curious to know what sort of questions I should ask during the process before confirming to a sit. To better avoid being in this situation.
HO’s may not realise how smelly their own dog is, as they are used to it, and if you asked up front, you run the risk of not getting chosen as you may come across like you aren’t going to like their dog if it’s not perfect (& all dogs get health issues the same as we do), so it’s a hard one to word correctly. So I’d use other tactics.
Stick to younger dogs rather than older ones and you may lessen the chance of a urine smell (at a guess I’d say between 2yrs-6yrs).
Also pick dogs that ‘look’ healthy, glossy coats etc. Rather than ones that ‘look’ like they may potentially have health issues or look a little scrawny, unkempt, or with bare patches of hair etc.
Neutradol gel works amazingly really well, the round one, then you just leave it in the same room as the dogs on a table and remember to remove it before the owners get back so they don’t take offence. They are so small you could keep one packed in your bag at all times ‘just in case’ if it is huge issue for you.
@Aaa welcome to the forum - sorry that you find yourself in this situation for the second time.
Is this “stench” outside or inside ? Puppies or adult dogs ?
If you are not local to the sit and unable to visit the home beforehand, previous reviews are all you have to go on .
Did any of the previous reviews mention the smell ? Did they have “missing “ reviews - you can only see this on the app .This is sometimes an indication that the sitter had a problem .
For the completed sit where you experienced this before , did you approach this issue in your feedback to warn future sitters ?
In a pinch, if you’ve ended somewhere smelly, consider whether this might help: When police and reporters end up at scenes with decaying bodies or such, they rub a bit of VapoRub or such under their noses. No mask needed.
Also, You could try and choose sits where the dogs either sleep downstairs or in a kennel as they’ll be in the house a lot less and it should smell fresher all round @Aaa
I’m afraid the best way to avoid this is to not do sits where there are dogs. I’ve stopped doing any sits with dogs after several incidents of dogs with behavioural or health issues that were oddly not mentioned by the HO before arriving. This includes incontinence issues.
Unfortunately this will reduce what is available to you as 95% of sits involve dogs including the well-behaved and healthy ones that you will miss out on. The other advice of trying to read between the lines of missing reviews visible on the app and seeing where the dogs sleep may help. Perhaps avoiding anything that does not have a garden that is readily accessible by the dog would be a good option.
You could begin by asking about wee-wee pads. Does Spot ever use wee-wee pads? Does Spot ever have accidents? Is there anything I shoud know to avoid Spot’s having accidents? How do you clean up when (don’t use if) Spot has an accident?
Frankly, anyone who has their dog regularly peeing in the house, is going to have a smelly house with one exception: If the dog has a condition such as cushings disease the pee may be super dilute to the point where their is almost no odor and if pads are used and thrown away quickly it won’t be bad.
Thanks! Great advice. Perhaps I could’ve taken the fact the one during summer had no pictures of the dogs as a red flag? One of their dogs was over ten years old, blind, and would pee on himself. My first sit included two dogs, and one of my other favorites had three. However, they were kept. I’ll grab Neutraldol for the sit I’m currently on!
Both are inside! At the one over the summer, one of their dogs was really, really old. This time around, they are both young but not puppies. No previous reviews mentioned this, but there were “missing reviews,” I’ll note that next time. I didn’t approach the issue in my feedback. I don’t feel comfortable leaving reviews like that. I wish we could leave separate reviews/feedback where only the sitters could see them so that some of us could feel comfortable being transparent and honest.
Oh, after summer, I decided I wouldn’t do sits with dogs anymore, so afterward, I’ve done two sits with cats, and no problem. I decided to try to do a sit with dogs this time, and the same problem! Thankfully, it was not as intolerable of smell as in summer, but still. I’ll start to note missing reviews and see where the dogs sleep, etc. Or I may decide to stick with cats only. We’ll see. But thanks for the advice!
Great questions to ask! Had I asked these questions for this current sit, I probably would’ve discovered that one of the doggies used to have accidents on the sofa (the owner didn’t replace the couch, and I certainly can smell it). Yes, the home during summer certainly had one of their dogs regularly peeing in the house. The pee at that point, had gotten under the floor bed. He was very old, so he’d pee while lying in bed, unfortunately.
This takes me back to when our dog had Cushings. She started having accidents in the house and no amount of walks was enough walks. I don’t want to sound like a horrible person, but we live in an apartment, and if we hadn’t found a solution, we would have had to put her down. Two things: (1) we were able to avoid diapers by using DES so she was able to hold things in a little bit (2) we trained her to use pee pads in one spot. Not only did she use them consistently but she was happier. I think she got her dignity back and her pee was dilute enough that it didn’t smell. I think some owners just get so used to something and live with it, they really don’t realize how crazy it is. But like you said, once something is in the floorboards, and on the couch, it’s not like you can just come in and clean to make it habitable.
@Aaa , I ran into this on one of my sits and posted about it here to get advice on how to leave an honest review:
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/how-to-leave-diplomatic-feedback/
The dogs did not sleep upstairs but the whole house reeked. I happen to be very sensitive to smells and it was so hard getting through this sit that, thankfully, was only for a weekend. My clothes stunk.
In my experience, you have a better chance of not having a smelly house if the dog is non-shedding and I’m not just talking urine, I’m talking doggy smell, in general. I also ask if the dog ever has accidents, where and how often. A question I occasionally ask, although I dread asking it because it’s embarrassing, is, Has anyone ever told you your house smells like a dog lives there? To which, people often answer, “Well, a dog does live here!” LOL Knock wood, I have not run into anything this bad since, although a couple of homes did have a noticeable doggy smell, just not noxious. The dogs in those homes were Jack Russells, Beagles, Labs, Dalmations and German Shepherds. I will still take carefully chosen sits with some of these breeds as they’re fabulous dogs.
As for cats, I also worry about smells from the litter box and if it’s a cat that sometimes misses their aim. I am hesitant about taking sits with more than one cat in a one-bedroom apartment or more than three indoor cats, unless the home is large.
Ug @Aaa so sorry. I’ve also dealt with smelly dog homes (not via the platform) years ago and here are my best advice:
1.) Cat sits only (but I get that’s not for everyone!)
2.) Be very clear in your profile that you only sit in odor-free homes (that’s the phrase I use) You can combine this with smoke-free/non smoking too.
And since you’ve had this experience & you don’t want to have it again - if you do choose to keep sitting pups, just ask up front. Hey - I had this experience. Do your dogs pee in the house? Have they ever? Do they have this habit? (and if this is a non-negitable for you moving forward, then you will know this sit is not a fit for you. Onto the next!)
I have sat for MANY dogs who pee in the house (some puppies, some elderly, etc) and I dont like spending my days cleaning up pee on the carpets or floors. And for many other reasons from experience - I’m a cat-sitter mostly (with a few exceptions!)
But I feel like when we have these very sub-par experiences, it’s to help us refine
a.) what types of sits we actually enjoy and
b.) get more clear and confident when speaking with HOs and assuring that their home/sit is comfortable for us.
Good luck out there and don’t be afraid to raise your bar when it comes to what kinds of sits you accept. Remember, we hold the cards too! 
Things I’m intentional about when it comes to smells….
I’m very particular about cleanliness in our space, I don’t like to not be able to clean under things so most of our furniture is raised or on castors. We have hard floors throughout, etc….My dog is on a high quality kibble diet and gets tons of whole foods to supplement. He also has a very low key coat with no undercoat so he usually smells very neutral and arguably amazing even after just a rinse with water. He also doesn’t go on furniture and all his bedding can and does get washed regularly.
But yea…if I’m considering any sit, I look very closely at those profile images and ask questions that allow me to read between the lines 
I say this as someone who has pretty much decided not to do dogsits. Another “hint” is whether the owner seems at all inclined to correct their dog for anything. If you ask, “How do you correct your dog when he does something wrong?” And the answer is, “My angel never does anything wrong.” There is a 90% chance that home smells like dog urine.
Dog poo smell and consistency varies a lot…
I’ve been in gag-near-vomit territory every time with some dogs, or eh, that’s fine.
Hi @Katie I have PP/Owners who give their dogs pumpkin for a number of reasons …poo odor being one,
" What else can I do to improve the smell of my dog’s stools?
– Blueberries contain a lot of antioxidants and have an anti-inflammatory effect. Add them to your dog’s diet to promote digestion. Read here (insert the fruit article link) which fruit your dog can still eat.
– Pumpkin contributes to healthy digestion and almost completely eliminates unpleasant odours. Indeed, the pumpkin is full of prebiotic fibres"
Source: Dog Chef - Fresh Meals For Dogs, Cooked with 100% Natural Ingredients
I’ve just avoided a 3-week sit next May as I was able to visit beforehand. I was doing another sit close by and suggested I visit to meet the HOs and the six cats and fish. Unfortunately, as soon as I stepped into the house, the cat smell hit me. We had tea out on the patio so I could forget about it but then I was shown around the house and the smell plus the room fragrancers in each room was overpowering. I ended up with the cat smell at the back of my throat and the beginnings of a headache for a while afterwards and an evening of my sinuses playing up. I do have a note on my profile about room fragrance products and smoking being no-nos, and I mentioned it to the HOs while I was there. However, as the evening wore on with my sinuses sniffling away, I thought, I can’t go through with this sit and cancelled the next day. I’m just so relieved that I was able to visit as the reviews are all excellent with one repeat sit so there was no indication that it was smelly. And, of course, photos don’t show the eight litter trays around the house which I presume is what was causing the smell. I’ve had six cats of my own, and people remarked on the fact that there was no smell, and a friend had 11 rescues, again with no smell.
Ugh. That garbage gives me a headache too.
I once entered a B&B (not Airbnb) and was hit by that smell and could not find the culprit. Finally gave up and contacted the owner. He had to pull the bed frame out to remove the nasty plug in, said his wife was a fan of them.