If you have a dog, you know that they will smell everything from the trash can to their own butts. While dogs seem immune to bad smells, there are plenty of scents that most dogs tend to hate.
These smells, like citrus and vinegar, are known for being strong and overpowering. Pungent odors can overwhelm your dog’s strong sense of smell, which leads to your dog avoiding areas where the smell is present. So what are the strong scents that our dogs loath?
Top Smell That Dogs Hate
- Chili Peppers
- Onions
- Ground Spices (such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cardamom, mustard, and cayenne pepper)
- Garlic
- Citrus Fruits (such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits)
- Vinegar
- Fresh Herbs (such as basil, mint, rosemary, and thyme)
- Alcohol
- Household Cleaners
- Strong Perfumes or Colognes
- Mothballs
- Nail Polish and Remover
Leveraging Scent to Train Your Dog
Understanding yourdog's keen sense of smell can come in handy for training purposes.
While not a foolproof plan, you can use your dog’s aversion to overwhelming scents to keep them out of certain areas of your home or garden (especially if your dog has a lot of unsupervised time outdoors through a pet door).
Consider the following scenario:You just installed a brand-new pet door to give your dog the freedom to come and go from the yard. In all the excitement your dog is causing mischief in the yard, wreaking havoc on your garden.
To solve this issue, try squeezing some lemons around an area you want your dog to stop digging. If you don't want to harm your plants with pure lemon juice, you can also try laying lemon or orange peels on the soil instead.
Strong citrus scents are unpleasant for your dog and may deter them from digging up your plants or specific areas in the yard. You can also use this tactic for indoor plants that your dog is digging around in.
Citrusscents are excellent for deterring your dog from areas you don't want them to get into. Try coupling this deterrent with additional positive reinforcement training for the best results.
Teaching your dog to "leave it" when you see them messing with the plants in your home or garden is a great way to enforce which areas are off limits.
An especially tenacious dog will power through a bad smell to get what they want, but some pet owners found that spraying down restricted areas of their own with strong sprays or planting odorous plants in the garden can dissuade a dog from going and playing where they shouldn’t.
How to Utilize Scent to Stop Flap Chewing
Does your dog love to chew on anything and everything? Then chances are they've nibbled on the pet door flap after deciding their chew toys aren't cutting it anymore.
Using strong scents toprevent your dog from chewing the pet door flapis a great training method. Try rubbing the inside of a lemon peelon the flap to make it smell unpleasant to your dog to chew on.
Tip: Only rub the lemon on the parts of the flap your dog is chewing (likely the bottom corners), not the entire thing. If the entire flap is coated in lemon it may deter your dog from using it if they're getting coated in citrus every time they use the door.
You can also spritz the flap with a pet-safe bitter apple spray. The scent and flavor of the spray are unpleasant to your dog and can help deter them from chewing on the flap.
If you opt for a different strong scent to deter your dog, please ensure that it is is safe and will not irritate their eyes or skin. For example, steer clear of cayenne pepper, which can get into your dog's mouth and eyes causing burning and itching.
If they simply refuse to stop chewing the flap, check out a chew-proof dog door door like the Gun Dog Heavy Duty Pet Door. The rigid flap is impossible for even the mouthiest of dogs to gnaw on.
Just installeda new pet door for your furry friend? Check out these tips for keeping your dog in the yard.
