Full disclosure, all of my dog beds can be stuffed unceremoniously into the washing machine. The only one that can’t be is too big but has an outer liner that can be machine washed. I bought my beds specifically because they are machine washable.
If your dog bed isn’t machine washable however, you can still freshen it up. Here’s a few tips on how to get a smelly dog bed freshened without washing it:
- Vacuum off all the excess hair
If it has been awhile since you’ve cleaned the dog beds (or you have a heavy shedding breed) vacuuming the dog beds can help make the bed look as well as smell cleaner. Dog hair and dander can trap smells after all, so it’s possible a good vacuum alone will be enough to freshen it up.
· Sprinkle with baking soda
Still notice an odor even after a good vacuum? You can get rid of most odors by applying baking soda to the bed, letting the baking soda sit on it to absorb the odors, and then vacuuming it off.
It’s best to do this somewhere your pet can’t make use of it while the baking soda is doing its work. While swallowing small amounts of baking soda is fairly harmless, large amounts could cause discomfort or even bloat in your pet.
Baking soda takes about 24 hours to properly absorb smells, so it’s helpful to have a spare bed to swap it out with while you’re cleaning the bed in question.
· Leave it in the Sun
One final way to deal with pet odor is to leave the bed out in the sun. Sunlight and fresh air does wonders for helping dissipate odors, and the sun has antiseptic qualities as well. If your bed is still stinky after treating it with baking soda and vacuuming, leaving it outside on a sunny day may be just the trick.
A warning about very smelly dog beds: It’s normal for dogs to make their beds smell—well—doggy after a while. If your dog is always smelly though, and even remains stinky after a bath, it may be a good idea to get them checked up at a vet.
A strong odor isn’t always a natural, normal scent but a sign there’s something wrong with the dog. There’s a number of problems this could be, and your best bet is to have a vet check the dog over to make sure the doggy smell is a normal one.
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