Raising four dogs can be expensive and my family is always looking for inventive ways to save money. There are many products on the market created to make life easier for dog owners, but there are an equal number of items in our pantry that do the same job for a lot less.
One of those items is baking soda. Here are three surprising ways that this common household product can help pet parents.
Bathe Your Dog with Baking Soda
When we don’t have time to bathe our dogs, I give our pups a dry shampoo bath using baking soda. There are a lot of dry shampoo products for pets, but why spend the money when you have what you need at home?
- Brush your dog’s coat to remove loose hair.
- Wipe his paws and around his face gently with a warm, damp cloth.
- Sprinkle baking soda in this coat (avoid the face) and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb odor.
- Brush the baking soda out and use a hand towel in a drying motion to remove any excess.
Remove the Skunk Smell
We live in a rural area and skunks are a part of life in the late summer and fall. Our dog Rodrigo has been “skunked” twice and we use a simple recipe to quickly diminish the foul smell. All you need is…
- 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide
- 1/4 cup of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of grease cutting dish detergent
I mix this in a bucket and take it into the shower with the dog. If your dog is sprayed in the face, you can still wash the area, but do so gently using a small towel and avoid the nose, eyes and mouth.
You can use the same mixture to wash any clothing or bedding that became collateral damage.
This doesn’t remove the smell 100%, but the improvement is amazing. We bathe our dog two times right after being skunked and a couple more times over the next 2 weeks. After bathing him with the mixture, we use a shampoo and conditioner to protect our dog’s skin.
Deodorize Bedding and Carpets and Clean Pet Accidents
Living with four dogs, we have become intimately familiar with the dog smell. We use baking soda on our rugs and the dog bedding to freshen the house. Sprinkle baking soda liberally on all fabric surfaces that you’d like to treat, let sit for 30 minutes or more (the longer, the more effective), and vacuum thoroughly.
Did your pet have an accident on the carpet? No problem. Sprinkle baking soda on the area, let dry, then vacuum the area.
Baking soda can also be used to keep the kitty litter box fresher between changes too. Simply add it to the base of the litter box before adding the cat litter.
Kimberly Gauthier writes about raw feeding for Keep the Tail Wagging while raising four gorgeous dogs in the Pacific Northwest.
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