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Home > Dogs > How to Get Rid of Dog Urine Smell Outside: 3 Easy Steps

How to Get Rid of Dog Urine Smell Outside: 3 Easy Steps

dog peeing on concrete

When the warm weather rolls around, people are eager to get outside and grill, party by the pool, or watch the sunset with some cocktails. Unfortunately, your fun day out can be ruined quickly with the smell of dog urine coming from your yard.

While it’s great that your dog is housebroken, repeated urination in the yard can create strong odors that only become more powerful as the weather heats up. There are plenty of options to reduce the dog urine smell outside and enjoy those beautiful summer days. Here’s how!

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The 3 Steps to Get Rid of Dog Urine Smell Outside:

1. Dilute Urine with Water

Water is a simple and effective way to reduce the urine smell in your yard and make it smell better, and all you need is a gardening hose. When your dog pees, urine gets in the soil, but enough water can dilute it and reduce the smell.

To use this method, run water on your lawn and plants where your dog relieves itself. If possible, water your lawn frequently during the summer months to keep the smell from getting too strong. Keep in mind that a household with multiple dogs may be too overwhelming for water alone.

garden sprinkler
Image Credit: Piqsels

2. Enzymatic Cleaning Products

If you have several dogs or your dogs peed on concrete or wooden decks, the smell may be too strong for water alone. In this case, an enzymatic cleaner is your best bet. These cleaners work by breaking down the compounds in urine that create strong smells and stains, and they’re safe for your yard.

You’ll find plenty of enzymatic cleaning products on the market for indoor or outdoor use. These may be concentrated, so you can get a lot out of one bottle. Experiment until you find the one that works best for your needs.

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Cleaning Carpet
Image Credit: Syda Productions, Shutterstock

3. Prevent Urine Smells

Obviously, you can’t expect your dog to relieve itself anywhere but your yard, but you can reduce the urine smells in certain areas with a designated pee area. Artificial grass, turf, or “dog lawns” work well, or you can simply fence off an area and train your dog to use it.

This method takes a little more work since you have to create an area and train your dog. With a multi-dog household, you’ll need a much larger area, meaning higher costs in artificial grass and fencing, and more dogs to train. In this case, it may be easier and more effective to treat urine smells and stains daily with water or enzymatic cleaners.

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Don’t Let Urine Smells Ruin Your Good Time

Dogs need a place to pee, but a lot of urine combined with hot weather can make your yard smell awful. This not only ruins your good time outside, but it can lead to damage to your plants and lawn. Depending on the severity of your urine situation, you can try watering your lawn more frequently to dilute urine or using an enzymatic cleaner on heavy urine areas. If the problem isn’t resolved, you may want to consider fencing off an area that’s designated for your dog only and keeping their urine contained.


Featured Image Credit: Kwan Kajornsiri, Shutterstock

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