If you’ve recently added a puppy to your household, congratulations on your new best friend! Your darling little bundle of love is undoubtedly the cutest cuddle bug ever, but even the sweetest of puppers tend to be world champion mess-makers. They’re not trying to be naughty, it’s just that they’re babies who really don’t know any better. Plus, it’s kind of tough having to learn life lessons of the all-important “don’t pee in this! don’t chew on that!” variety from someone who’s not even a member of your same species.
Don’t give up, the two of you will work things out eventually, and what are a few shoes between friends? (Pro tip: leave the Payless cheapies on the lower shelves as “loss leaders” to decoy your doggie away from any pricier pairs.) While you’re getting things sorted out, though, here are a few helpful products to have on hand for all those not-so-happy little accidents that may be happening on a daily basis.
This cheap product can protect an expensive investment
How much did you spend on your mattress? The Sleep Shop says that rock-bottom cheapies start around $200 (not counting dubious freebies you might pick up from Craigslist assuming you have no fear of bedbugs). At the higher end, however, it’s possible to spend as much on a mattress as you might on a decent used car. However much you paid for your mattress, chances are you’re not all that eager to have to replace it right away, but with a new puppy in the house you could be just one “oopsie” away from disaster. While it’s possible to clean a mattress, it’s not an easy task and not guaranteed to be effective.
For under $20, the BioPEDIC Essentials mattress protector available from Amazon will keep your mattress pee-free. All you’ll need to do is wash the sheets and blankets, then wipe up any of the mess that’s pooled on top of the protector for a quick clean up. You can toss the mattress protector in the wash, too. As one reviewer says, theirs was “machine washed/dried with zero issues.” It’s also super-effective, with another reviewer claiming “not ONCE has any liquid item ever seeped into the mattress below.” Even if your little darling would never, ever wet the bed (you hope), this mattress protector will also come in handy if you enjoy a glass of wine before you sleep but the glass (or the drinker) gets a little too “tipsy.”
These pee pee pads can be used again and again
If you don’t have the time or the good weather to take your puppy out every hour on the hour (and sometimes on the half-hour, quarter-hour, etc.), you may be making use of pee pads to help your little one know where to go until they’re big enough for potty time. In fact, many owners of older, mobility-impaired dogs or dog owners dwelling in high-rise apartments use potty pads all year round.
If these pads are something you use on a regular basis, the expense can mount up, not to mention the guilt from contributing yet more trash to your local landfill. A more sustainable option, and one that works out to be more affordable, too, is to purchase a set of washable, reusable pads — you’ll need at least two, so you can use one while the other’s in the laundry.
These Paw Inspired washable pee pads available from Amazon come in a cute doggie-themed print, but what’s more important, they also offer a wide variety of sizes ranging from 24×18 all the way up to 72×72 in case you have an entire litter of Great Dane pups. The best part of all is, these pads work great! Amazon reviewers called the product “life-changing,” “a game changer,” and “SO much better than paper pads!” and praise the fact that they are a real money-saver as well as being extremely effective.
This product can eliminate unfortunate odors
When it comes to biologically-based accidents, there’s no covering up the smell. You can try, but underneath all the perfume there’s always going to be a certain “eau de urine.” Homemade cleaners can help to some extent, but if you want the pee (and poo) residue gone for good, what you really need is a product called an enzymatic digester. While there are a number of these on the market that are specifically targeted at pet owners, these tend to be on the expensive side if you’re needing to use them on a regular basis.
The best thing about this Amazon-branded commercial multi-purpose enzyme cleaner is that it does the same job at a fraction of the price as name-brand cleaners in fancier packaging. You get an entire gallon for just over $20 ($20.89 as of publication, but Amazon’s prices fluctuate), and since you’ll usually be using it at a diluted strength, that gallon should last a good long time. In addition to getting rid of the residue from the 3 P’s (pee, poop, and puke), it can also help dissolve the greasy gunk that clogs up your drains.
This flashlight can locate the trouble spots
One tricky thing about potty accidents, at least the non-poop kind, is that if they happen while you’re asleep or out of the house, they’ll probably have dried long before you become aware of them. Unless you have a white carpet (never a good choice if you have pets), you may never even know where the accident took place since there’ll be nothing left but that lingering smell. While a good enzymatic digester can take care of the odor problem, you have to know where to apply it, and that’s where the not-so-high-tech blacklight flashlight comes in.
It seems pee glows in the dark, who knew? The thing is, you need a special kind of light to see the glow, and a UV flashlight makes for the most portable, not to mention affordable, option. This TaoTronics TT-FL002 UV blacklight flashlight costs under $15 on Amazon, and it comes with batteries included as well as a free pair of yellow-lensed UV sunglasses that may make it even easier for you to spot those carpet stains. Not only can you use the flashlight to spot puppy whoopsies, but Amazon reviewers also said it also helped them locate the grossest spots in their bathrooms and even check for scorpions.
You might want to invest in your own carpet cleaning machine
Have you purchased a Groupon for carpet cleaning, thinking, “Surely my puppy will be potty-trained long before this expires?” If you’re starting to suspect you’ve got a stubborn little sweetie who might need some extra time to come to grips with the whole concept of doing their business in the proper place, you might want to invest instead in your own carpet cleaning machine. That way, you can use it whenever you need to, whether for emergency clean-ups or a whole-house deep clean.
The Hoover Power Dash, priced at under $100 on Amazon, won’t run you more than you’d pay for maybe two commercial cleanings (or three, if you got a really great Groupon), but you won’t have to schedule an appointment and allow a cleaning crew into your house. You can even just clean around your furniture rather than having to go through the whole ordeal of moving it out of the way and then replacing it.
While this compact cleaner isn’t quite as powerful as a larger, more expensive commercial model, its reviews (over 41K of them) indicate that it’s amazingly effective for its small size and low price. As one reviewer who runs an in-home doggy daycare raved, “It picks up a CRAZY amount of deeply imbedded debris, dirt, stains, and hair.” Plus, if you use it along with an enzymatic cleaner, you can de-stink the carpet at the same time you’re cleaning it.
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