7 Surprising Smells Do Dogs Hate Most

It is no secret that dogs have an excellent ability to track scent. They can even find their way back home by tracking smells if they are lost. They have a million olfactory nerves in their nasal cavities, which gives them this amazing ability. People have been taking advantage of this ability from their hunter era to recent days to hunt, stop crime, and find missing persons.

However, dogs hate specific smells. They will start wheezing and scratching when exposed to citrus, vinegar, alcohol, fresh herbs, etc. In this article, we will discuss these scents.

This can come in very handy when training your dogs and restricting their unwanted behavior. Let’s discuss.

07 Smells that Dogs Don’t Like

Due to having a huge number of olfactory nerves, dogs have a heightened smell sensitivity. Therefore, while some scents might be pleasant for us, they can irritate canines. Here is a list of scents that will make your pet dog irritable:

1. Vinegar

Vinegar occupies the top place when it comes to the list of most hated scents by dogs. The strong and acidic smell of vinegar can be very off-putting to dogs, even to most humans. However, vinegar is non-toxic and safe nature makes it a commonly used commodity to train dogs.

You can dilute vinegar in water and spray the mixture on the furniture or your garden to keep your pooch off. You can use apple cider vinegar as well to get similar results.

2. Citrus Scents

Almost every dog and even some cats hate any kind of citrus smell. So, if you want to restrict access to any part of your home from your dog, simply spray lemon, orange, lime, or grapefruit scent.

If your dog is digging in your garden and ruining your houseplants, peel the skin of these citrus fruits and put them on the ground. This will make your pet avoid those areas. 

Additionally, you can mix concentrated citrus oil with water in a spray bottle and spray on counters or furniture. Your dog will automatically stop scratching those surfaces. As an additional bonus, citrus scents smell fresh and clean compared to vinegar. Therefore, your home will have an amazing smell.

3. Fresh Herbs

While some dogs eat and ruin some plants, they strictly avoid chewing basil, rosemary, or mints. These animals absolutely hate the scent of these plants and will keep their distance. Thus, you can plant these herbs strategically in your garden to protect it from your beloved pet.

You can also take some leaves from these plants and steep them in boiled water. Once this water cools down, you can use this solution as a dog repellent. However, it may not work on every dog. 

4. Alcohol

Alcohol has a tangy smell that easily overwhelms dogs. Therefore, most dogs will stay away from the smell of rubbing alcohol. However, it can irritate your dogs and make them restless. Therefore, you should be cautious when using alcohol as a dog repellant.

Instead of spraying, you can soak a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and place it where you want to restrict access to your dog. This method also helps the smell to last longer. Rubbing alcohol products have different concentrations. The higher the concentrations the stronger scents they produce.

5. Ground Spices

Another smell dogs find particularly repulsive comes from ground spices. As these scents contain compounds like capsaicin, dogs keep a safe distance from such smells. So, you can simply go to your arsenal in the kitchen to manage your dog’s bad habits.

You can run dried chili powder or cayenne pepper on surfaces you’d like your dog to avoid. Also, you can use a mixture of water and chili powder to make your own dog-repellent spray. However, you should be careful when using this mixture as it can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat if inhaled or ingested directly. 

6. Mothballs

Another household item you can use to prevent your dog from entering certain areas is mothballs. While mothballs are designed to keep insects and pests away from your closets and cabinets, they are also effective in keeping out your dog.

This product is especially helpful in managing your dog’s tendency to pee around your house. Generally, dogs pee around your house to mark its territory. The strong smell of naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene discourages dogs from marking their territory in areas where you place those mothballs.

However, place those mothballs out of your dog’s reach. They contain chemicals harmful to your dogs and will cause permanent damage if your beloved pet ingests even one. 

7. Cleaning Products

As a dog parent, you may have noticed that your dog is never around whenever you’re doing some household cleaning. This is because canines don’t like the smell of citrus, ammonia, and chlorine, which are some of the common ingredients used in cleaning products.

Thus, you can stop your dog pooping all over your house simply by cleaning your home with chlorine or ammonia-based cleaning products. Use these products to clean areas where your dog has had accidents.

However, as cleaning products contain harmful toxins for your dog, keep them out of the room while cleaning. The lingering scent of these products will be enough to keep your pet from coming back and pooping in the same place.

Additional Scents that Dogs Hate

The scent from certain essential oils can be too intense for dogs. Peppermint and eucalyptus oil can cause discomfort for your dog. 

In addition, dogs also don’t like the smell of perfumes, nail polish, hairspray, and strong-smelling beauty products. However, using these products as a deterrent is not recommended.

Final Words

Your pet dog has a strong sense of smell, which is between 10,000 and 100,000 times more acute than you. Thus, you can easily manipulate this sense to manage its annoying or potentially destructive behavior and train it.

However, it is important to note that all dogs may not react the same way to a specific scent. You can try different scents to pinpoint the one that works best in your situation. Most of these products are readily available and safe to use. Thus, you can stop the unwanted behavior with little effort and almost at no cost.