Pet Talk: Help, my car smells like wet dog!

DEAR PET TALK: We take my dog to many places but my car is starting to smell a little like doggy, particularly if we are caught in the rain. We carry towels of course, but what do you recommend to help “de-dogify” our car?

— DOGGIE PARENT

DEAR DOGGIE PARENT: I feel — and smell — your pain. Nothing nicer than loading a doggie into the vehicle after doggie goes to groomer, but before long, true-doggie smell emerges. I’ve noticed that bigger dogs tend to be more, shall we say, aromatic, so your first step is to have a pad or blanket on the area where your dog sits in the car. Quilted moving blankets can be a better choice than towels or fleece blankets, especially if you can push them into the space between back seat and seat back.

We put this question to our Be PAWSitive community, and heard about a variety of systems, including blankets or pads you could purchase (or make!) that would hook around the back seat, and still allow for seat-belt usage by human passengers. Dani Kumpalanian uses a hammock-style seat cover for Zeke, her dashing Italian greyhound .

“This keeps a lot of the dirt and dog hair off the seats and floor,” she explains. “I take it out and clean it regularly, along with vacuuming everything and wiping down hard surfaces. If it’s stinky, I will sprinkle some baking soda down on the floor and vacuum it up. I’m lucky that Zeke’s a very clean dog, but his little furs get stuck everywhere!”

She also uses a metal comb for the carpet and a special pet hair attachment for the vacuum.

However, some readers are pressed for time, and we also heard about burning sandalwood incense for a few minutes (in a holder, while car is parked), as incense can seep into the soft surfaces.

But an easier solution is made by a company I recently learned about: Topanga Scents. Full disclosure here, they sent some samples of fabric scents (the company also makes detergent). We tried these in our vehicles. These are pump-spray, not aerosols and we liked “The Grove” the best. The notes are: citrus, sweet florals and sandalwood, and spraying on the car seat in back has helped reduce the “doggy” notes considerably. You can find Topanga Scents online, including at Amazon.

Sally Cragin is the director of Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and Community Education. Visit us on Facebook and text questions to 978-320-1335.