From the August 8th edition of the Woodford Sun:
Cleaning up after
your pet
By Beth Oleson, Education Coordinator
By Beth Oleson, Education Coordinator
One of the first things you learn as a pet owner is that
accidents happen. Puppies, kittens,
dogs, cats…nobody’s perfect (although some are a little closer than others). Eventually, you just have to reach that state
of zen where you can take a deep breath, remind yourself that things are just
things, clean up, and move on. After
all, who could stay mad at those cute faces?
Cleaning up after a pet can be trickier than it seems,
though, and it’s all because of those sensitive noses. Pet use urine to mark territory, and their
noses are fine-tuned urine-detecting machines – much more so than ours
are. That means that, if urine has been
somewhere – in the litter box, or on a potty pad, or on the carpet – your pet
knows it, and it’s a big deal. It’s
usually a big enough deal that your pet, or other pets in the house, will want to
“go” there again and again, which is fine if it’s in the litter box or on a
potty pad…but less fine if it’s on your carpet, bed, or furniture.
Busting the chain reaction of accidents requires you to stop
thinking about what you can smell, and start thinking about what your pets can
smell. This is why cleaners that mask
odors and add perfumes don’t typically succeed when it comes to pet stains; you
might think your carpet smells like flowers, but your pet thinks your carpet
smells like flowers…and pee. And that’s
an invitation. What you need instead is
a cleaner that gets rid of urine by physically breaking it down instead of
covering it up. Look for an enzyme- or
enzyme-and bacteria-based cleaner like Nature’s Miracle or Unique Pet Odor and
Stain Remover; the enzymes break the urine molecules down and the bacteria
clean up what’s left over, effectively removing the urine – and the urine smell
– from your home. Another great thing
about products like these is that they’re safe; you’re not putting harsh, toxic
chemicals into your home where they could harm your pet.
Finding a great, effective pet stain cleaner isn’t the
solution to all potty problems. For
that, you have to go to the source: a strict house training routine and a vet
visit to make sure there’s not a physical problem – like a urinary tract infection
or diabetes - causing trouble for your pet.
But it sure helps keep things on track when your pet is in the
“accidents” stage. If you can help your
pet learn by removing those smelly distractions, you might do something much
more important than save your carpet; you might save your pet from winding up
homeless down the road. Every year,
dozens of pets are surrendered when their person’s patience for pee runs out;
how many of those might have been prevented with the right tools and techniques
to correct the problem? Our goal, first
and foremost, is always to keep a pet in a good home if it has one, and we hope
this info can help that happen.
Friday, September 17
Joseph-Beth Booksellers 
