Posts Tagged Dog Urine
Dog Urine Solutions August 14, 2009
- Dan Cirucci: Dogs' Noses Know Secrets
- West Seattle Blog… » Dog-walking rage? West Seattleite reports attack
August 11, 2009
August 11, 2009
- You might want to become familiar with the laws in your own area regarding animals relieving themselves on public or private property.
Dogs Urine
Urine leaves the body (either dogs urine or human) as an acid with a pH that is typically between 5 and 6. It is sterile containing no harmful bacteria, pathogens or microorganisms unless the dog has a urinary or bladder infection.
- The principle ingredient in urine (from dogs) is uric acid.
- Urine also contains urochrome (yellow pigment)
- Cholesterol (lipids)(animal fats)
- Urea
- And other ingredients.
The exact make-up of urine will vary depending on the dog's diet, health and other factors. The urine begins to change immediately upon leaving the body. The urine comes in contact with bacteria on the skin along with microorganisms in the carpet and elsewhere. The warm acid conditions offer a perfect breeding ground for bacteria which begin to flourish. Uric acid begins to be broken down into ammonia and carbon dioxide. The ammonia is highly alkaline (base).
A strong concentrated alkaline can damage dyes and create a permanent color loss. Be aware that what appears to be a urine stain may actually be color loss that can not be corrected by cleaning. The urine odor can still be removed and you can sometimes correct the color loss with carpet dying techniques or patching. But cleaning will not restore color that has been removed.
As the dogs acidic urine reacts with the ammonia that is being created it forms alkaline salt crystals (white residue). When dry urine is re-moistened it gives off ammonia gas. The odor of ammonia gas is one part of the distinctive odor that helps us to identify and locate dogs urine. The other component of urine’s odor is off-gassing from bacteria that grow abundantly in warm, dark places with a never-ending food supply. The pet urine feeds the bacteria daily!
The complex composition of urine and the many chemicals formed as the urine is decomposed by bacteria present a challenging situation. With time, some of these complex organic compounds can actually become part of the fiber.
Even if the bacteria are killed the ammonia and other chemicals still produce an odor. This is the reason that more than a sanitizing agent is necessary to neutralize odors from dogs urine.
Urine Sample From Dog
How to get a urine sample from your dog. I just asked my veterinarian and he told me two ways to get a sample of urine from a dog. One is to watch and wait until the dog is just starting to urinate and slip a flat cup or something under the dog and catch the urine in it. It needs to be a clean and sterile container so it does not contaminate the urine sample. I asked him, doesn't that make the dog stop urinating when you slip the cup under there. The answer is yes sometimes. But this is a common way of getting a urine sample from a dog. It is less invasive than the second way.
The second way is that the veterinarian inserts a needle into the dog’s bladder and extracts a sample. They want the dog to come in with its bladder 2/3 full or fuller. They say it does not hurt the dog. The dog does not mind. It is a simple procedure. I don't know. I have a hard time believing my dog would not have a problem with that. But if you need a sample you have to get it somehow. There might be other alternatives but these are the two he told me about.
Dog Urine Solutions August 7, 2009
- The Box House: Our Wood Floors Are Ruined. Is it Chocolate or is *...*
August 4, 2009
- This one speaks for itself.
Removing Urine 4
Step Four Stop it From Reoccurring
The final step in this “removing urine” series is to stop dog urine from being an ongoing problem for you. We will examine a few ideas. I know not all solutions will work for every circumstance but these ideas will help solve the problem of dog urine once and for all.
Some people have just purchased a home or rent one and they need stains and odor from dog urine removed. In these cases they need a onetime effective remediation process and the problem is solved.
I bet that for the vast majority of us the challenge is different than that. We have our dogs. By the way my wife and I have a dog. Her name is Betty Boop. She is a Pug and there is a picture of her on this post. She lives with us. She is a member of our family. She is one of us. We need a solution that deals with her remaining in the home. This is the scenario many of us are facing.
One solution is to keep your dog isolated to only areas that are easy to clean and maintain. You can do this while you are gone and let the dog move freely about the house with you when you are home. This solution works for many people but it does not work for me with Betty.
Second solution is to keep the dog outside. Don’t make a house dog out of your pet. He /she is an outside dog. Again this is a good solution for many but not for me.
Third solution. The one that does work for me is effective potty training. Potty training is not the easiest behavior to teach a dog. It is most definitely worth doing and doing well. The damage caused by dogs that are not properly potty trained runs into the multi millions. This whole site is addressing how to deal with it. Effective potty training can be accomplished quicker and easier than you might think. You will save frustration, aggravation and the obvious damage to your property. I recommend a guide called ‘The Complete 7 Day Potty Training Guide”. It is very detailed. It is easy to follow and effective. If potty training is the way you are going to go then get it.
The last idea and I hate to even mention it, is not to have a dog. There have been times in my life that I practiced this one but again it does not work for me. I’ll bet you are saying if you were a true dog lover you couldn’t even think such a thing. This also is a great solution for many people.
Removing Urine 3
Removing Urine step Three
Kill the odor
In step one you removed as much fresh urine as possible. In step two you pretreated, cleaned and rinsed to remove any stain and more urine residue. If you still have some visible stains, they can be removed later. In step three you will treat and neutralize the odor.
Note: If the urine has actually removed dye from the fiber/fabric resulting in a spot that is lighter in color than the fabric around it then you have a bigger problem.
In step three we deal with any urine residue that is left and kill the odor.
Recreate the conditions. What is meant by this is two things. One, because the urine is a liquid then you need to use a liquid to counteract it. And two, you need to use enough chemical to counteract the urine. As an example: if your dog urinates 2 ounces of urine twice a day in a year’s time you will have over 11 gallons of urine deposited. The point of this is to emphasize that if you do not get enough chemical in contact with the urine residue you will not kill the smell. . The chemical has to come in contact with the urine residue in sufficient quantities to neutralize it. There are several types of chemicals that work in different ways but this principle applies to each type.
Also you need to give the chemical the time it needs to work and this is where the chemicals differ one from another. Some work immediately on contact but others (example: bacteria enzyme chemicals) need time to digest the urine residue. After the chemical you choose has had the dwell time necessary to work you remove any excess with extraction or absorption. Finally take the necessary steps to insure proper drying of the area. Use fans to accelerate drying. Dehumidifiers if you are in a moist climate or you are working on a very large area. After it has had sufficient time to dry 24-48 hours check it to see your results.
We have just discussed the steps for removing urine from minor or light damage. The process is more involved if you have moderate or severe damage.
An alternatives to this process is an injection method of removing and eliminating urine and its odor.
Step four stop it from reoccurring
Removing Urine 2
Removing Urine Step Two
After you have removed as much urine as possible with absorption or extraction (see step one). Step two is to pretreat, clean and rinse the urine area with a neutral spotter. To pretreat is to apply your spotting chemical, work it into the spot if necessary and let it sit for the needed time (dwell time) to work. With minor or light urine damage that is fresh, you will need very little dwell time. If it is an old spot that has dried then you will need more dwell time. If your dried spot has alkaline salt crystals from the dried urine present then use an acid spotter instead of a neutral spotter. With minor or light damage you should not have the alkaline salts present.
Apply the neutral cleaning spotter with a spray bottle or a bottle with a flip top type lid. This way you can control the amount of spotter you use and where it goes. Gently work it into the spot with a cloth or grooming tool. Do not over agitate (scrub) the area or you can damage the fibers of the fabric you are spotting. Then absorb/extract it back out again. Repeat this process of applying spotter, absorb/extract if necessary. The spotter will help to release and neutralize any urine residue still in the fibers. Hence you will be removing more urine. It does not hurt to have a neutral spotter that has an odor neutralizer in it. This is not necessary because the next step will be to treat the odor. Do not over wet the area. Over wetting can cause additional unnecessary damage. So after you rinse, remove as much moisture as possible to avoid these problems.
Removing Urine Step Three
Removing Urine
Step one: If the urine you are removing is fresh and still moist the first step in removing it is to get as much out as possible before it dries. Two ways to do this is blotting / absorption or extraction / wet vacuum.
When blotting take a clean dry absorbent towel or rag and place it on the moist urine spot. Paper towel works well. Put gentle pressure on the towel being careful not to push the urine deeper into the fiber/fabric or spread it out any further. The purpose of this is to absorb the urine into your towel and out of your carpet, or whatever you are getting it out of. Turn your towel over or change the towel if necessary to keep a clean dry area absorbing as much urine as possible. When you have removed the majority of the urine, again using a clean dry area of towel place it on the spot and put a book (like a phone book) on top of it and let it sit. You want a book that covers the size of the spot and is heavy enough to apply pressure so the towel will absorb the last bit of moisture that it can. You can place a piece of plastic between the rag and the book so the book does not get moisture on it.
When removing urine using the extraction method use a wet dry vacuum or a home carpet cleaning machine. Use it to extract (vacuum) the urine out. Use the strongest wet vacuum available to you. Use it to pull the urine out of the fabric/fiber or off the floor. Extract as much as you can working from the outside edges of the spot to the middle. If you have a see through (clear) wand or tool on your vacuum you can see when the urine stops coming out.
If the urine is not fresh but has dried then skip this first step of extraction/absorption
Move onto the next step in removing urine of pretreat and clean.
Dog Urine Solutions July 31, 2009
- Stray dog adopts cubs at zoo in Hefei, China
- Neighbor testifies about *dog* smell in East Rockaway trial
July 28, 2009
July 24, 2009
- It will be interesting to see what kind of damages are assessed (if any) in this case.
Urine Odor part 2
Posted by Dog Urine in Urine Odor on July 24th, 2009
Part two
We have discussed using the eyes and nose to locate the source of your urine odor in part one. In part two we will discuss using ultraviolet light and the use of a moisture sensor.
ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT (black light) to locate urine odor. Urine residue will glow under a black light. Ultraviolet lights in several intensities are available to help you locate urine deposits. Low powered black lights must be held very close to the carpet in a dark room. Medium intensity lights will work from a few feet away. High powered lights can quickly be used to check a carpet and other fabrics from several feet away. All black lights work best in a dark room but this is not as critical when using a more powerful light. When necessary, black plastic sheeting can be used to cover windows and light sources. Another option is to drape a sheet or dark blanket over yourself while you are making the inspection. Black lights are readily available at many price points.
You will recognize urine by the shape of the spot and by its characteristic yellow (from dogs) glow. However, a bluish glow may indicate urine stains where cleaning has been previously attempted with a product that contained an optical brightener.
MOISTURE DETECTOR to locate urine odor. Use a moisture probe to examine all the carpet in question. As urine dries a chemical reaction creates an alkaline salt. Alkaline salts are hygroscopic, that is they absorb moisture from the air. In all but the driest conditions the salt residue will hold enough moisture to activate a moisture probe. Moisture detectors are harder to find and can get expensive.
Use all the tools you can– eyes, nose, moisture detector and UV light -to locate all urine deposits. Be sure to mark the location of all odor areas. Use white chalk, pennies or some other markers. A diagram on graph paper will help you locate the problem areas if the treatment is being done at a later time.
See also part one “urine odor, locate the source”
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