How to prevent 'scent posts' ?

Whenever dogs urinate or defecate, specific scent chemicals are passed with the urine and faeces. The smell of these substances triggers an elimination reflex in dogs that is not unlike the territorial marking of their wild relatives. Dogs naturally return to an area where these scent chemicals are present, thus creating "scent posts" -- places where dogs consistently eliminate.

This instinctive behaviour is an aid to housetraining puppies since they learn to associate their outside or litter box scent post as the place to eliminate. Unfortunately, scent posts can also be an obstacle to housetraining if (and when) your puppy commits a mistake indoors.

Cleaning up urine and faeces thoroughly is critical to prevent the creation of scent posts in your home. With scent capacities estimated to be a hundred times greater than humans, dogs can easily detect urine and fecal odours that have been cleaned with conventional household cleaners, detergents, and ammonia. The result can be a distressing pattern of repeated mistakes in the same spot.

To prevent your dog from making scent posts in your home, first blot the area with a rag or towel to remove as much of the dampness as possible. Then treat the area with a chemical odour remover that uses natural anti-microbial enzymes to break down and neutralize the odour. These are the only products that attack the molecular structure of the odour-causing bacteria, as opposed to simply covering up the odour.

While mistakes do happen, the best way to keep scent posts outside is to closely supervise your puppy when not crated.

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