Thursday 16 April 2015

Homemade Dog Repellents

Flower Garden


Dogs are naturally curious, and they're notorious opportunists. This is why they tend to get themselves in trouble when venturing where they don't belong: the living room couch, garbage cans, backyard garden, your favorite chair and anything reserved for humans only. Keep the family pooch out of trouble by using repellents that are simple household ingredients.


Water


A spray bottle filled with ordinary tap water is a safe way to deter Fido from snatching the roast off the kitchen counter. A spritz in the face when caught in the act will send him running, but you'll have to be there to catch him. When you can't monitor your dog every second of the day, you'll need to use a stronger repellent that will work all by itself.


Offensive Smells


To keep your dog off a piece of furniture, soak some cotton balls with vinegar, lemon juice, ammonia or rubbing alcohol. Place them in an open container and set them around your off-limit areas.


Strong smells not only keep the dog away, but can repel humans as well. These repellants are best used when humans can't be around to keep an eye on the family dog. If they are, make sure your spray bottle of water is handy and give the dog a healthy spray whenever he trespasses. He'll not only be deterred, he'll learn where he's not allowed to go.


To encourage your dog to stay out of garbage cans, mix pine scented detergent and ammonia with equal amounts of water. Spray the inside of the can liberally for a strong scent your dog won't appreciate.


Outdoors


Use the same repellents outdoors that you would inside. Never pour these ingredients directly onto soil because they could harm plants and flowers. Use the soaked cotton balls, or soak rags before laying them in areas of the garden you don't want your dog to visit. Dogs don't care for citrus so you can also cut up a lemon and place the slices around your flower beds and vegetable patch.


To prevent your dog from chewing on plants, sprinkle chili pepper powder generously around the area. Other deterrents are mothballs and mustard oil. Some plants are poisonous to dogs, so it's a good idea to use repellents that discourage chewing plants that could make her sick.


Dogs enjoy digging and will often return to the same spot over and over, looking for that illusive groundhog or scurrying lizard. Bury some of his feces in the hole to deter him from further exploration. Dogs don't like to dig where they've defecated. Once his interest in the hole wanes, you can remove the excrement and refill the hole with plain dirt.

Tags: around your, chewing plants, cotton balls, garbage cans, repellents that