Best Homemade Dog Repellents

In this article we will discuss the best homemade dog repellents. Whether you are dealing with stray dogs, irresponsible dog owners living in your neighborhood, or even trying to train your own four footed family member to stay out of your prize-winning vegetable garden, some of the best homemade dog repellents will be effective and easy and inexpensive to make right in your own kitchen. With dogs, and most animals, the key to making them avoid an area is to make it unpleasant for them to be there. And because dogs are trainable, once taught that an area is unpleasant, they will usually continue to avoid it even after you’ve ended the repellent treatment. So, what do dogs find the most unpleasant?

There is a wide variety of options from noises, to tastes, to smells, that will deter dogs and other animals from your property. Although there is no one-dog-fits all best homemade dog repellent, there are a few standards that work with most dogs and can be used alone or in combination for most dog problems.

The best homemade dog repellents will take advantage of a dog’s extremely sensitive sense of smell. By adding any one of a large number of ingredient known to repel dogs to a gallon of water, and spraying it onto one’s yard, it possible to repel dogs away from using your lawn as the neighborhood toilet, or digging through and trampling your flowerbeds. With their well-developed noses, dogs will avoid smells including citrus oil, mustard oil, peppermint oil, citronella oil, lavender oil, and eucalyptus oil. Just a small amount of any one of these oils can be stirred into a gallon of water and sprinkled or sprayed on grass and gardens to keep the dogs at bay. These oils should not damage plants and the oily quality also helps them to adhere to plants. Additionally the strong smell and taste will deter rabbits and deer, if they have also become a problem.

Capsaicin pepper, ammonia, vinegar, moth balls, and alcohol will also keep dogs away. However, some of these ingredients should be used with care. Ammonia and vinegar are more likely to damage plants when applied, especially if absorbed into the ground, so this type of mixture is more appropriate to apply on a yard’s perimeter where there are no ornamental plants, to keep dogs from entering. Moth balls can be harmful to animals if digested, and of course, to young children who may play in the area.

Dogs, and cats too, are usually adverse to coffee grounds, so sprinkle your used coffee grounds on areas in the yard that you’d like to keep animal free. Some gardeners claim that coffee grounds also make an excellent fertilizer, so you’ll receive an added benefit should this turn out to be one of the best homemade dog repellents for your needs. In addition to the citrus oil mentioned above, citrus peel can be grated or cut up for the same effect, and sprinkles in one’s garden for an environmentally friendly way to keep Rover from roving into unwanted territory.