Removing scent triggers before a second dog arrives

Getting ahead of this before the second dog arrives is genuinely smart — old scent markers left by your Vizsla can act as a roadmap for a new dog, telling them exactly where to toilet or scent-mark. The only way to actually destroy those markers rather than just cover them is with an enzyme-based cleaner that breaks down the biological residue completely. Before I point you to the right product, a couple of quick questions: which surfaces are you most concerned about — carpets, hard floors, soft furnishings? And has your Vizsla had any regular accident spots, or is this more of a general whole-house reset you're after?

That's exactly the right instinct. Even if you can't smell anything now, old urine that was cleaned with a standard product will still have residual proteins and ammonia compounds that a dog's nose — far more sensitive than ours — will detect easily. For a carpet reset like this, the product I'd go to is Simple Solution Extreme Pet Stain and Odour Remover. It uses a pro-bacteria and enzyme formula specifically designed to break down urine, faeces, and vomit residue at the molecular level, not just mask it. It's widely available, it works on carpet without leaving residue, and you can use it liberally across the whole area rather than just spot-treating. Soak the old spots properly, let it dwell for 10 minutes before blotting, and allow it to dry fully — the enzymes keep working as it dries.

If you want to be thorough, a UV blacklight torch is brilliant for this — dried urine fluoresces under UV so you can map every old spot precisely before you treat. It's worth the few pounds for peace of mind. That said, if he had accidents scattered across the living room or hallway, treating the entire carpet isn't wasteful — Simple Solution is safe on carpet fibres and there's no harm in covering the whole area. I'd use the blacklight to find obvious concentrations and soak those particularly well, then do a lighter general pass over the rest.

Same product, same principle — but speed matters more with fresh accidents. Blot up as much liquid as possible first without rubbing, then apply Simple Solution generously, let it dwell, and blot again. The key thing with a new dog is to treat every accident immediately so no scent marker has time to set, and never use any ammonia-based cleaner — ammonia mimics urine and actively draws dogs back to the spot. Stick to the enzyme cleaner for everything and you'll break the cycle before it starts.