Upgrade to professional enzyme cleaner for Dobermans

Switching from a pet shop own-brand to something professional-grade is genuinely worth doing — most own-brand sprays rely on fragrance and surfactants to mask odours rather than destroy them, which is exactly why dogs keep returning to the same spot. The only products that permanently eliminate pet odours are enzyme-based cleaners: the enzymes break down the uric acid and organic matter at a molecular level, so there's nothing left for your dog's nose to detect. To point you to the right one, can you tell me which surfaces you're mainly dealing with — carpet, hard floor, sofa? And is this mostly urine, or are you also dealing with faeces or vomit? Fresh accidents or set-in stains?

That's a really important point about the volume — a large breed like a Doberman deposits significantly more uric acid per accident than a smaller dog, which means lighter enzyme formulas often don't have a high enough enzyme concentration to fully break it down, especially on set-in stains that have dried and bonded to carpet fibres. A few quick questions: is he fully house-trained and these are occasional accidents, or is there a recurring pattern in specific spots? And is the carpet on a concrete sub-floor or a suspended wooden floor? That affects how deeply the urine has soaked and how aggressively you need to treat it.

Yes, that's exactly what's happening — the own-brand product has masked the surface smell for you, but his nose is still picking up the residual uric acid beneath the fibres, so he's treating it as an established toilet spot. The fact it's over wooden floorboards also means the urine may have wicked down past the carpet backing and into the wood itself, which you'll need to treat too. For your situation — large breed, set-in stains, repeat marking on carpet over wood — I'd recommend Bio-Enzymatic Pet Stain & Odour Eliminator by Simple Solution. It's a professional-grade, high-concentration enzyme formula that's widely used by dog trainers and kennels, it works on both fresh and set-in stains, and it's readily available on Amazon UK. Critically, it has the enzyme concentration needed to handle the volume a Doberman produces. Saturate the carpet thoroughly so it reaches the underlay, leave it to work for 10–15 minutes, then blot — don't scrub. For any spots where it's reached the floorboards, apply directly to the wood as well and let it air dry fully before replacing any furniture.

Don't use anything in the meantime that contains ammonia or bleach — ammonia in particular smells similar to urine to a dog and will actively encourage him to mark again. If he has a fresh accident before the Simple Solution arrives, blot up as much liquid as possible with a clean cloth, then cover the spot with a heavy book or something similar to keep him off it. Cold water can help dilute a very fresh stain, but avoid hot water as it sets the proteins. Then treat properly once the enzyme cleaner arrives. For the old set-in spots, waiting a day or two won't make a meaningful difference at this point — they've already bonded, and the enzyme cleaner will handle them regardless.

Good luck with it — once those spots are properly neutralised you should find he stops targeting them fairly quickly. If after two treatments a particular spot still smells to you, it usually means the urine has gone deep into the wood beneath and you may need to apply the enzyme cleaner directly to the exposed board and seal it afterwards. But try the Simple Solution first and you'll likely find it sorts everything in one go.