Bloodhound vomit and urine on car seats

Combined vomit and urine on car upholstery is one of the toughest jobs — two different protein-based messes soaked into foam padding, and Bloodhounds produce a lot of both. The only products that permanently eliminate pet odours are enzyme-based cleaners. Anything else just masks the smell, and your dog will sniff it out and return to the same spot every journey. Can you tell me: is this fresh or has it had time to dry and set in, and is the car seat fabric or leather?

Good that you blotted it early — that matters. Eighteen hours is borderline set-in, especially with vomit, which contains stomach acid that starts bonding to fibres quickly. The urine component will have wicked deeper into the foam beneath the fabric too, which is the part that causes persistent smell. You need an enzyme cleaner that can penetrate, not just sit on the surface. Have you tried anything on it since blotting, or is it untreated at this point?

You guessed right — Febreze is a masking agent, not a remover. It'll make the car smell fine for a day or two and then the odour comes back, often stronger as the residue continues to break down. Leave it unused. For this specific situation — combined vomit and urine, partially set, in dense car upholstery — I'd go with Bio-One Pet Odour Eliminator and Stain Remover. It's a concentrated enzyme formula, widely available on Amazon UK, and it's specifically effective on mixed organic stains rather than just urine alone. The key is application: saturate the fabric properly so the enzymes reach the foam underneath, cover it with a damp cloth, and leave it for at least 30 minutes — longer is better. Don't scrub, just blot when you lift it. You may need a second application given the depth and the combination of stains.

Bio-One is water-based and doesn't contain bleach or harsh solvents, so it's safe on standard car upholstery fabric. I'd still do a quick patch test on a hidden area — the edge of the seat or under the headrest — just leave it for ten minutes and check before going all in. On car seats that's almost always fine. The bigger risk with car upholstery is over-wetting the foam, so apply enough to penetrate but don't pour it on. After treatment, leave the car doors open for a few hours to air out and dry properly — trapped moisture in foam is where secondary mildew smells can start.

For cleanup ease, a waterproof seat cover designed for dogs is the single best investment — something like a hammock-style one that covers the whole back seat and is machine washable. It means next time it's a two-minute job rather than an hour with a bottle of enzyme cleaner. For the travel sickness itself, that's worth a conversation with your vet — there are prescription anti-nausea medications for dogs that work very well on long journeys, and some Bloodhounds do better travelling on an empty stomach. Short practice runs to build positive associations with the car can help too, though if it's a consistent problem the medication route is usually the most reliable fix.