Sounds like the carpet isn't the only thing getting whizzed on.... Check Wal-Mart for a spine - one that isn't yellow (that's a joke, in case it went over your head). Let the twit nanny know the dog is NOT welcome in the house - PERIOD.

A Nature's Air Purification system will help with the smell, but the damage is done to the flooring - in the carpet, pad, and sub-flooring - remind me again why irresponsible people are allowed to own pets???

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Nature's Air Purifer

First, I would never have a dog living in my house, and I certainly wouldn't allow a nanny to bring one in. And for more reasons than just the stink. Dogs are animals (and therefore unpredictable) and you are putting your children in constant contact with someone else's animal. It's irresponsible. Sorry dog-lovers, but that's my opinion.

That being said, Nature's Miracle is truly a miracle in removing urine odors and even stains. There are separate formula's for cats and dogs. But it does the job without adding any obnoxious scent of it's own. All the other deoderizers have a heavy covering scent. You can get it at the big pet stores.

The downside is that is expensive (somewhere near $20/gallon), especially if you are talking about large expanses of carpeting or furniture, as you have to soak the affected area to allow the enzyme action to do it's work.

I would think the best solution for your sister is to get a professional assessment. They can tell her whether it would be better to treat it, or recommend that everything be ripped out and replaced.

First, let me say that the poor little dog is very sweet, and as we are a family of dog lovers, we all feel terrible about the way the dog has been treated. As far as the spine goes, I could not agree more. This nanny took such advantage of the kindness of my sister and her husband; you would not even believe some of the things she has done. I told my sister to get rid of her months ago and when my sister and i got into an argument about her allowing the nitwit to have the dog; she didn't speak to me for several weeks. (some of the quietest weeks in my life, haha!!)
I am just thrilled she has finally gotten rid of that jack-ss, and am trying to help her out with this odor problem. Thank you both for your suggestions.

I had a dog urine problem in my son's bedroom. I now keep the dog crated at night.

I had a guy from a chemical dry carpet cleaner come over and he removed any trace of scent. He had one of those ultraviolet lights that showed any trace of urine in the room. It cost about $75.00 extra for the urine removal potion he used, but it worked. He also was very meticulous and double checked to make sure all the urine was gone.

You can now buy one of those ultraviolet lights at Petsmart, they're about $20.00.

Some years ago we had a cat who did his business on our dining room carpet. Since we rarely ate there it was several weeks before we became aware of the problem. We had the carpet professionally cleaned and, as far as we could tell, it no longer smelled of cat urine. WE could not smell it, but the cat did, and decided to do it again. We had the carpet cleaned again and donated it to someone who did not have any pets.

The ultraviolet light used to show the location of urine is the same thing as a blacklight, just like the ones that were so popular in the 70's. I would think this would be great to use on a dark colored carpeting.

I can only tell you what happened to us. We bought a house from a friend and they always had dogs in the house. Well undernieth the carpet was hard wood floors. After taking out the carpet there were black spots on the wood floor. You guessed it,it was urine stains. We were going to have the floor refinished when we were told that the smell would come back on a hot day. In other words the urine is inbedded into the wood. So we had to replace all the flooring in the house as well as clean the wall. Sounds like this is what your sister needs to do to get rid of the smell.
Tejanachica

Well, she had the carpets professionally cleaned. The guy did use cleaning chemicals for urine. My sister said she thinks she can still smell it a little bit, but my BIL says he can't. She's airing out the room, and is going to give it a few weeks. There are not hardwood floors under the carpet. Because the dog is so small, we're hoping that the urine did not go all the way through the thick carpet and pad. But, I think my sister has resigned herself to replacing the carpet in the near future.
Thanks all aces for that link, very helpful information. And, thanks everyone else for responding as well.

1. If the area is still wet you should first attempt to absorb the dog urine. Leaving it there to dry out will only encourage bacterial growth which causes the smell. The best method is to place several layers of paper towel over the wet area and tread on it so as to soak up as much of the dog urine as you possibly can. You may have to repeat this several times until no more urine can be soaked up.

Sometimes dog urine accidents have already dried because you did not notice them previously. You can find dried urine patches on your carpet with the aid of a black light. The dog urine stains will fluoresce under the ultra violet light in a darkened room. Hand held black lights are quiet inexpensive usually costing between $15 - $25

2. The next step is to mix a solution of fifty percent white vinegar and fifty percent water. You must use a liberal amount of this solution to reach the carpet fibers deep down. Work the solution in with a scrubbing brush to ensure it penetrates the carpet fibers below. Now blot the area again using the paper towel method above. The vinegar will neutralize the ammonia in the dog urine. This area must now be allowed to dry which you can assist by using a fan or opening the windows. If you own a wet and dry vacuum extractor use that to remove excess moisture.
3. When the area has dried sprinkle a good handful of baking soda over the soiled area. Mix half a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide with a teaspoon of detergent. Ordinary dishwashing detergent is quite suitable. Put on a pair of rubber gloves and slowly pour the hydrogen peroxide and detergent mixture over the baking powder. Work the dissolving baking soda well into the carpet, first with your fingers and then with a scrubbing brush.

Once again allow the area to dry completely and then vacuum thoroughly.

In areas that have been heavily soiled with dog urine you may have to repeat the process again.

Important. Never use ammonia or ammonia-based products on the carpet to remove pet pee. One of the ingredients of urine is ammonia and your dog or puppy may well be encouraged to re-offend in the same area if it detects the smell of ammonia. Many household cleaner cleaners contain ammonia so be sure to read the label.

Here is a link that might be useful: dog chat

Mary Hunt does a cheapskate column and a short while ago she had this topic come up. It attracted my attention so I copied it and put it in my notes.

"Dear Ellie: There is, and it is called Nok-Out. This is a spray product available online at NokOut.com. The stuff is amazing and the only thing I know of to totally and completely eliminate those horrible pet odors, even if they have been there for a long time. Nok-Out is odorless, nonstaining and nontoxic to kids, pets and plants. You can use it on carpet, hard flooring, in sick rooms and automobiles. It knocks out the smell of cigarettes, too. Amazing stuff. - Mary Hunt"

I can't find the exact column this came out of (could probably find it at her website), and I don't personally endorse this product since I've never used it, but I will say that her columns are usually pretty common-sense oriented and has a lot of proven tips in them so I don't think she'd be shilling something that doesn't work.

I love my dogs in my house and they "NEVER" soil it because they are "house trained." The nanny was irresponsible and that's not the dog's fault. Irresponsible owners are unpredictable, not animals. Side note, I can't imagine how cold a home is without a warm, sweet pet to come home to.

I rid cat urine odors with Odormute. I buy it online at KV vet supply or UPCO. Plenty of online and local stores carry it. It's a powder you mix with water. They have odorless and scented. As soon as it hits the wee wee the odor is gone. You have to make sure you saturate the area completely and let it dry thoroughly. The product is only good for a few days after mixing and then you dispose of the unused portion. It's important to read the entire label w/ mixing directions.

If it were my carpet (which I don't own), I'd pull it up and replace it. Carpet is dirty to start with and then you add urine and to me that's just yucky. Good luck.

Nature's Miracle is no good. I have 2 dogs who had the occasional accident when we first got them - we found out quickly that there are better enzyme solutions. Get Serious is one (more expensive than NM) and Simple Solution is the other ( less expensive than NM). Both work well on dog pee & cat pee.

Use a black light to find the spots - but be aware that the black light will also find old spots that have already been cleaned.

You may be better off removing the carpet and cleaning the floor underneath since it's been happening so long.

If the floor underneath is concrete use a sealer to seal the odor into the concrete & out of the room. If it's ply wood, just rip up and replace.

Good Luck.

I'll second that Nature's Miracle is no good.

Wow, what a post. The nanny was certainly a jerk, your sister was a nitwit herself to allow the nanny to have a pet like that. My opinion is, she should remove the carpet and padding, and replace it with new. I know from past experience, sadly, that nothing will remove the odor completely. Tell your sister good luck, glad your nieces are well.

Now that I have retired, I occasionally think how I would love to have another dog, especially the little yellow lab puppies in the commercials. I'll come back and read this post again the next time I think that.....

Barbara, no dogs for 17 years....no urine smells in the carpet, no fleas, no hairballs....

I am curious, does the blacklight still show the dog urine after cleaning it with vinegar?

I'll second the use of Odormute. I haven't tried all the others, but I know Odormute works. I get mine online at Jeffers Pet, which I have found to be the most reasonably priced online site.

Problem 1 : The urine odor. Try saturating the smelly spots with Natures Miracle or Odoban. Let air dry (keep windows open day and night), then have the rug professionally shampooed. Chem Dry comes to mind. Good luck.
Problem 2. Regarding the behavior of the Nanny. My daughter is a self-employed nanny. She has plenty of customers because she is darn good and kids love her (and she loves them) . She is reliable, always on time, will clean up a little, make meals and feed kids, changes diapers, has her own transportation (Mom and Dad keep her car running, but she buys her own gas). Anyway, my daughter would never, ever have a pet. She owns a cat that lives with us (Mom and Dad). She had an apartment for a while but her cat remained with us. So, allowing a Nanny to even have a pet is OUT. Tell your sister to be very careful in her next hire. And my daughter's in New York, and not willing to re-locate, so I guess she's out.

Look into putting KILZ on the subfloor before replacing the pad and carpet.

THIS THREAD IS FROM 2008. START A NEW THREAD IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SAY.

You CAN Not get the smell out. From tears of renovation experience. Only one way to fix this. Rip out all the carpet and padding. Clean and reseal the wood. Believe me if you don't the smell will always reappear when it's hot and humid. I would put a 9mm bullet . in the mutt first. With no regrets.