I’m finishing up a big recovery job, for a family that has five unruly dogs. Now, the first day I walked in, the odor was pretty darn intimidating. Since then, I’ve removed most of the sources of smell, but it seems that the dogs themselves will have to be cleaned before the house can truly be fresh.
So is there any diplomatic way to suggest this? Bearing in mind that I’m hoping this will become a permanent gig, with me coming in every week/two weeks to maintain order.
Maybe make it lighthearted?
“Wow, we’ve made a lot of progress together. It’s like a brand new place! Want to get the doggies in on the celebration and give them a freshening up too?”
Maybe if you’re around and one of the dogs scratches himself you could say something like “You know, my friend has a dog who would scratch like that and it turns out he had allergies. Sometimes if you give them a bath a bit more often it washes off the pollen and grass seed that causes them to scratch. Want me to help you find a groomer or do you bathe them yourselves?”
How about, “you know, your dogs are probably partly to blame for the smell. You might want to think about bathing them more frequently, since you have five and they’re kept in close proximity to one another”.
I would just bathe them or ask if they have a favorite dog groomer? My Client has 2 cats and she would like to buy the cheapest cat litter on the market. It has backfired in the past but she still says lets try this one it’s on sale. I just go grab the more expensive one that works and say some things we can’t skimp on. I am sensitive to bad odors.
This lady is well off but is always trying to be thrifty in the wrong areas. Buying cheap cat litter is one of them and it has always made a big mess so I just get what works. She spends a small fortune on cat treats!
My dog needs a bath when he starts to smell like corn chips. He is small and giving him a bath is quick and painless. If you don’t want to do it yourself use the argument that you want to keep the place fresh.
Good Luck
I dream about getting a cat genii, but we simply do not have the space to put one in, we would have to move the washer drier out into the barn =(
That is a product your client might like, it uses reusable crunchies that are washed by the machine instead of disposable litter.
I’ve heard terrible things about those. The phrase “poop soup” seems to sound familiar.
If removing smells is part of your job then perhaps work that in. Something like “I want you to be completely satisfied with the final results, and in order to get the place 100% odor free then we’ll need to take the dogs to the dog wash.”
Sleeps’s suggestion sounds best. Thanks to all who replied, though!
Ancedotally, I’m not terribly fond of giving my dog a bath. He doesn’t like it, its a hassle, he doesn’t need it, lots of excuses. My mother took him in for a spa day this Spring saying “it will help with the dog hair.” Boy, did it help with the dog hair. And he smelled floral for a week (which wasn’t my favorite part, I kind of want a dog to smell like dog…maybe not like DOG! but I only have the one so dog isn’t overwhelming.)
So you could tackle it from the “professional groom = less shed (= less cleaning=fewer cleaning bills)” side as well.
The other tactic would be to tell them that the skin oils in the pets’ coats will rub off onto their nice clean walls, door facings, and carpets, eventually causing brown gnarly buildup that takes a lot of time and elbow grease to remove from hard surfaces and require steam cleaning to remove from the carpeting. One way to cut down on that, and keep their cleaning bills lower, is to bathe the goggies every few weeks and thus remove the excess oils from their coats.
ETA: Make sure to phrase it as though they do bathe the dogs and need to be sure to keep up the good work, rather than as if these nasty beasts have obviously never been bathed and they should fix that problem.
Hee. Goggies.
They already know that; that’s why they hired me. (Didn’t take that much elbow grease. Lot of time, though.) But you’re right: since they’re going to have the walls repainted soon, bathing the dogs is essential.
In order to be totally diplomatic, as you walk into the home, suggest they have their male dogs neutered because it’s pretty obvious that one of them just fucked a skunk.
Aruvqan,
That is amazing! I am going to insist she gets the Cat Genie. Not only is it easy but it is cheaper then buying clumping litter and cleaning out gross litter boxes. Thanks for the link! 
Is poop soup worse the scraping cat poop off the sides and bottom of two litter boxes?
I’m not sure I understand. “Recovery job”? Are you some kind of housekeeper they hired to clean up their house? If so, I don’t see why they wouldn’t listen to you or be offended if you simply said their dogs stink
Yes, but I build my reputation not only on being efficient and thorough, but also on being tactful. It wasn’t even them who engaged me; their adult son did, and it was one of those situations where they were too embarrassed to be home the day I started. Truth hurts, and people who need their house recovered get into that predicament by practicing a lot of denial. Plus, these dogs mean a lot to them, almost on the same level as grandkids. So all in all, if I choose to “tell it like it is”, I’ll be talking myself right out of a steady gig.
If the adult son engaged you, why not ask his opinion on how to deal with it… He probably knows em best and obviously wants the best for them.
These are dogs you’re talking about. Why the need to be diplomatic?
I’d say - “Your dogs are fucking STANK. Wash them now. NOW!”
What do you mean by “recovered”? Did the sewer back up? Was there a tornado?