Nobody enjoys thinking about dog urine stains and odor, but it happens. Even older dogs have accidents. (And let's also admit that dogs sometimes do it on purpose in order to mark their territory - no accident involved).

I'm thinking about this unpleasant subject at the moment because I just moved, and a very distinctive stain showed that a medium-sized dog recently lifted his leg on my new porch. To prevent my own dog from re-marking the house when I moved him to his new home, I had to find a good dog urine cleaning product, and fast.

With the help of my local pet store owner, (who also runs a house cleaning service), I found a great product - but not at her pet store.

So where did my friendly pet store owner take me to find a serious dog urine cleaning product? She led me next door, to the auto supply house. She asked the proprietor to search his shelves for a product that would be good enough to remove the smell and stain from my porch wall, but which would not be so strong that it would remove the paint. The product he had in stock was called Unbelievable!, from CORE Products Co., Inc., (but the man at the auto parts store said there are other brands that work as well).

The product was developed for professional cleaners, and works to remove pet and food stains (and odors) from a car's upholstery and carpet. The product costs far less than the enzyme product I recently purchased from a veterinarian, and it worked immediately. I just sprayed it on the siding where the dog lifted his leg, and the stain disappeared instantly, along with the smell. I'll be trying it on that suspicious spot on the carpet in a few minutes.

The first product that most people turn in these situations is enzyme-based cleaning products that can be purchased at grocery and pet stores. I recently had an opportunity to use an enzyme product on a borrowed cat carrier that had been sprayed by the owner's cat, and most of the odor did go away, eventually.

However, the enzyme product, which I purchased from a veterinarian, was expensive. It also took a long time to work, and my cats could still tell that the carrier had been sprayed, even though my own human nose could no longer detect it.

The product I purchased from the auto parts store worked better, and faster. And it cost less. So, the next time you have a need for a dog urine cleaner, don't head for the pet store - go to the auto supply store, and ask for a product that works on urine stains and odors. You'll save money by not buying an expensive enzyme product from the pet store or vet's, and you'll be happier with the results.