Top 3 Best Potty Training Spray Attractants (15 Tested!)

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The best potty training sprays and attractants tested and reviewed

Are you potty training your dog and need help teaching him where to do his business?

A potty training spray may be the perfect solution.

This attract will guide your dog to where you want him to pee or poop – it’s like a magnet!

We spent 80+ hours testing and reviewing 13 [Update: Now 15] different potty training sprays and attractants.

Here are just a few of the potty training sprays we have reviewed so far…

A group shot of some of the different potty training sprays and attractants we tested

All told, with the help of dozens of dogs, we reviewed each sprays success rate, ingredients, and how long each one lasted. All to answer a simple question:

Which potty training spray is best?

Our Top Picks

Bodhi Dog Potty Training Spray winner of the best potty training spray-on attractant

Best Outdoor

Bodhi Dog

Gold Medal Pets Indoor or Outdoor Housebreaking Aid - Best Outdoor Potty Training Spray-on Attractant

Best Indoor

Gold Medal Pets

PoochPad Potty Training Attractant Spray - Runny Up Best Potty Training Spray

Best For Fake Grass

PoochPad Potty Training

Want the answer? Then read on!

Best potty training sprays

The results are in…

After spending countless hours testing, sniffing and watching our pups interact with the potty training sprays, we are confident in our recommendations.

I am happy to reveal the best potty training sprays ranked from best to worst. The further down the list, the less effective we found the spray.

So, let’s kick things off with the clear winner.

Best Indoor Potty Training Spray

Bodhi Dog Potty Training Spray winner of the best potty training spray-on attractant

Bodhi Dog Potty Training Spray

The most effective indoor potty training spray we tested.

  • Purified Water
  • Emulsifier
  • Attractant
  • Preservative
Size8 fl oz
Success Rate90%

One potty training spray was unbeatable. In 9/10 indoor tests, the Bodhi Potty Training attracted our dogs to a specific location.

With a success rate like that, it’s easy to see why the Bodhi Dog Potty Training Spray is our top pick.

Bottle of top pick Bodhi Dog Potty Training Spray attractant

Each bottle is 8 fl oz. While that may seem small, we were able to potty train multiple dogs off each bottle – with plenty left over.

We found that 2-3 pumps of the spray bottle saw the best results when using both indoors and outdoors.

The scent is a little weird. Our reviewers struggled to describe it. It’s both sweet yet bitter smelling at the same time. It’s by no means a nice smell, but not unbearable.

But the smell isn’t for us. It’s for our dogs. And each initial spray resulted in our dogs coming over and sniffing that exact location

Fortunately, as the spray dries, the smell quickly fades – it doesn’t linger and stink up your house.

The Bodhi Dog Potty Training Spray was equally effective when used outside under specific circumstances. We did notice that certain smells seemed to overpower the spray, such as fertilizers and weed sprays.

But in a low traffic areas free from overpowering scents, the Bodhi Dog was just as attractive outdoors as it was indoors.

Australian Shepherd sniffing bottle of Bodhi Dog Potty Training Spray

If you are looking for a potty training spray just for outdoor use, check out our next recommendation…

But if you are mostly training indoors or want a good all-rounder, the the Bodhi Dog Potty Training Spray is our top pick.

Best Outdoor Potty Training Spray

Gold Medal Pets Indoor or Outdoor Housebreaking Aid - Best Outdoor Potty Training Spray-on Attractant

Gold Medal Pets Housebreaking Aid

The most effective outdoor potty training spray we tested.

  • Water
  • Ganis Latrans Extract
  • Propylene Glycol
  • Panthera Leo Extract
  • Sodium Benzoate
  • Glycerin
Size8 fl oz
Success Rate86%

The Gold Medal Pets Housebreaking Aid can’t really be called a potty training spray. This attractant comes in a liquid dropper bottle – you apply it drop by drop.

And for outside use, it’s the most effective attractant we tested.

https://doglab.com/wp-content/uploads/Bottle-of-Gold-Medal-Pets-Winner-of-the-best-outdoor-potty-training-spray-attractant.jpg

We tested the attractant on grass, bare dirt and even concrete. Whatever the surface the results were exceptional.

What makes this potty training aid so effective is its ability to overcome outside odors. We tested on freshly cut grass and a fertilized lawn.

Unless there was a squirrel nearby, our dogs investigated the exact spot we applied the attractant.

Interestingly, the Gold Medal Pets Housebreaking Aid contains the least amount of attractant of any potty training spray we tested. Just 2 fl oz.

Gold Medal Pets Potty Training Attractant Dropper Bottle Being Applied To grass

Fortunately, a little goes a long way. We only needed a drop or two to attract each dog. For outdoors use, this worked fine. Unless it rains, a single application lasts a whole day.

But when used indoors, there is a drawback. Once a pee pad is soiled, you throw it in the trash, right?

Well, every time you place down a new pee pad, you will have to reapply the Gold Medal Pets Housebreaking Aid. If you swap out your pee pads multiple times a day, you’ll go through a lot of attractant – a bottle won’t last the entire potty training process.

Applying Gold Medal Pets Housebreaking aid dropper bottle attractant being applied to puppy pee pad

This was the only potty training spray we reviewed that didn’t have a noticeable odor. This is likely due to such a small amount being required.

While we couldn’t smell this attractant, our dogs had no issue picking up the scent.

If you want train your dog to pee outdoors, then this is the ideal potty training spray for you.

Best Attractant For Fake Grass

PoochPad Potty Training Attractant Spray - Runny Up Best Potty Training Spray

PoochPad Potty Training Attractant Spray

A generous yet effective indoor potty training spray.

  • Water
  • Proprietary attractant blend
Size16 fl oz
Success Rate74%

PoochPad manufactures a variety of potty products. They also sell a potty training spray to encourage your dog to pee on them. And, it’s surprisingly good!

Attracting dogs 8/10 times, the PoochPad Potty Training Attractant Spray is our runner up recommendation.

Pooch Pad Potty training attractant spray winner of best attractant for fake grass

Out of all the potty training sprays we reviewed, the PoochPad Attractant Spray was by far the most pleasant smelling – a light floral scent.

And most of our dogs agreed. Take note other manufacturers, PoochPad have proven that it’s possible to make a potty training spray that is both effective and smells nice.

What I loved most is the generous amount of attractant the spray bottle contains. At 16 oz, there is more than enough spray to potty train multiple puppies at once.

A single spray was all it took to grab the attention of our dogs.

Spraying PoochPad Potty Training Attractant Spray on grass pad

But where it really shines is those fake grass potties. The generous capacity is more than enough to see out potty training on fake grass, even if you hose the grass down multiple times each day.

Unfortunately, a little too much comes out of the nozzel at a time for pee pads. One squirt and it looks like your dog has already peed on the pad.

PoochPad Potty Training Attractant Spray being squirted onto puppy pee pad

When used outside, it was overpowered by certain scents such as fertilizer or freshly cut grass. It also needed to be reapplied more frequently than our outdoor pick.

But if your dog didn’t take to our previous recommendations then the Pooch Pad Attractant spray is certainly worth checking out.

Most Affordable

Natures Miracle House Breaking Potty Training Spray

Natures Miracle House Breaking Spray

An affordable potty training spray with middle-of-the-road performance

Size8 or 16 fl oz
Success Rate68%

Falling just short of our top picks is the Natures Miracle House Breaking Spray – the cheapest potty training spray we tested.

While it may be middle-of-the-pack in terms of performance, it did manage to beat a number of sprays that were many times it’s price.

Interestingly, this potty training spray had our testers the most divided on scent. Half the team couldn’t smell anything while the other half stated that the stench was horrid – I was among those that couldn’t smell at thing.

The Natures Miracle House Breaking Spray was just as effective outdoors as indoor. If you have tried our other recommendations without success, then it may be worth checking out.

Honorable Mention

Out Go Here Attractant potty training spray bottle

OUT! Go Here Attractant

50% of the time, it works every time.

  • Water
  • Blend of fatty acids
  • pH adjuster
Size32 fl oz
Success Rate50%

As someone who is a huge fan of many OUT! products, I was disappointed to find that their potty training spray fell short.

The scent isn’t noticeable and was just as effective when sprayed indoors as it was out – with the dogs that were attracted to it, that is.

But the big problem is that the OUT! Go Here Attractant only worked on half of our testers. But of that 50% it attracted them each and every time.

Will it work for your dog? Possibly, but it’s a coin-flip. And it’s for that reason I recommend any of the more effective sprays.

Worth Mentioning

Simple Solution puppy aid attractant potty training spray bottle

Simple Solution Puppy Aid Attractant

The exact same formula as the previous recommendation at double the price.

  • Water
  • Blend of fatty acids
  • pH adjuster
Size16 fl oz
Success Rate50%

You may have noticed that the Simple Solution Puppy Aid Attractant contains the exact same ingredients as our previous recommendation.

Well, it turns out it’s the exact same potty training spray but in a different bottle.

You see, the Hero Pet Brands, who own both the OUT! And Simple Solution Brands have reused the exact same formula.

As expected, the Simple Solution Puppy Aid Attractant performed identically to the Out! Go Here Attractant.

However, The Simple Solution Puppy Aid Attractant is less generous. At 16 oz FL, it contains half the amount of liquid…

But get this, it’s twice as expensive. Save your money. If you are considering this, buy the OUT! Go Here Attractant instead.

Best Essential Oils

Davis Perfect Pet Go Here Attractant potty training spray bottle

Davis Perfect Pet Go Here

Essential oils fail to attract the majority of dogs.

  • Proprietary Blend
  • Cedarwood Essential Oil
  • Orange Essential Oil
  • Myrrh Essential Oil
Size22 fl oz
Success Rate35%

Interestingly, the Davis Perfect Pet Training Spray was the only potty training spray we reviewed that used essential oils.

While the sweet citrus scent delighted our human noses, it didn’t impress our doggie testers. This was one of the worst performing potty training spray we reviewed.

Least Effective

Wee Wee Four Paws Puppy House Breaking Aid Potty Training Spray Bottle

Four Paws Wee Wee House Breaking Aid

The least effective outdoor potty training spray we tested.

No Ingredients Listed

Size8 fl oz
Success Rate30%

I was surprised to find that the Wee Wee House Breaking Aid was the worst performing potty training spray.

I suspect part of the reason is the smell. It is nasty. Like nail polish remover. I don’t recommend you use this potty training sprays indoors as it can quickly stink up a room.

In indoor testing, most dogs wouldn’t go near it. Those that took a good sniff reeled away.

We had some minor success outside, where we could spray the grass, give it time for the smell to vanish before training our pups. But even then, the success rate was low.

But at least it performed better than the…

One of the few attractants we reviewed that isn’t a spray. It’s essentially a pumice stone that has been treated with attractant.

I was concerned our dogs would pick the Pooh Stone up and carry it around the yard while I wasn’t at home – and as a result, our dogs would do their business in a different location.

Turns out I didn’t need to worry at all…

You see, the Pooh Stone is the only attractant that failed to work on any tester. We tried multiple Pooh Stones and not one managed to grab our dogs attention in the same way that a potty training spray did.

What is potty training spray and does your dog need one?

Spraying pump bottle of potty training attractant onto pee pad

One of the worst parts about housebreaking a new puppy is getting them to relieve themselves where you want them to.

That’s where a potty training spray comes in. These sprays are designed to attract your dog to a specific location.

Potty training sprays have a blend of ingredients that give off an appealing smell. This scent is irresistible to dogs and will attract them to the area that you sprayed.

As you can imagine, potty training spray is a very useful tool when housebreaking a dog.

Let’s say you wanted your new puppy to pee on his pee pad. You would spray his pee pad with the attractant. Along with training, your puppy will identify this scent with the location he needs to do his business – he will be less likely to go elsewhere.

Dog sniffing puppy pee pad that has been sprayed with potty training attractant

A potty training spray is best used as a temporary training aid. Once your dog has learned the correct location to pee, you can stop using the spray.

Many dog owners we spoke to praised potty training spray for simplifying the housebreaking process…

With that said, a potty training spray is by no means an essential dog product. You can housebreak your dog without one and many dog owners do exactly that.

Think of potty training spray as optional training aid, like a clicker or dog whistle. While they can make the training process easier, they are not essential.

But potty training sprays are used for more than house training a puppy. They can also be used outside on adult dogs.

If your dog pees in your yard, you’ll likely have yellow urine spots on your grass. However, with help of a potty training spray, you can teach your dog to pee in the corner of your yard, where any grass damage is less visible.

spraying potty training attractant on grass to let dog know that is his toilet area

That’s exactly what one owner we interviewed used the spray for. Her beagle kept pooping on her concrete patio. With help from a potty training spray and some training, she was able to teach her dog to go to the toilet on the grass.

Another owner we spoke to lived in a rural area where she was regularly snowed in. When this happened, her rottweiler would need do his business inside. She used potty training spray as a reminder as to the areas of the home her pup could and couldn’t use as a toilet.

Finally, we have Anna. Her senior French bulldog was too old to go down the outside steps to do his business. He had to be re-trained to urinate on pee pads. Anna swore that after trying everything, a potty training spray was the missing ingredient to getting her elderly pooch to pee on the pads.

Oh, and it goes without saying that if your dog doesn’t have a sense of smell, potty training sprays won’t work. Since they rely on your dog picking up the scent to be effective.

Want your dog to pee in a certain location? A potty training spray could help your dog do exactly that.

Do potty training sprays even work?

Dog Sniffing Nature's Miracle House Breaking Potty Training Spray next to Pee Pad

I’m going to be honest with you here. Before heading into this review, I didn’t believe that potty training sprays work.

I was sceptical that a potty training spray could attract a dog to urinate in a specific location.

However, after comparing 10 different sprays, observing their ability to attract dogs and their effectiveness in the potty training process, I have changed my mind…

Potty training sprays don’t just work, they make it significantly easier to housebreak a puppy or train a dog to urinate in a certain location in your yard.

I trained my puppy, Jackson, to do his business on a pee with potty training spray.

During testing, I placed 4 pee pads on the floor where he would ordinarily go to the toilet and sprayed one of them with potty training spray.

Sure enough, that was the pee pad he used. To make sure this wasn’t a coincidence, I repeated this process 10 times, changing the place of the sprayed pee pad.

Even with the pads moved around, Jackson was attracted to the pad with the potty training scent every single time. He obviously associated this smell with where he should go to the toilet.

Given my success, why do so many people report that potty training sprays didn’t work for their dog?

We think we have the answer…

Just like when we reviewed the best anti-chew sprays, we observed that there wasn’t a single potty training spray that worked for every single dog.

It is for this reason that you may need to test a few different brands before finding the perfect potty training spray for your dog.

The other reason why people claim that potty training sprays don’t work is that they have unrealistic expectations.

We discovered this after interviewing dozens of dog owners who had unsuccessfully used a potty training spray.

One owner I spoke to expected her dog to pee wherever she sprayed, without any extra effort. Yep, she thought that just by spraying the corner of her yard with attractant, her Yorkie would be instantly trained to pee there.

Many other owners had similar expectations.

This isn’t realistic. To your dog, a potty training spray is just another scent. He doesn’t know that it means he should pee in that location forever.

It is your job to get your dog to associate this scent with the location you want him to pee. And to do that, you’ll need to train your pup.

When training our many dogs to pee in different locations, I used a Training clicker, high reward dog treats and positive reinforcement in addition to the potty training spray.

A potty training spray does not replace training. It is used in addition to it.

However, if you use the ideal spray for your dog, and have realistic expectations, then potty training strays are an effective method to attract your dog to pee in an specific location – or training your dog to pee somewhere new, such as on top of a pee pad holder.

Since completing this review, I can confidently say that potty training sprays work.

How we tested

Miniature Australian Shepherd sitting next to different potty training sprays and attractants we reviewed

At DogLab, we don’t recommend any products we wouldn’t happily give to our own pups.

Because of this, we vigorously tested, compared and reviewed each potty training spray you see featured in this guide.

The first thing we had to do was narrow down which potty training sprays to review.

We interviewed dozens of owners that had experience using potty training spray, two dog trainers and our in house vet, Dr Sara Ochoa. By the time we were done, we had a pretty clear picture of what we needed to buy and test for.

There are not a whole lot of potty training sprays on the market. Couple this with their low cost, and we came to the decision to review all the popular brands.

All up, we purchased 11 different potty training sprays (Update, now 15) from Amazon, as well as a couple of individual retailers. Yep, at DogLab, we pay full retail price. Just like you would!

Ordinarily, this would be the part where we bring in our team of doggy testers. However, as we learned in our research, different dogs have different tastes. Just because a potty training spray works with one dog doesn’t mean it will work with another.

So we set out to assemble a large team of dogs.

After calling in favors from a wide range of dog owners, including some that we randomly approached at the local dog part, we rounded up a huge range of dogs.

Our team of puppy testers included a wide range of breeds. From pint sized Chihuahuas and Pomeranians, to larger breeds such as Labradors and German Shepherds. A hulking Great Dane even joined the mix.

All up, over 50 different dogs took part in our potty training spray review.

Every potty training spray featured in this guide was tested on at least 10 dogs. This way, we could find the sprays that had the highest success rate when it came to attraction.

The testing process was simple. Each dog was to be trained to pee in new locations using the potty training spray as the attractant.

We also performed “blind tests” at the local dog park. We sprayed sections of grass and would count how many dogs would investigate the scent vs. walk past it. We excluded any dog that was distracted by playing with a toy or chasing other dogs.

Once we had the best performing sprays, these underwent a further round of testing.

Finally, tested against the top picks against one another in a round-robin tournament. The goal was to determine the number-one most attractive potty training spray.

Unrelated to the testing, I went to the dog park with my hands coated in our top pick. I was the most popular human at the dog park – it was so much fun.

dog sniffing hand that has been coated with potty training spay attractant

While reviewing each spray, we considered the following:

  • How often did the spray attract a dog?
  • Was the bottle easy to spray?
  • Was the spray equally effective indoors and outdoors?
  • Would a single bottle last through potty training?
  • Did the potty training spray have a noticeable smell?

Testing observations

While testing each bottle of potty training spray for the above qualities, we made some observations that are worth mentioning…

Potty training sprays don’t increase accuracy

Potty training sprays do not increase accuracy. A dog will got to the toilet in the area where you sprayed, rather than the exact location.

We tested this by applying potty training spray to the center of extra-large pee pads the Wee-Wee Gigantic Puppy Pee Pads and observing whether the potty training spray made dogs more likely to urinate in the center of the pad.

We repeated this test by applying potty training spray to the edge of the pee pad.

There was no observable difference in accuracy of our pups. They would do their business in seemingly random locations on the pee pad.

Ingredients are a closely guarded secret

While testing, we noticed that many brands are secretive about the ingredients in their potty training spray.

Some list proprietary ingredients while others don’t list ingredients at all.

As a result, it’s difficult to tell what it is that is attracting your dog. It could be a natural pheromone or it could be something synthetic.

After discussing with our veterinary consult, we came to the conclusion that this likely isn’t too concerning.

You see, potty training sprays are designed to be sniffed, not eaten. In our testing, not a single dog licked the area that was sprayed.

As long as used as directed, potty training sprays are considered dog-safe.

Reapplying potty training spray.

How often do you need to reapply your potty training spray?

It all depends on what you are spraying.

Under perfect circumstances, we were able to get up to three days attraction out of a single spray. After this, the scent seemed to wear off to the point our dog’s didn’t notice it.

However, in real world use, you will be reapplying your potty training spray much more frequently.

For indoor use where you are spraying puppy pee pads, you’ll applying the spray each time you swap out a pad.

Outdoors, you’ll need to reapply depending on the weather and other factors.

As a rule of thumb, we were able to get a full day of attraction from a single application.

Outdoor Use

Are you potty training outdoors? You’ll need to be especially mindful of the area you apply potty training spray.

Outside, there are a lot of factors that can prevent potty training spray from working effectively.

If you have automatic sprinklers then these will wash away the potty training spray. It’s the same story if it rains.

Similarly, if someone applies fertilizer, weedkiller, cuts the grass or waters the garden, then these will overpower the potty training spray.

It is for this reason that you should choose an outside location that allows you to control these risk factors. Otherwise, you’ll need to apply the potty training spray each and every time your dog goes outside to potty.

Pads with attractant vs. potty training sprays

You may have noticed that some pee pads come with a built in attractant, such as the Wee Wee Puppy Pads.

Unfortunately, pee pads with attractant appear to be a marketing gimmick.

When we reviewed the best pads for dogs, we discovered that these pee pads with attractant don’t work as well potty training sprays. Our top 5 potty training sprays beat out every pee pad with attractant that we tested.

Do you want to potty train with help from an attractant? Buy unscented pee pads and potty training spray instead.

Attractant posts

During testing, we also took the opportunity to potty training stakes. Examples include the Vet Worthy Pet Potty Hydrant and the Simple Solution Pee post.

These are essentially a marker that has been treated in a dog-attracting pheromone. By staking the marker into your ground, your dog will do his business in that exact location…

In theory.

In our tests, the attractant used on these markers was less effective than our above recommendations.

We found that an unscented marker sprayed with a potty training spray worked considerably better – in a blind test, our dogs chose these each and every time.

An advantage of this approach is that you can use whatever marker you want. I personally used a cheap solar light I staked into the ground, sprayed with potty training spray – my dog could see it even at night!

Conclusion

Phew, if you made it this far, congratulations! You now know which potty training spray is best for your dog.

A recap of our results…

The top 3 best potty training sprays we reviewed:

Which potty training spray stopped did you use to teach your dog where to pee and poop? Let me know in the comments below!

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The information provided through this website should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease; it is not intended to offer any legal opinion or advice or a substitute for professional safety advice or professional care. Please consult your health care provider, attorney, or product manual for professional advice. Products and services reviewed are provided by third parties; we are not responsible in any way for them, nor do we guarantee their functionality, utility, safety, or reliability. Our content is for educational purposes only.

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