Will dog urine damage your car's wheels and tires?

You approach your house and park your car in your garage, then all of a sudden your dog starts smelling one of the wheels of your car and pees on it. This is actually a common scenario for those people who have dogs, some would even experience this when parking on side streets where stray dogs are often found. Aside from dealing with its putrid odor, it can actually damage your wheels given the chemical properties it possesses such as ammonia, which is a byproduct of urine breakdown. 

Most of us love our cars as much as we love our furry friends, and we definitely don’t want to end up abandoning them just because of this minor conflict. Instead, we’re going to help you further understand the situation and find a suitable solution for this. 

Many experts claim that dogs pee on your car’s tires and wheels because many scents are gathered on the rubber as you drive through different places. Dogs, by nature, are very territorial animals, and that’s another reason why they pee on tires in order to mark their “area”, therefore allowing them to leave their scent at ‘nose height’ for other dogs. Moreover, dogs prefer going for vertical level targets before taking aim, and a tire actually serves as a good example, plus, the scent lasts much longer on a vertical surface as compared to a horizontal one.

Dog urine can potentially damage your wheel's paint given the chemical properties it has. It’s wet and corrosive but rubber is resistant to it, which means your tires are free from any possible damage. The only effect on your tires is the bad scent that it will have which should be gone once you wash the rubber. That said, you’re just going to have to protect and take extra good care of your wheels to avoid the formation of rust on its paint in the future. In order to do that, kindly consider the following solutions we have for you below.

While we can’t force dogs to stop, there is a way on how you can prevent them from exposing your car’s wheels and tires to dog urine. Covering your wheels can actually help you protect them from your dog’s urine, you can actually purchase a water-resistant dog cover. Just make sure to have it washed from time to time in order to avoid a bad smell. For those who can’t buy one, you can actually consider using other alternative covers, like say a tray that you don’t use anymore, or perhaps extra plywood or cardboard at home. Just make sure that all four wheels of the car are safely covered in order to protect it from the toxic urine of your dog.

If your dog has peed on your tires or wheels, immediately splash it with some water. Don’t let it sit there exposed to urine for too long as it can have a long-term effect on your wheels. If you happen to have the extra time, clean your tires and wheels thoroughly with a cleaning solution in order to totally remove the toxic chemicals on them.