Daily Archives: 31 July 2009

Dogs + Skunks = Really Bad Trouble

31 Friday Jul 2009

Posted by in Dogs

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I knew it was likely, but it had not happened in the 9 years we lived in this house. I knew our area has a large number of skunks. I knew my dogs go nuts when they detect wildlife in the front yard and they run out the doggie door into the back yard. So far, the fence maintained enough separation. Until it didn’t.

Around 1 am Thursday morning, we were awakened by the usual barking and snarling as the pack stormed outside. Nothing new there. Then I heard some new noises outside. Before I could get out of bed, Annie (black lab mix) ran in through the doggie door, then through the house into our bedroom and onto her doggie bed. I knew as soon as she got into the room – she had been sprayed with skunk stink.

We all know what that smells like, but I can’t begin to describe how much worse it is in a closed room. And I knew that everywhere the dog went was now contaminated. Yuck (I expressed this thought in less publishable language, I grew up in the Bronx). Thankfully she did not jump up on our bed, she was not bitten by the skunk, and only 1 of 3 dogs was sprayed.

I have learned How To Remove Skunk Smell (or Stink) from a dog:

Formula (from NJSPA)

  1. 1 quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (found in any drug store)
  2. ΒΌ cup Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  3. 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap (like Dawn or Palmolive, but any similar dish soap will work

Process

  1. Wet the dog. If the face was sprayed (highly likely), irrigate the eyes with clean water to flush out the material sprayed.
  2. Apply the mixture to the sprayed area, avoiding eyes, ears, and mouth.
  3. Leave on about 5 minutes
  4. Rinse.
  5. If the dog still stinks, repeat 2 – 4
  6. Wash dog with dog shampoo. Never use human shampoo as the skin pH is different between dog and human.
  7. Towel dry

This DOES WORK. I am now an expert!

Cleaning the house. Use water and vinegar on hard surface floors. I don’t have carpet so I can’t help with that. Clothing and other fabrics should be washed in cold or cool water with a lot of detergent. Hot water will release the smelly stuff into the air in your house, so avoid it.