Scary August Drama! (Annual PSA)

[mbc1963]

I was sitting in my yard when I heard a high, loud scream from the yard two houses away. Then I heard absolutely panicked screaming from my neighbor and her son-in-law, who live in the house. They were shouting the name of their large dog, Lola. Shouting it in absolute panic: LOLA! Get away! Lola NO! LOLA OFF! Screaming like you don't hear coming from adults except in footage of terrible news events.

 

I pictured Lola attacking a small child who was visiting. The screaming continued. I ran over to see if there was anything I could do: watch the other dog, watch the children if necessary.

 

Only it wasn't a small child Lola was clamped onto. It was a skunk. She was shaking it and tossing it like a rag doll.

 

Ultimately, they got Lola away from the skunk. The skunk is alive and circling their back yard right now, looking for an escape route. I smell because I stood in the general vicinity of the dog for five minutes. My clothes are in the wash. Lola, unfortunately, is foaming wildly at the mouth and much chagrined at her fate. She is being soaked and bathed in skunk remedy.

 

This stuff really works, if you get it on immediately and let it sit for a good long while.

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/sk00001.htm

 

And that concludes the annual late-August broadcast of the skunk remedy public service announcement.

[GentleLake]

From my very safe and clean smelling distance away, this story is hilarious.

 

I wouldn't be laughing, though, if I'd been there.

 

This formula is amazing! It works better than anything else I've ever used for skunk odor. I make sure I always have the ingredients on hand, just in case . . .

[D'Elle]

Thanks for the skunk remedy recipe. I had not heard of it before and will keep it on hand.

Years ago, I once was visiting in the country when my dog, a mix breed probably mostly Aussie and BC, found a dead skunk and had a three day love affair with it until I finally tracked her to where it was and buried it. Then I had to drive a thousand miles with two other people back home, so, not knowing what else to do, I followed the "old wives tale" and bathed her in tomato juice. Result: we drove home a thousand miles with a dog who smelled of skunk AND tomato juice. Charming. At least now I will know what to do if one of my dogs gets into a skunk.

[Maralynn]

Oh gosh - that is funny, when it happens to someone else...

 

Kipp killed a skunk once. He was much more efficient than Lola. It was dead by the time I realized that he had it. He didn't get sprayed directly but still needed the skunk spray bath. It worked beautifully.

[GentleLake]

Believe it or not, milk actually works better than tomato juice.

 

Even the best solution, including the hydrogen peroxide/baking soda one linked to above, will leave a trace of odor that comes back to haunt for a long time when the dog gets wet.

 

Obviously, the sooner and more thoroughly the dog can be bathed, the more effective it is. Definitely worth the cupboard space to keep the ingredients on hand.

 

Another note, hydrogen peroxide can degrade even in the unopened, sealed bottle. So it's a good idea to always use fresh HP and to renew the bottle every so often. (Sorry, I don't have the answer to how often. I buy a new bottle annually in the spring.)

[Alchemist]

Oh, UGH! Having experienced eau de skunk on a couple of occasions, I can only imagine how awful this was...

 

I've heard of the peroxide-based skunk deodorizer. I keep thinking of laying in some hydrogen peroxide every time we head up for our annual vacation in NH, because the last two times we've been there, one of the dogs has ended up ferociously smelly (having gotten sprayed by a skunk or having rolled in a thoroughly rotten fish), and there we are, on an island, no open pharmacy in sight, not even dog shampoo in hand... The problem is that hydrogen peroxide isn't very stable, especially once it's been opened, and I hate to buy a bottle that's likely to go to waste.

 

This year I spotted this product at the feed store, and decided it was worth acquiring a couple to keep in the car, just in case of some sort of mishap. I don't yet know how well it works and I devoutly hope that I won't have to find out while on vacation. http://absorbinepet.com/products/woof-pouf/showsheen-woof-pouf-deodorizing-bath-pouf/?cat=woof-pouf . Even if none of the dogs ends up really gross, I figured it'd be useful in bathing one or more of them at some point. I like the fact that I don't need to worry about it getting spilled in the car (as has happened in the past with dog shampoo).

[Alchemist]

PS: agree that tomato juice is almost useless. I tried it the first time I had a dog get skunked (in the middle of the night, at my parents' house). She kept getting away and shaking while we were bathing her in tomato juice. The bathroom looked like a scene from the Battle of Glencoe at the end, and I ended up reeking of skunk at a job interview the next day (why they hired me defies explanation).

[Sue R]

Are we weird in that we don't mind a little bit of skunk odor, just a little bit, I said. It's kind of lemony.

[mbc1963]

Buddy got sprayed once, top of his head, not near his eyes, and I used the skunk remedy above. It completely removed the odor - five hours after the spraying, I had him at the flea market and no one could smell skunk on him.

 

The other time he got sprayed, it was all over his face, so I couldn't really drench the fur where it needed drenching and YES, we still got a whiff of odor every time he got wet... right up until his next shed.

 

I think a lot of the success has to do with whether the oil from the skunk has time to absorb into the dog's fur. The Dawn does a good job of emusifying the oil so it can be rinsed away; the H2O2 and baking soda actually cause a chemical reaction that splits the scent molecule into molecules that don't smell.

 

Another note: the time I used this stuff quick and effectively, the peroxide did bleach the hair near Buddy's ears. The black was reddish, gain until he shed that coat and grew a new one. My neighbor's dog had the same "highlights" that year.

[GentleLake]

Are we weird in that we don't mind a little bit of skunk odor, just a little bit, I said. It's kind of lemony.

 

LOL I thought I was the only one who likes it a little . . . not when it's dead fresh, but the less sharp base note that lingers.

 

I actually think it's similar to some of the musky base notes used in some perfumes.

 

Interesting, though . . . I don't perceive it as lemony, which is a high note.

[GentleLake]

The Dawn does a good job of emusifying the oil so it can be rinsed away

 

Actually, there's noting magical about Dawn. You can use any dish washing liquid. Dawn's just done a stellar job of convincing people through their advertising -- including the heartwarming stories of oil covered wildlife being degreased with it -- that it's better than others. And it's not really any gentler than other brands either. I use my

 

The detergent functions in 2 ways: 1) as a degreaser. Since the skunk spray is an oil, detergent (madefrom petroleum based oils) is a better degreaser than soap (made from vegetable based oils). 2) as a surfactant, i.e. a wetting agent that breaks down the surface tension between the liquid and the surface it's coming into contact with. This means that it'll wash away the skunk oil better. Think of a freshly waxed car. Water just beads up and rolls off it. If you want to wash it, you have to use a soap or detergent to break the surface tension so you can wash the dirt away.

 

OK, the former soap maker's going back into lurk mode now . . .

[chrisandgabe]

Alchemist- Our last dog got skunked at my parents' house, at like 10pm, when I already had a horrible headache. It still ranks as one of my lowest points of dog ownership. He smelled for maybe 6 months when he got wet.

[Alchemist]

I can empathize!!! My parents had a dog door, and my dog had gone out exploring. I woke up in the middle of the night dreaming that I couldn't breathe because I had an elephant sitting on my chest. It was the smell of skunk. She'd gotten it full in the face, and had first tried to rub it off on their wall-to-wall carpeting before coming to me in search of help.

 

I'll never live it down...

 

Alchemist- Our last dog got skunked at my parents' house, at like 10pm, when I already had a horrible headache. It still ranks as one of my lowest points of dog ownership. He smelled for maybe 6 months when he got wet.

[chrisandgabe]

Yuuup...we drove the 2 hours (without traffic) drive in about 3 hours, and then got there and nobody was home. Hanging out out on the patio, waiting for my parents to come home, and the dog got skunked in the face. Then rubbed it on everything. Someone my parents were out with recommended tomato juice, and I asked my brother to go out and get some. He called from the store asking "Is tomato sauce different than tomato juice?"

 

Our black and white dog was pink and black for days. And smelled so bad. We eventually got some "skunk deoderizer" that worked okay, but that night involved my dad offering to sleep outside with the dog, lots of tears (mine), and lots of sneezing (the dog).

[sjones]

Ah skunks, they seem to be coming out in droves right now. Quinn got skunked earlier this year and I did the homemade remedy which worked well.

 

Samantha

[geonni banner]

Several years ago, my friends's GermanShepherd Dog go skunked at close range. She called me and asked what to use. I had just read an article that recommended Massengil vinegar douche. So I I told her to get a few packages of that. Her husband beetled off to an all-night grocery store and grabbed a half-a-dozen douche packages, and then, "just to be on the safe side," he got half-a-dozen big cans of tomato juice.

 

He rushed up to the checkout and dropped his haul on the counter. The checker, a handsome, sleepy-looking blond man, looked at the order before him, raised an eyebrow and inquired laconically, "Cocktails?"

[diane allen]

You are a good neighbor to help in such a stinky situation!

And yes, the peroxide mix works very very well.

 

I once had a malamute/shepherd/something mix who did exactly the same thing - caught and shook a baby skunk (who was quite capable of spraying!). Thankfully it was not at home, but way out in the desert (Yeah, the ride home was a bit much...) He mostly got the stink on his head and neck - hard to use the peroxide around eyes, but I did the best I could. Four times. It did eventually lessen the smell, but he continued to smell like wet carpet anytime he got wet for a very long time. Talk about thick hair!

 

Re peroxide: I travel a lot and hike with my dogs for breaks. I keep six quarts of peroxide in my little RV, along with the baking soda and soap. The last thing I want is that stink in the RV!! Curiously, *some* peroxide has an expiration date, and some doesn't. I always label my bucket (in case a bottle breaks in transit) with the date purchased. And yep, replace it once a year. It's cheap and very worth it.

 

diane

[gcv-border]

Several years ago, my friends's GermanShepherd Dog go skunked at close range. She called me and asked what to use. I had just read an article that recommended Massengil vinegar douche. So I I told her to get a few packages of that. Her husband beetled off to an all-night grocery store and grabbed a half-a-dozen douche packages, and then, "just to be on the safe side," he got half-a-dozen big cans of tomato juice.

 

He rushed up to the checkout and dropped his haul on the counter. The checker, a handsome, sleepy-looking blond man, looked at the order before him, raised an eyebrow and inquired laconically, "Cocktails?"