Our dog got "skunked" last night.

[TigerJ]

I took him for a walk around our yard. He's a small dog and we have almost 3 acres of land, so it makes a good walk for him. He spotted a skunk and took off after it. I wasn't expecting it, so I didn't have a very firm grip on it. He got a good shot. Then the skunk hustled under a storage shed in our yard. I'm assuming that's what it calls home. This has happened to us before: another house and another dog, but we know the drill. I gave him a bath. No tomato juice - that's just an old myth. My wife wanted to sprinkle coffee grounds on him while he was getting his bath. Supposedly they soak up the smell. I'm skeptical. Otherwise, I just used dog shampoo, and lathered him up good twice. It was messy and unpleasant. We also rubbed some baking soda into his fur after his coat dried. That makes more sense to me. The house still smells some today, not as bad as the last time our dog got skunked. One difference is we don't have nearly as much carpeting in the house now. I think fabric probably soaks up the smells. Our dog still smells some, but it's very faint. I also bought a product at the local Tractor Supply store that is supposed to neutralize skunk smell. We can use that in the laundry to get the smell out of our clothing. In any case that's the last episode of a dog getting skunked that I ever want to have to deal with.

Now we have to figure out how to make the skunk feel unwelcome under our storage shed.

[ticatfan]

Tomato juice for the dog ,moth balls for the skunk. Or a live trap and throw a blanket over it ,when he is caught then you can release him somewhere else without getting it yourself.

[Mski]

mythbusters did a thing on cleaning up "skunk" and if i remember correctly, tomato juice was the most effective in their study

[TigerJ]

I know we did tomato juice with our other dog, and it was worthless. I remember also looking up on the internet and finding a homemade recipe for cleaning the dog that called for hydrogen peroxide and some other stuff. That also didn't help much. Shampooing twice seems more effective than either of those "solutions" in my own experience.

The thing that you have to be aware of in cleaning up skunk smell is that humans are subject to a phenomenon known as "olfactory fatigue." That is, after being exposed to a very powerful and unpleasant smell for a period of time, your brain will start to screan out that smell. You can clean your dog, and think he smells pretty good. Then someone else can come along, who hasn't been exposed to the smell, and will think it still smells awful. You have to go out of the house for a while to really be able to tell if there has been much improvement.

[TigerJ]

As far as getting rid of the skunk, I've seen naphtha recommended. That's the active incredient in moth balls. I also saw recommendations for rat poison (warfarin/coumidin) and anti-freeze (ethylene glycol).With moth balls, I'm guessing that while they are toxic, it would be more of a repellent, since you're not going to get them to eat the stuff. The problem with the others is that you have to make sure any pets you have (we have a cat too) cant get into them. Warfarin can be put into some kind of bait (I've heard liver pieces works for skunks) and ethylene glycol is sweet, so a lot of animals like it. Bottom line is if I used any of them, I'd probably want to put a barrier up around the bottom of my shed to keep our cat from trying to get under it.

[TigerJ]

I just looked up Mythbusters, and tomato juice got a "plausible" rating, but the explantion is what I called "olfactory fatigue" in my earlier post. They liked the hydrogen peroxide treatment (which also includes soap and baking soda).

[Valerie]

Awwww, don't kill it!!!! Try to humanely catch it and release it.

[JATMtheJATM]

Awwww, don't kill it!!!! Try to humanely catch it and release it.

agreed. the animal should not be destroyed. hope your pup is doing well too.

[ticatfan]

I know we did tomato juice with our other dog, and it was worthless. I remember also looking up on the internet and finding a homemade recipe for cleaning the dog that called for hydrogen peroxide and some other stuff. That also didn't help much. Shampooing twice seems more effective than either of those "solutions" in my own experience.

The thing that you have to be aware of in cleaning up skunk smell is that humans are subject to a phenomenon known as "olfactory fatigue." That is, after being exposed to a very powerful and unpleasant smell for a period of time, your brain will start to screan out that smell. You can clean your dog, and think he smells pretty good. Then someone else can come along, who hasn't been exposed to the smell, and will think it still smells awful. You have to go out of the house for a while to really be able to tell if there has been much improvement.

I have done 3 dogs with tomato juice worked every time, it take more then just pouring it on, got to work it in and leave if for a while.

[The King]

hey liked the hydrogen peroxide treatment (which also includes soap and baking soda).


This method by far works the best.

[mush69]

I have always given the dog 2 baths with normal pet shampoo, the I mix a large bottle of Scope mouthwash with a gallon of water and sponge it on the dog. Let it dry and wallah, back to scent free, and nowhere near as messy.

I once had a skunk that kept digging up my dead cat, so I got a live trap and caught it. Put the tarp over the trap during the daylight hours when it was sleeping and carefully loaded it into my truck. I then took it way up the road and set the trap next to a deer trail that led into the woods. While I was waiting for the skunk to come out a State Trooper pulled up. He asked if there was a problem and I told him I was waiting for a skunk to come out of the trap (I still had the tarp over the cage). Well he had to check it out for himself and it was at that moment the skunk came out and promptly sprayed him right square in the chest. I almost fell off the tailgate I was laughing so hard! He puked and snot was running out of his nose. Classic only wish I had a video camera.

[TigerJ]

If there's some local group willing to do the trapping, I'm happy to let them do it. I'm not going to mess with it myself. I've had enough close encounters of the smelly kind.

[Mski]

If there's some local group willing to do the trapping, I'm happy to let them do it. I'm not going to mess with it myself. I've had enough close encounters of the smelly kind.

try calling the local animal control center