getting rid of skunk smell

IslandMutts · 08-09-2007, 11:03 AM

just curious if anyone's dog has gotten skunked and what you used to get rid of the smell? does tomato juice really work? years ago, i let my mom's dog out and he got skunked and i used dr. bronner's organic peppermint soap and that seemed to work pretty well. luckily i haven't seen (or smelled) any skunks this summer, but wondering what other people have done in this situation.

nrhareiner · 08-09-2007, 11:14 AM

Yep tomato juice really does work. Used it not too long ago on an Akita who showed up here. She had been skunked and I used in on her then a bath before I sent her to the Akita rescue. Worked well. Thing is it can be a 2 edged sward. You have to leave it on long enough to work which means letting it almost dry and if the dog has a light coat it stans a bit and can be hard to get all out. Just takes a bit of work.

Heidi

IslandMutts · 08-09-2007, 11:19 AM

do you bathe them purely in tomato juice, or add a can to a bath or what? when i was a kid, our collie got skunked and i remember my parents using V8 (because i guess that's what we had in the house) didn't work that well :P

RonE · 08-09-2007, 11:46 AM

Just don't let 'em EAT the skunk.

IslandMutts · 08-09-2007, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonE

Just don't let 'em EAT the skunk.

omg definitely not! i'm hoping i never see them, but all it takes is that one time for a skunk to be lurking in the dark back corners of the yard... i think every family dog we ever had has gotten skunked at least once. i figured i should have a game plan. lol

briteday · 08-09-2007, 01:00 PM

We routinely have skunks in our yard. One year we had a litter of them living under our shed. Pouring a box of moth balls down the entrance holes chased the skunks off. Our older dog thinks they look just like her, playmates! She has been skunked a number of times.

It's the acid in the tomato juice that starts to break down the skunk spray. However, it's not acidic enough to really do the job so you end up masking the odor.

My skunk protocol from the MN agriculture extension service:
Don't let the dog in the house until you have supplies ready to bathe. Otherwise they run around the house wiping the skunk spray on furniture and rugs. If your dog is too big to bathe in the house then do it outside with a hose.

Supplies: (small dog, keep 2-3x the recipe on hand for large breeds)
1 pint hydrogen peroxide
1-2 tablespoons baking soda
1-2 tablespoons of grease-fighting liquid dish soap
1 large fast food drink cup (think 44 oz thing) to store and mix supplies

Get your supplies ready before bringing the dog in. Change into clothes you don't care about first. Go to the closet and get your kit in the Big Gulp cup. Pour everything in the cup and swirl to mix. Wrap the dog in an old towel or such to bring them in the house so they don't shake the skunk spray around. Wet them down thoroughly, preferably warm water. Soak the dog in the mixture, avoiding the eyes. (since my dog always gets sprayed in the face I have washed her muzzle many times with this and no problems with the eyes, but use good judgment). The soap will help break down the oily texture, the baing soda will absorb the odor, and the hydrogen peroxide breaks down/dissolves the skunk spray chemically by oxidation.

After ten minutes rinse the dog thoroughly. I usually follow up with a shampoo bath and towel dry. You may need to repeat the chemistry bath every 3 days, once or twice more, depending on how much spray the dog absorbed. But this has worked the best for me.

Also, prevention...before I let the dogs out after dark I do the "sniff" test at the screen. I'd sooner have them piddle in the house than deal with skunk spray! And get the moth balls in all the likely nesting places early in the season.

IslandMutts · 08-09-2007, 01:07 PM

thanks for that briteday. i'll definitely make sure i have those ingredients around just in case...

skelaki · 08-09-2007, 02:55 PM

Tomato juice works but here's one that's even better:

1 quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
1/4 cup Baking Soda
2 tbsp Dish Detergent. The stuff for washing dishes in the sink, not something for dishwashers.
Mix the ingredients in a large bowl, because it will boil up like Vesuvius. We are, after all, making an oxygen generator. Wash the dog with this while it is still foaming, because it is the oxygen which reacts with the thiols in the skunk stink to neutralize the odor. If it sits around, it will loose it's efficacy because the oxygen boils off. Don't try to store it in an airtight container, because it will blow up. The brew also works for clothes, humans and unlucky cats.

Juliet5381 · 08-09-2007, 02:58 PM

My old dog Zack got skunked 3 times always late at night lol. We had to use this skunk off stuff that was all we could find. Tomatoe Juice worked OK but you could still smell it. It lingered in the house for a month. Once eh evemn rubbed his face on the couch which really tunk lol.

My Cat Archie is black and white and we assume Zack thought the skunk was Archie and everytime he jumped right on him and got the spray. He jumped like he would jump on Archie when Archie would sneak out.

Poor Zack. if I smell skunk now Riley and Lucy are not allowed out.

nrhareiner · 08-09-2007, 06:58 PM

Yep just pock a hole in the can and poor it on them and let it sit almost until it is is dry. Then give them a good bath.

Heidi

PoodleKisses · 08-09-2007, 07:12 PM

With skunks, it really depends on how bad they got hit and where, obviously you want to be really careful when using any product or home made solution around the face and eyes, thats seems to be the issue a lot of times, mostly the dogs get hit near the face. That nasty skunk smell almost has to wear off to get it away for good. The tomato juice theory in my opinion doesnt work that well, the other mixture does work a lot better, just be careful if you leave it on to long it can burn the dogs skin and your own, dont use this solution on dogs with allergies. There is a shampoo that works great out there it's called Nilodor, I use this in my shop when skunk dogs come in, I do wash them about 2-3 times in this but it works. Good luck to all you out there washing skunk dogs.

briteday · 08-09-2007, 09:23 PM

Also remember that skunk spray can be a neurotoxin if ingested in large enough quantities. If your dog isn't walking correctly or is acting strange, get to a vet right away. Our neighbor's corgi kept chasing the skunk, got so much spray that she had to be on prednisone (a steroid) for a couple of weeks.

Janelle · 08-16-2007, 07:50 AM

DO NOT save any of the peroxide mixture toss is all out when done
if you put a lid on this mixture it can go BOOM as the peroxide mixes with the baking soda is a confined area it is volotile

caninesden · 08-17-2007, 06:52 PM

Tomato Juice may work but if your dog gets wet the smell will come back. The best thing to use is "Crest Toothpaste". Yep, Crest Toothpaste. Put it on like you would put on shampoo and then rinse.

Terry