Hello Yoopers! How many of us have been in this situation, 2 o’clock in the morning, Buddy your four legged canine friend is asking to go outside. You rub your eyes stumbling down the stairs. You arrive at the door and let your friend outside to do his business. While waiting patiently there is a scent of doom that comes to your nose. Suddenly your eyes are wide open and watering, your nostrils burn with one of the most horrifying odor known to man! Buddy, your trusted 4 legged friend has just gotten into a tangle with a Yooper version of Pepe Lew Pew. The smell of skunk now permeates your home and your dog is ground zero. It is late at night and everything is closed. What to do?! Do you try the old tomato juice trick? Is there anything else that can be done? You can be assured that there are other options in dealing with a dog that has been sprayed by a skunk. While doing some research I came across a recipe that may be effective in eliminating the smell of skunk from your dog. I was surprised to learn that this recipe is relatively simple and that many yooper cupboards and medicine cabinets have all the supplies needed to make a successful odor neutralizer.
Once you get your bearings, and thoughts together, it will be important to get your dog under control. He will probably be going nuts running, scooting or rubbing himself all over the place. The worst case scenario will be that he has your black and white friend boxed into a corner and is getting sprayed repeatedly. I can’t tell you how to proceed in this particular situation, but I can help with the aftermath!!
Do not and I repeat do not let your dog in the house!! If you do, your problem will be really bad! When you get some semblance of control, check your dog for any obvious signs of injury. Was he bitten, scratched or taken a direct hit to the eyes? If any of these things happened you should consult your vet’s emergency phone number. If spray is the only issue it is time to start the cleanup.
The first step of cleanup is finding some old clothes to work in. Make sure these are clothes that you don’t want to wear again, as they will be trashed. If you have a pair of rubber gloves, put them on. The next step will to find and mix your ingredients. In a plastic container or bucket mix these ingredients:
2-3 teaspoons of shampoo or dish soap
½ Cup of Baking Soda
1 Quart of hydrogen peroxide (you could substitute vinegar as hydrogen peroxide can bleach your dog’s hair)
The ingredients will start to fizz. While the ingredients are fizzing give your dog a quick wipe down with some old towels. Immediately give him a quick bath with dog shampoo or regular shampoo. When this is done apply the odor mixture that you have concocted. Rub the solution into the fur just like normal shampoo. Try to stay away from the eyes, mouth and ears as this could be extremely irritating to those areas. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the results. It may not get all the smell, but it should improve the situation significantly. It may not hurt to get some of this neutralizer on yourself as I am sure that you will not be smelling like roses!!
Once your dog is clean I am sure that that horrendous odor will still be in your house. Crushed up charcoal can help with this problem. Without getting into all the chemical jargon, charcoal can be used as activated carbon. This is the same substance used in other types of odor filters and even fish aquarium filters. The odor will basically bond to the charcoal. You might have to go through this process a few times as the charcoal becomes “used up”, but eventually the smell should diminish.
Skunking situations certainly are not fun, but I guess that is the price we pay for living in the beautiful outdoors of the Upper Peninsula. With these simple household items it should be relatively easy to take care of the nasty spray that old Mr. Lew Pew has heaped on your poor old dog. Have fun!!
My dog got sprayes and i wiped him down with paper toweling to get the skunk oil off,then i rinsed him down in cool water and used Lava soap. Rinsing him again in cool water. i can not believe how well it worked. Skunk smell was gone. Dont use warm water it opens up the pores and the oil gets in keeping the smell.
Thank you Sherri!
We’ve had to use this trick a few times and it does work, but you should NOT wash your dog before applying the solution. Water “activates” the skunk smell. Apply the solution to dry fur, saturating all areas that were sprayed, then wash your dog with soap and water. We use baby shampoo on our dog…smells good and gentle around their eyes. I’ve used this on my own dog numerous times and it works like a charm…I’ve even been able to let her back into the house that same night!
Nice, I’ll have to wright this down Thank you Ms. Yooper !!!
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