Dog and Skunks Helpful Tips

I received a panicked phone call from a good friend recently late at night. Her dog, Lady, whom I walk on a regular basis, had been skunked in their garden. I believe that it’s Murphy’s Law that dogs often get skunked as dog owners are ready to head to their comfortable beds.

Her owners were unaware that Lady had been skunked initially; she was let in from their garden and proceeded to run around jumping on their furniture and rubbing on anything available. Shortly afterwards she was sick to her stomach and they smelled the odor that we all know very well.

I had nothing on hand but a homemade recipe people swear by, but this requires a trip to a store, and most were closed since it was near midnight. I suggested calling a local emergency vet to get some suggestions. They had a product called Skunk Off available, and, as a result, a hasty trip was made to purchase it. After five baths for Lady, and a load of laundry (Lady had jumped in their bedding when she came inside), this family could collapse for a short night of sleep.

The next day, the skunk stink hit me harshly as I entered their home; the smell is all too familiar to a seasoned dog owner. Lady actually did not smell as much as I had expected; the house had taken a harder hit. Clean-up is always more difficult after a dog is skunked than after, say, getting dirty, since the smell has no physical manifestations.

I had suggested that they throw out her collar if the Skunk Off did not cut the stink. I find it amazing how even walking into a home where a dog has recently been skunked can even somehow transfer the odor onto your clothing!

I bumped into a friend of mine a while back and we gave each other a hug. I immediately said your hair smells like skunk and we laughed. She explained that their older lab had been skunked late at night; her hair likely smelled because of her time spent leaning over her dog for the rounds of shampooing.

I remember as a child our dog, Ben, was skunked; back then the remedy was a bath in tomato juice. We bought around twelve cans and filled a horse water trough that was available and poured the juice over Ben. He was not impressed, to say the least. The tomato juice really just masks the smell rather than removing it. Often, once a dog gets wet again from the rain etc., the stink returns once again. Time is really the only solution for the entire smell to fade away.

Last year we had a sweet older Cocker Spaniel named Charlie board in our home. He had been skunked the week before and the family felt the odor was much better after two professional groomings. I could not figure out why sometimes he smelled worse during the day.

Twenty four hours into the board I smelled his dog bed that came from home, this was the offensive source! I checked with the owners and they had not realized the bed needed a fumigation too. I left the bed in our garage until their return to save further skunk perfume on him, or on our dog if she decided to lay on his bed. A great lesson here, wash everything the dog rubs or lies on!

I found a fabulous website that describes a homemade remedy that many owners have sworn by at the dog off leash to me. Many tips are included too. It also outlines skunk behaviour which is quite interesting. http://dogs.about.com/od/caringfordogsandpuppies/ht/deskunking.htm

I hope that you never have to experience your dog getting skunked, although I do think that it is a rite of passage that makes for great story telling.

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