Solution to a Skunked Pet

For the past couple of weeks, the weather has been absolutely perfect, so we have been leaving all of our doors and windows open well into the evening. Once or twice, we have caught a whiff of a skunk. As I have written before I like to feed the birds in my backyard. Well, instead of wasting some old cereal, I thought I would be considerate and pour it out in the yard for my fine feathered friends. One Friday morning, my husband got up for work and was about to let the dog outside when he noticed a skunk enjoying a cereal breakfast and thought better of it.

The next day, my birthday, passed without event, as our furry visitor hadn't been seen that morning. I let the dog out for one last time that night before turning in and sat down to watch the end of a college football game. Then we smelled it. The same stench that wafted through the house a couple times before. My husband turned to me and said "Are all the pets inside?" Before he was even done saying it, a stream of curse words was running through my head because, no, all the pets weren't inside. I ran to the screen door and yelled for Tucker. He came trotting up to me, shaking his head and frothing at the mouth (and no, this doesn't mean rabies, it means that he got some spray in his mouth and that is the body's way of flushing it away-foaming from rabies takes a while to present-and Tucker's had all his shots). Along with him came the most awful STENCH that you can imagine.

Everyone has smelled a road kill skunk, and while that odor is not pleasant, it does nothing to prepare you for a fresh, up-close and personal dose of "eau de pole cat." It is foul beyond words, likened to burning rubber or plastic doused with chemicals. I just thank god that I didn't open the screen door and let that rankness into the house.

Everyone has heard of using tomato juice on skunk musk to cover the smell, so I ran to the cabinet and grabbed the closest thing I could find, a small can of tomato paste. I mixed it in a pitcher with some water to get a little more mileage out of it and headed outside for the garden hose. Tucker at this point is rolling around on the ground and rubbing his face a lot so I am guessing that he took a direct hit. There is no blood or other evidence that anything other than a spray took place, so I immediately focus on getting him clean. There are some people that swear by tomatoes to help with this problem, but I am here to tell you...not so much. It helped to mask the smell a little, but not enough to let him in the house. Not wanting to leave him outside for a chance at Round 2 with the stinky little black and white cat that I KNOW he would chase again (he's a sweet dog, but not the brightest), I moved my vehicle out of the garage and put him in there to comb the internet and a dog/cat first aid book for another method of de-skunking. I had given Tucker a couple of baths with his regular soap at this point, but it wasn't really helping, and since it was coming up on 3am, I was desperate for something that would work. There seemed to be one formula that everyone was raving about-and that I had never heard of, so that is what I want to pass along to you.

You take ¼ cup of baking soda, a 1 quart bottle of peroxide solution, and a tablespoon of dish detergent like Dawn, Ivory or Softsoap (for it's oil-cutting ability) and mix. While it's still bubbling, wash your pet and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. DO NOT LET THIS GET IN THE EYES!!! Use a washcloth or sponge to get these areas. Then rinse and follow up with a regular bath-preferably with a moisturizing shampoo to counter-balance the drying effect of the peroxide. I used a lot more soap, a good healthy squeeze, instead of a tablespoon like most sites recommended.

Here's my honesty disclaimer. Tucker is a big dog, and I didn't know all the spots he may have been hit, so I probably should have doubled the mixture for more coverage. While this mixture made a WORLD of difference and made it so I allowed him back in the house, there was still a faint odor when I stuck my nose right up to his. So I followed up the solution bath with Nature's Miracle Skunk Odor Remover. This really helped with the residual odor. So much so that Tucker is asleep in the living room now instead of the garage...and I'm sticking to birdseed only from now on.

Another frequent recommendation that I saw was to use douche. Apparently the vinegar helps with the smell and a lot of groomers swear by it. Not to be crass, but I've never bought it for ME, so I wasn't going to buy it for my dog. Another remedy was liquid fabric softener. I did rub a little onto Tucker's nose where he couldn't lick it, (and it worked!!) but I didn't feel comfortable rubbing it all over him and risk ingestion. Some people said to use fabric softener sheets. Other people said that they sprayed their dog with FeBreeze. PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!! It says right on the bottle not to.

De-skunking a pet, especially a large dog, is a long process. It took two baths the night of the skunking, the solution bath, the Nature's Miracle Bath and an oatmeal shampoo bath before I was comfortable letting him back into our living space...and some people say that it takes much more. Professional groomers don't always work, and can cost $100 or more to try. Use this formula first, especially since these are very common items that you probably already have in your cabinets.