Archie and I got up at 5:00 AM. Pretty normal. Let him out for a potty run into the dark and fog. Still pretty normal. Began to smell it as I went to let Archie back in. Yep. Somewhere out in the foggy morning and not far from the house he met up with a skunk. Skunk won round one. From past experience with two other dogs some years ago, I know tomato juice isn't the answer. So I went on line and found another remedy. Peroxide and baking soda with a dab of dish soap. Seemed reasonable. Make a quick trip to town and came back with the magic ingredients. The dish soap was all we had on hand until then. Followed the directions and after lathering him up and waiting the prescribed amount of time, dried him off then gave him another bath with his normal doggy shampoo. Loaded his chair and blankets into the back of the pickup and hauled them to the land fill. In the pickup I could tell the magic potion had worked to some extent but we weren't quite back to normal yet. So after returning from the landfill without the stinky chair and blankets, we did another bath with another quart of peroxide and quarter cup of baking soda. Along with the dash of dish soap. Either it worked pretty good or my sense of smell has adjusted to the point I'm not noticing the odor quite like before. It's a good thing we're still living in the shop and the house isn't quite done yet. And it's certainly a good thing Barb was headed to our daughter's place this morning for a four day visit as well.
Archie la Pew ... Persis would be all over him.
It is amazing no one has come up with a commercial neutralizing agent for skunk. but that home remedy sounds as good as any other.
Some day I will tell you about the skunk that fell in my cellar window. The only other access is through the bathroom via a ladder.
Hello Tom,
for sure it is good to have your wife out for a few days. I couldn't even imagine my wife having to support something I imagine as good for making appetite as my 2 poisoned cats we were searching for over 7 weeks. It was no way to get something out of the cellar. We found them inside the air duct for the heating boiler but the smell was stuck until end of winter.
Or even better my clothes after repairing a 25 year old gearbox for a dairy can washer. A week nobody wanted to sit near me. And my clothes even after 5 times washing them, still were so bad I had to burn them.
Do you remember the cartoon with the skunk and the cat? I saw an episode yesterday again after many years ....and had a good laugh. For sure your dog will know better in the future.
Sven
Latest skunk smell remover around here is real coke, not the diet or flavored versions. A couple cans will clean up a nosey Jack Russell Terrier pretty well. Max
Too bad Coke doesn't work on porcupine quills. That's the only big problem we've faced several times with our dogs.
They love them polecats once they've had a taste of them.
Lonnie
We have peacefully co-habitated with a skunk for the past couple of years. Her den is about 30 ft from our front door. We do not bother her, she leaves us alone. Even the dog knows better than to mess with our black and white neighbour. I heard that skunks do not spray near their dens...so by having her near, we are safe...in theory!!!
I got sprayed as a teenager...no desire to be odourific again.
Denis
Did the tomato juice thing with a dog once, actually ended up using V8 as the all nite grocery was out of tomato juice. It seemed to do the trick, although you have to throw everything else out. My wife (now ex) at the time had people at work reccomend micrin mouthwash. I suppose that could work as good as anything else. I actually thought the V8 juice worked ok. The aroma did seem to linger around for a while, I think where the dog had rubbed against things.
Lonnie, I wouldn't want to trade our skunk for your porcupine. Easier to deal with the odor than quills although neither is pleasant or desirable. Max, good tip. I'll try that next time but the peroxide and baking soda worked fairly well. It's been raining pretty hard here most of the day and a little moisture seems to bring it out again but not too bad. Denis, I hope this guy moves on down the road, we don't need neighbors like that. Over on the other place we co-existed with a number of badgers. Here it's mostly coyotes and deer. Ahhhh.... life on the farm! Sven, maybe the peroxide and baking soda would have helped you out of your stinky situation... Wouldn't have done much for your missing cats though.
my dog spike (that him in his super spike costume) got shot by a skunk last year,i couldnt beleive it when he came in thru the dog door (o ya we could smell him) headed for the bathroom and jumped in the tub, he sure wanted to be washed off . we used tomato juice and a comercial product called skunk away, i think the tomato juice worked better. ill bet that everytime your dog gets wet for some time to come hes gonna smell skunky, spike did.
Skunk odor is from thiol compounds. A chemist working with thiols found that they would bind with oxygen (hydrogen peroxide) and be neutralized. This was best in an alkaline solution (baking soda). The detergent disperses oils from the skunk that contain thiols so that they can be better neutralized.
Sorry for the long winded, veterinary explanation but this is the reasoning behind the solution mentioned. We use to recommend detergent washing and then an enzyme product called "Canine Odor Neutralizer" which was supposed to degrade the skunk secretion. That plus time (and more time) seemed to work.
The peroxide / baking soda / detergent solution looks to be the most rational in my opinion.
I am having right now an interesting evening even worse then Tom.
In the afternoon I picked up the truck from a neighbourhood service center and the dogs came with me.
The owner warned me that he laid out poison.
Back on in my shop turning the missing location pins for the seat of my sidecar suddenly one of the dogs was convulsing with a lot of foam in her mouth.
I passed the last 3 1/2 hours at the vet and just hope she will make it through the night.
Lets hope the best for Negra and that she will still get a lot of miles in our sidecar.
Sven
"The owner warned me that he laid out poison."
Man, that's a bummer! What was the poison?
Hope Negra is now recovering.
So sorry to hear that Sven. We sure hope your pup pulls through with the help from your vet. But what the heck ails anyone who puts out poison and what was he trying to accomplish? The best to you and to Negra.
Hello Friends,
thank you for your support.
I stepped out the veterinarian half past 8 into the dark, when Negra the Labrador was already reacting again.
Today in the morning she was running around in the vets back yard and escaped immediately heading for home. Still a little tipsy.
At lunch I took her in the sidecar home and she enjoyed it. It was her first ride since December. But with the new dog's anchor ring the lash was 1 1/2 hand spans too long. So on the way back to the machine shop she passed after a hole in the road on the outside of the foot step. Bad surprise, but didn't get hurt. Definitely the lash for the dogs has to be better too short then even a little too long and the harnish has to bee pretty tough.
The oldest "Taco Bell" Camilla demanded her ride right at the gate and wouldn't step out even 10 minutes after unleashing them.
So thanks God the dogs are well and they have their ride back.
The owner of the service station was fed up of the strawling dogs spreading his garbage twice a week and wanted to get rid of the strawlers. (myself I am fed up with the 2 legged strawlers and long fingers) I do not blame him for that and am happy that he advised me. I do blame him for not wanting to reimburse the vets bill and take the responsibility. I wait till tomorrow what he decides to do. He has got the ball (bills) right now.
But as you all know: In life everything gets paid some when somehow. There is no need to wait until the last trial.
The new sidecar bowl is way heavier then the old one and much stiffer. I like that aspect. But my aligning skill is rubbish. I better pay Fernando the importer with his great patience for to align the rig. At the end that will become cheaper... => ... In medical bills for my back.
Best Regards
Sven
I am very glad to hear that your pup has recovered Sven.
You may want to tell the owner of the service station that bungee cords on garbage lids are much cheaper than poison and way more humane.
