Skunked dog(s)!

[Dr T]

Ok, so I drove home last night at about 11:30. I had opened all the windows before leaving so the house could cool off. We found our dog or dogs had been skunked. Since we leave their food outside I'm guessing the skunk was after their food. Unfortunately, it was close to our open windows! The smell was SO bad that I gagged (a lot) last night and had to fight nausea. Poop pooch. We just came home again tonight and the skunk came back a little while ago and sprayed again! I need to figure out some changes so they or it doesn't come back so often. I need to go buy some hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to help with the de-skunking solution! My nose still hurts! Yuck, yuck and YUCK!

[Gwen]

my first thought was put out a cat (small animal) trap.... but you still have the issue of what to do once you have it. lol don't exactly want to put it in your car and drive it 100 miles away before release.

seems odd that it came back. i've always heard they don't like the smell either so they will avoid spraying. if that's true why would it come back to a place it knew wasn't safe. hummmmm

[UrbanFool]

Maybe it was REALLY hungry?

We had to take Gordie to the vet once, and we got there and you could smell the skunk in the parking lot. Well, the couple whose dog had been skunked had no idea what had happened so they took the dog to the vet. Can you imagine!

I sympathize with you!

[WmLee]

I’ve been ‘skunked’ a few times and I know tomato sauce takes the smell out, of you and the dog. But the area smell, I have no clue what to tell ya! I would do the trap idea and get rid of the thing right away. Good luck.

[Wingnut]

Yeah, I was going to suggest giving the dogs a tomato bath, but I also don't know what to do about the airborne odor.

[Iggy]

DON'T use tomato sauce or juice- use Pine Sol. One cup to a 5 gal bucket of hot/warm water for you, dogs, and washing area. It works better and on the off chance you or your dogs are alergic to tomatoes (topical) you won't have to invest in rash creams either.

I am with you Dr.T- skunk (& civit cat) spray burns my eyes, nose, throat and makes me throwup. I wore three of the cheaper face masks with Pine Sol dripped on the middle one, and had to spend three nights in a motel before I could tolerate being in the house.

By leaving dog food out you are in effect inviting skunks, racoons, possums and other wildlife over for dinner. Once your dogs have eaten what they want bring the food in. Your dogs are getting sprayed because they are protecting their territory and the skunk is protecting itself.

Put some Pine Sol out around the perimiter of your yard in smallish throw away containers - I have found that only humans tolerate the smell of Pine Sol. Skunks/civit cats, rats, mice, rodents of any kind, possums, racoons, coyotes, bob cats and bears HATE the smell and will not cross over the barriers or come back.

My home perimeter looked like I was casting some strange spell- I bought the short squat 1/2 pint freezer containers and filled them half full of Pine Sol and placed them about six inches apart.

My 4 year old dog knew better than to bother the containers- she had to be bathed in a tub full of warm water and 2 cups of Pine Sol. Husband learned to never attempt to kill two civit cats - he got sprayed from head to foot- couldn't salvage the boots, but everything else was de-sprayed with the Pine-Sol. Even the aluminum siding of our house.

Not only is this hint brought to you by first hand experience, but I was told it by a friend who caught and deskunked skunks for a living.

[applepansy]

A google search will tell you that the best way to get rid of the smell is a bath in dish detergent (I prefer Dawn) followed by Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide. It works. I did it on my son's dog.

This will also work for areas of your home. Test areas of carpet in unnoticeable areas to make sure the hydrogen peroxide won't make the color bleed.

Oh... oops.... you already know about this combinatioin. oh well... I typed it, so I'll hit post quickly now.

Good Luck.

[Dr T]

Hahahaha Gwen! At first I thought u were saying put out a cat as a decoy and let the skunks that that animal. I laughed when I read it then finished reading it.

===

Yeah, I heard about the tomato options a long time ago as "The only way to get the smell out" and to my surprise, when I looked it up for the situation now all the sites said, "DO NOT USE TOMATO JUICE-IT JUST MAKES YOUR DOG TURN RED AND DOES NOT GET THE SMELL OUT!" We used the dish soap, paroxide and baking soda mixture and it worked like a charm! The dog is back in the house and SO happy now.

===

Good call Iggy! Yes, no more dog food being left out! We changed that as of today. I also read that if you keep garbage out they go after those too and they get drawn to your property. Thank you all for your thoughts on this. :)

[Dr T]

I’ve been ‘skunked’ a few times and I know tomato sauce takes the smell out, of you and the dog. But the area smell, I have no clue what to tell ya! I would do the trap idea and get rid of the thing right away. Good luck.

That is horrible! Sorry to hear that. What happened? Was it the same skunk or different? Did u throw-up? How long did the smell last on you?