Dog Sprayed by Skunk: What To Do?
If your dog has had an unfortunate encounter with a skunk, then it’s likely that he has come home smelling less than fresh and wonderful. Your dog is probably in some distress from the odor. If any of the spray from the skunk has gotten in your dog’s eyes, then your dog’s eyes are probably burning, too. Here is what you should do if your dog comes home reeking of skunk.
Be Prepared
First of all, if you live in an area where your dog is likely to encounter a skunk, it helps if you are prepared before your dog meets a skunk. Try to keep on hand the things you will need to help your dog. There are a couple of commercial products that are said to remove skunk odor from dogs.
- Nature’s Miracle Skunk Odor Remover
- Earth Friendly Skunk Odor Remover
Keep a couple of these products on hand, just in case you need to use them.
Things You Will Need
If your dog has been sprayed by a skunk, then try to keep him outdoors if possible. Anything he touches or comes in contact with is likely to pick up the skunk odor. The odor comes from the oil sprayed by the skunk, so if your dog rubs the oil on your furniture or carpet, your house is going to smell like skunk, too. Before you bathe your dog you should change into some old clothes that you won’t mind throwing away, if necessary.
Grab some paper towels so you can blot the skunk oil from your dog’s coat before you bathe him. This may help remove a lot of the scent. You may have to wash your dog several times to make him smell good again. Have some old towels ready for drying him off.
Other Remedies
If you don’t have one of the commercial products handy for bathing your dog, there are some old favorite remedies for removing skunk odor. Some people claim they are very effective:
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Use one quart of hydrogen peroxide 3 percent solution (this is the same kind of hydrogen peroxide that you would pour on wounds)
- 1/4 cut of baking soda
- one teaspoon of dish washing detergent such as Dawn or Ivory liquid
Combine these ingredients and apply the solution to your dog. Make sure you keep the mixture away from your dog’s eyes. Wash thoroughly and then rinse it completely off your dog. Again, you may have to reapply the mixture and wash your dog more than once to remove the odor.
Tomato Juice
Tomato juice is a long-time remedy for removing skunk odor. You would need to completely cover your dog with the tomato juice and then bathe him with a good dog shampoo. You will probably need to do this several times to remove the odor. If you have a white dog then using the tomato juice will probably make your dog’s coat pink.
Vinegar and Water
Some people like to use vinegar and water to try to remove the skunk odor. Or they have used douche products. They claim this approach works. Be sure to keep bathing your dog with a good dog shampoo after using these products. You may need to repeat this procedure several times to remove the skunk odor.
No matter which approach you try, getting skunk odor off your dog is not easy. You will probably have to repeat the method more than once and bathe your dog with a good dog shampoo. Then use your old towels to dry your dog. The odor will eventually go away.
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