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Late last Saturday night my dog had that most unfortunate of meetings: with a stinky skunk.
I’m ashamed to say that in my rush to do something about the horrid scent coming off of Chihiro, I didn’t think clearly. My husband and I should have hosed her off and applied treatment outside, but instead we brought her inside to the spare tub. We made her wait in the yard until we had the de-skunking mixture ready, but her trip through the house left awful scents that lingered for days.
One good thing I can say is that the hydrogen-peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap mixture I mentioned last month is a miracle. It cleaned the skunk smell right out of Chihiro’s coat. However, now that I’ve put the potion into practice I have a few notes.
If you have a darker-colored dog there’s a risk the peroxide will bleach her coat. While this didn’t happen to Chihiro, who’s mostly rust-brown and black, either the stress of the skunking or the peroxide caused her to shed a lot. I found clumps of hair all over her bed the next morning, but she seems fine now.
Due to the mixture’s high peroxide content it shouldn’t be applied too near the dog’s eyes. Unfortunately, dogs are often sprayed in the face (because that’s where skunks tend to aim) so the unpleasant smell could linger for longer around the dog’s face.
To combat this, try reducing the amount of peroxide in the mixture and adding white vinegar. Or, make a face-only batch altogether replacing peroxide with vinegar.
It also might not be a bad idea to have de-skunking shampoos on hand (I know I plan to go out and buy some now). You can also try the traditional tomato juice/sauce remedy on the dog’s face, or try a method I learned from a friend whose husband is a vet: whole milk. You must use whole milk; the high fat content of the milk absorbs the skunk odor. Leave the milk on for around 10 minutes, then rinse it off.
Due to the lingering skunk smells on my dog’s face, I tried this today. After I cleaned the milk off of her I applied her regular shampoo to her face and left that on for five minutes. Though there is still a whiff of the smell around her face, I’ve eradicated it elsewhere.
That elsewhere included two areas of my house where the scent remained: the living room, where she slept the night of the skunking, and the bathroom where we brought her to clean her. Although the smell decreased a bit each day, I had had enough and decided I was going to get rid of it once and for all.
The bathroom to which we took Chihiro smelled, as did the living room, likely emanating from the leather loveseat on which Chihiro slept that night. Her collar and tags smelled as well. Here’s how I tackled each:
I mixed baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap, soaked her collar in some of that and sprayed the rest on the loveseat. I immediately wiped it off, then repeated the process until the smell disappeared. I used Murphy’s Oil Soap (due to my wood floors) on the floors in the living room and bathroom. I used a cleaner with bleach on the tub, and I soaked her tags in straight vinegar. Now the smell is gone from all of these areas and items.
With these tips you should be well armed if you ever face a skunk attack, though I hope you never will.
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*(This image by desmorider is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
