Oh, the unbearable STENCH!

[Haven]

Our pup Bailee was skunked last night. She was playing in our backyard, I was sitting inside the house by the door to the yard when this horrible chemical/burnt rubber/rotten food stench infiltrated the house. I really thought that there was a chemical spill or something equally horrible and it happened to land right in our yard.

The pup was flopping around like a fish out of water, manically rubbing her eyes and chest on the ground. I was terrified because I thought she was covered in chemicals, as that skunk smell does NOT smell the same up close as it does from far away.

She ran to me and her eyes were a bit red and teary but I could tell it was from the fumes and she hadn't been sprayed in the face. When I figured out that it was a skunk I found some recipes for removing the stench--vinegar or hydrogen peroxide + baking soda + dish soap, and I gave her three good baths with that. DH came home and found threads that suggested we leave bowls of vinegar around the house to remove the smell from the air, so we did that overnight. My hands stink because I grapped Bailee and got the spray on my hands, as well.

Well, the smell is a bit less noxious now, but it is still there. How have you gotten it out? We know the tomato juice doesn't work, I've tried that with other dogs in the past. The concoction I mention above helped, but it still stinks around here and I've had a headache since it happened.

Help!

P.S. Please don't flame me for being a bad dog owner. We have trained Bailee to respect wildlife, she doesn't bark at, charge, or chase animals, wild or domestic. My best bet is that she saw the little stinker in the yard and trotted over to him to get a better look, and since they were in a fenced yard he probably felt threatened and sprayed her.

 

[dragonfly411]

Haven - I think it is honestly a waiting game

 

[dragonfly411]

wanted to add - I would never think you a bad doggy mom b/c of skunk spray

I''ve had it happen to our dogs, skunks walk through the yard, dogs are curious... bad equation. I''ve also had it happen to horses

 

[princesss]

Time and a lot more of those vinegar baths. I''ll ask BF when I see him, since he''s a country boy and I''m sure his dogs got sprayed at some point.

 

[Haven]

Time? Say it ain''t so! I smell awful! I need a magic pill!

Thank you for the info, Dragonfly and Princess.

Dragonfly--I can''t imagine cleaning this stench off of a horse! My 42 lb pup is difficult enough to clean, and she doesn''t mind baths.

Princesss--I hope your country boy has some insight, thank you so much for asking.

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh geez, your poor doggie and poor you Haven!! That really stinks, ( sorry couldn''t resist

)

I don''t know but I always heard that one should bathe in Tomato juice?? Or is that an old wives tale??

 

[dragonfly411]

the good thing about horses is you can just turn them loose in the field, bring them in for supper only, and the barn nor you end up stinking lol.

you might try oatmeal?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Oh, Haven, I feel awful for you--I think that''s a fear for all dog owners.

This has yet to happen to us, but I hear the formula you have used is the best option for neutralizing the smell.

You know how you always hear that tomato juice is a good option as well, but I always figured that Hyd. Per. + bak. soda was a better solution. A couple of weeks ago, however, we went to see a house and the homeowner''s dog had been sprayed the night before. She bathed him in tomato juice a few times (let it soak about 20 minutes each time) and I didn''t smell any skunk in the house at all---not so sure about the dog, she had taken him to a friend''s house, haha.

 

[princesss]

Okay, just called BF (it''s a slow day here) and he says the tried and true method his family uses is tomato paste. Not juice, paste. It''s thicker so it goes on easier and stays on. He said lemon juice will help, too, and make your dog (eventually) smell lemony fresh. But really what you''re going for is acid to break down the spray. It''ll take several washes, but between your solution, tomato paste, and lemon juice you should be able to get rid of it.

 

[tlh]

my heart is with you. A friend of mine got sprayed hunting... and that smell stuck around.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 9/15/2009 4:18:50 PM
Author: princesss
Okay, just called BF (it''s a slow day here) and he says the tried and true method his family uses is tomato paste. Not juice, paste. It''s thicker so it goes on easier and stays on. He said lemon juice will help, too, and make your dog (eventually) smell lemony fresh. But really what you''re going for is acid to break down the spray. It''ll take several washes, but between your solution, tomato paste, and lemon juice you should be able to get rid of it.

I''ve heard this, too, but definitely don''t do it in the bathtub! Do it outside. I think letting it sit on your puppy''s fur a bit before washing it off helps, too.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

hahaha!!! What a nightmare. This happened to a person I know except the skunk sprayed under their house and the smell came up through the floor.

Maybe burn some strong scented candles. . .ones by Yankee?

 

[lulu]

That happened to our dog once. Despite all the concoctions we used it really took a couple months to completely dissipate. I guess it gets into the muscle tissue.

To get the smell out of the house I used ozium.

 

[lyra]

I stand by the statement that only time fixes this one.

Our small white dog got sprayed from very close range, and we could actually see the skunk oil on her hair. The smell somehow got to one of the kid''s backpacks, maybe she brushed against it *after* all the bathing, and we had to throw it out. We tried all the home remedies, tomato juice, peroxide/baking soda and a commercial skunk smell remover on the dog, but days later we could still smell it. You''re absolutely right, it smells so much worse than what you smell outside the house. Bleah!

Good luck. Keep bathing the dog, and the lingering smell will eventually go away.

 

[pierreone]

Oh, geez, sorry this happened. Both our dogs got skunked last year and the stench was unbelievable! I know exactly what you mean about the smell up close being totally different than from far away.

We used the hydrogen peroxide + baking soda mixture 3 times, plus took them to be professionally groomed, but in the spots they were directly sprayed the odor hung around for a few months.

One of our vets told us that to get the smell out of the house we should boil cinnamon sticks. We did that for a couple of days in a row, but it didn''t take it completely away. It took a week or so until the smell in the house was fully gone.

 

[swimmer]

Oh Haven, it really is just awful.

To get the smell out of our house (because she ran into the house after being sprayed and rolled around in a frenzy to "GET IT OFF!") we sprinkled baking soda all around and then vacuumed it up. That was pretty effective, well, more so than the tomato sauce. Those tomato marination attempts did turn our poor white girl a lovely strawberry, but didn''t help the smell much. It takes a lot of sauce to cover a very tall labradoodle. Vinegar was the best. Vinegar and time. Good luck.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Haven, you''re not a bad pet owner. Our old dog Piju used to like to kill skunks (well any small animal), so I feel your pain. We used ferret shampoo whenever he got into it with a skunk. Ferrets, martens and weasels all exude a musk similar to that of a skunk. The shampoo works really well, even if the altercation happened a little while ago. You can get it at your local PetCo/PetSmart. Oh and we use baby shampoo and a cotton ball around the face and eyes.

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 9/15/2009 7:29:31 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Haven, you''re not a bad pet owner. Our old dog Piju used to like to kill skunks (well any small animal), so I feel your pain. We used ferret shampoo whenever he got into it with a skunk. Ferrets, martens and weasels all exude a musk similar to that of a skunk. The shampoo works really well, even if the altercation happened a little while ago. You can get it at your local PetCo/PetSmart. Oh and we use baby shampoo and a cotton ball around the face and eyes.

Ditto this. It works. One of my cairns is sprayed about once a year, and then runs into the manure pile at the farm next door to "get it out" EW EW EW

The thing about skunk, is every time the dog gets wet afterwards (like for weeks!) the smell comes back, but not so strong.....

Ferret shampoo works great. Then I buy a big jug of Listerine and drench her in that (not on the eyes). Let it sit on her fur for a while, say, 10 minutes if you can. Something about the Listerine kind of kills the lingering pungency...somewhat.

Been doing this for about 4 years now (Robbie is 4). Works reasonably better than anything else I''ve done.

**holds her nose**

LS

 

[Haven]

Thank you for all of the tips, everyone! I''ve made a list and I''m going to pick up a new arsenal of stink-fighting supplies, and after I try all of your suggestions we''ll just wait it out.

Meanwhile, Bai and I are hanging out together in all our stinky glory. I feel like it''s bonded us even more, being this stinky together.

 

[Amethyste]

oh my

I am late reading this thread... It''s the worse smell to get out

Post your progress dear...

 

[KristyDarling]

I feel your pain. Our dog gets skunked about twice a year and yup, it''s like a burning rubber stench. UNBEARABLE. We have some store-bought de-skunking solution that we use in the interim until we can get him to a professional. There''s a local grooming shop here whose owner sorta specializes in de-skunking, and after he'' does his magic, our dog comes out smelling only very slightly skunky. After a few days, the skunkiness is totally gone.

 

[Haven]

Thanks for all your sympathy, everyone!

I figured since I have this thread going, I might as well use it as an excuse to shamelessly post some pictures of the little stinkpot.

This is my favorite recent shot of her, she likes to smush herself onto the back of our sofa. That little underbite gets me every single time.

 

[Haven]

I like to think that, had the skunk seen *this* face, he would have cuddled with her instead of sprayed her. (But then I hear DH''s voice saying "They''re animals, not people, Honey.)

But come on, look at this face!

 

[Haven]

And this *might* be why I find myself smelling like a skunk, too. We are as thick as thieves, the two of us, thick as thieves.

She''s mama''s little cuddlebear, the Stinky McStinkpot.

 

[Haven]

Okay, thanks for indulging me. I just cannot get enough of this little girl.

 

[Kaleigh]

Awwww that pic of you two is soooo adorable Haven. She sure is a cutie pie. And so are you Mrs!!!

 

[iheartscience]

Oh my goodness she is ADORABLE! I agree, the skunk must not have seen that face! Love the one of you two snuggling. But sadly I have no advice on the stinkiness front. Good luck getting rid of it-between all the advice something must work!

 

[House Cat]

When you made the dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda mixture, did you use Dawn? We tried everything on our poor girl, including store bought skunk removers because I was too afraid to use this mixture near her eyes. Finally I broke down and used it and it worked, pretty much. Then I washed her several times with Dawn. Our vet recommends Dawn if your dog gets in a real mess. Skunk seemed like an awful mess to us.

After she dried, she didn't smell so bad but she didn't smell great either. As long as we didn't put our nose to her, things were fine. Time was the only real cure though.

That photo of you two sleeping on the couch is priceless!

 

[Allison D.]

The veterinary emergency clinic in my area instructs people to use a mixture that''s 1 quart peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, and 1 tablespoon of Dawn dish soap.

It works like a charm on the dog.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I feel your pain!! While none of our pets got sprayed, a skunk did get under our house this morning.

I''m at work and I can smell it on me. It''s awful!

Has your stench gotten any better??