It MUST be spring, the dog tangled with a skunk!

[JayChase]

This is not a task I am looking forward to today. She just keeps looking at me, “what did I do?” I guess finishing the chicken tractor is on hold ’till this dog can pass the sniff test…
Jay

[dominiquer60]

If that is the sign, then spring came to Abington, CT Sunday night. The victims included 2 dogs and Sam’s mother 🙂

[Tim Harrigan]

When is Sam’s mother going to learn to stop tangling with skunks? 😮

[mink]

tractor supply sells a neutralizer.for skunk spray

[dominiquer60]

1/4 cup of Baking Soda
Quart of Hydrogen Peroxide
Pint of hot water
mild soap (not detergent)

Rinse
Soak with Solution
Let stand for 5 minutes
Rinse
Repeat as needed

My dog is just faint of skunk now, I don’t think any solution is 100%, but this one is cheap and easy.

[JayChase]

We used Dawn dish detergent…since the spay is oil based, (please don’t bring the chemist in me out to explain polar and nonpolar covalent bonds and molecular polarity) the detergent dissolves the oil and washes the smell right down the drain…since I use it to wash my hands and dishes, I feel comfortable using it on my dog. Dog now smells fine; wish I could say the same for the porch, but it is airing out nicely…
Jay

[Andy Carson]

I have used the hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and soap mix with great success before. It makes great chemical sense. Skunk spray is a mix of thiol (sulfur) containing high molecular weight hydrophobic organic molecules (like oil/grease). The thiols is what makes them stink. Burning tires release sulfurous compounds too (which is why you are not supposed to burn them) and have similar smell (at least to me). Anyone who has washed oil based compounds out before knows that some soaps work well for some types of oil/grease/tar and others would better for other types. Either way, it takes alot of soap and a lot of scubbing to remove ALL the oil or grease, esp from hair. The same goes with the skunk oil. Because it takes only tiny amounts of skunk oil to make big stink, the soap only system never worked that well for me. It worked especially poorly for my wife, who is much more sensitive to skunk smell. The genious of the hydrogen peroxide system is that it chemically modifies (oxidation, if you are curious) the thoils in the organic compounds. This means they don’t stink anymore, so it is not as critical to physically remove them. The baking soda keeps the pH favorable for this reaction, and the small amount of soap is really just a wetting agent so that the active ingrediant (H2O2) can penetrate though the hair. I have used several skunk washes and this is by far the best in my hands.

[Jean]

I have heard that it is best to not soak the animal with water first, just put the mix mentioned above on including the dawn soap, then let it sit, then rinse with water.

[JayChase]

I guess if the dog still smelled, I’d use the peroxide and baking soda…she must not have received a direct hit…
Jay

[dominiquer60]

Sam’s mother smells fine now, but the dog has had 2 baths and though much better, he still has room for improvement. With a direct hit there is only so much washing it out with anything.

[Okiefarmer]

There is a taxidermist concocsion known as stop rot. It works well on skunk smell as well as a great wound dressing. http://www.mckenziesp.com/STRQ-P20444.aspx
I keep it on hand at all times!

[Author]

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