Friday, June 1, 2012

Stinky

Last night at bedtime, The Husband let the dogs out into the backyard for their final potty break of the day.  He gave a quick look around when he turned on the floodlights before he let the dogs out, like he always does, to make sure there wasn't anything in the yard.  He opened the kitchen door, the dogs ran across the deck and down the stairs, and almost immediately came charging back up the stairs.  He let the dogs back into the house, like always ... then he smelled it.  Skunk.


(Photo I took of a sad-looking Daniel a few weeks ago.  It seems like an appropriate expression, considering the subject of this post.)

It was Daniel who got sprayed .... in the face, of course, and down his right side.  Ruby was fine.  Thank goodness I read THIS post last year on my friend Kat's blog, so I knew what to do.

I mixed up a batch of solution and I sponged it onto Daniel, rubbing it into his fur and letting it sit for a few minutes.  Then I rinsed him thoroughly with warm water to get the soap off  ... ran a hose outside to the deck from the kitchen faucet.

This morning, we still have a residual smell of skunk in the house, from when Daniel ran in before we knew that he'd been sprayed.  It could have been much worse ... note to self, buy more peroxide next time I'm at the store.

Here's the recipe:
For every 16 ounces of regular 3% peroxide, add two tablespoons of baking soda and one teaspoon of dish detergent.  This was enough to do Daniel ... even though greyhounds are large dogs, they have short, fairly sparce fur.  I applied it to Daniel with a sponge (less dripping and waste that way)  I'm sure it stung his eyes when I sponged his face, having dish soap in it and all, and I rinsed his face REALLY well with the hose ... he hated that part, but he put up with it because he is a good, good boy.

(Edited to add:  you CANNOT mix up this solution ahead of time and DO NOT keep it in a closed container.  Keep the ingredients on hand and mix it as needed.)

18 comments:

  1. I've never smelled skunk in our neighborhood but that doesn't mean old Pepe Le Pew ain't out there hiding somewhere.

    Poor Daniel.. he looks soooo sad.

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  2. Aww poor boy! I'm glad you were able to take care of it so quickly and yes, buy more peroxide! Thanks for the reminder, we need some more too and I just saw a skunk at the end of our driveway the other night! Give Daniel hugs!

    Kat

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  3. Poor pup and poor you. I remember when they used to say bathe your dog in tomato juice. That did very little except add to the mess that you already had.

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  4. Yikes. That must have been exciting. We, too, are in the habit of checking the yard for animals prior to letting the dogs out at night. Thank goodness, we've not seen a skunk.

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  5. Poor Daniel! I can't begin to imagine what skunk smells like, but thank goodness you knew the solution to use.

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  6. Did you end up smelling like skunk too, or is the remedy that good?

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  7. Poor, poor Daniel. I'm sure that wasn't the way you intended to end the evening, but thank goodness you had supplies at hand. Peroxide is cheap, buy the economy size!

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  8. Poor puppers and poor you!

    Could you please give us the amounts of each you used in the cleansing mixture?

    we have skunks about and I plan to buy the ingredients to have on hand in case.

    many thanks for sharing!

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  9. (Post is now edited to add the recipe.)

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  10. Oh- There is nothing much worse than an animal getting sprayed. I can remember one time on the farm my fathr using tomato juice to soak down our dog in the milk wash room. xo Diana

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  11. Oh poor Daniel! I had a dog once that loved to chase skunks and smelled bad all the time...ick! Never heard of this recipe to bathe them in but sounds like it works! hugs, Linda

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  12. Oh crap, you know this could so happen to us on a daily basis....thank goodness it hasn't....I've smelt them in and around the different properties, but never had to deal with one in a trap or a dog being sprayed....let me knock on wood right now....thanks for the recipe...putting it on the bulletin board of things we may need in the future...give some sugar to Daniel for me♥ and to you and Steve too!♥

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  13. Oh no, Connie! What an experience! I've learned to always take Maizie out on a leash after dark. And being the paranoid "parent" I am, I always talk loud and stamp my feet around as we walk out into the yard. There's many raccoons, possums, and skunks around here, too. lolol!

    xoxo laurie

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  14. Eww, I never think of skunks. Just armadillos. What a sweet boy to let you clean him up and not make matters worse. Like mine, he was probably saying, "Fix it, Mommy, please."

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  15. ooh yuck! Good to know, hope I never need it!

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  16. Poor sweet Daniel... I know that must have been awful for all of you guys! My sister thinks skunk smells like coffee :) - Susan

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  17. Hi Connie -- Love the new "do" on you, by the way -- but as for skunks and spraying, that is the WORST. Well, we have always had long haired overly curious spaniels, so we always kept the ingredients for this remedy at hand.
    It was originally concocted by a professor at Yale, and it's important to let people know that it cannot be made in advance, or kept in a jar. It only works, and is only stable, when fresh.

    Some people swear by Dawn as the detergent, others by Joy. We have used Dawn with good results.

    Our dear Ailsa, who had NINE INCH long ears (on a 16 pound dog) was sprayed not just on her ears, but down inside the ear canal. For months, when she came in from the rain, there'd be those whiffs of eau de skunk hovering around her head. Awful.

    Poor Daniel. If skunk smells awful to us, with our sad and primitive noses, imagine how terrible it smells to our dogs!

    Every dog owner should keep these ingredients handy -- thanks for the reminder!
    Cass

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  18. Oh I know this will be Attagirl's fate one day! There are almost as many skunks around here as there are rabbits, deer and ticks.. In other words A LOT!
    I'm bookmarking the remedy! Thanks!
    Grace

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