• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

Help - Dog sprayed by skunk

Dan1122

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 20, 2007
22
0
Mountain City, TN
My wife's dog was just sprayed by a skunk. We are using the baking soda/peroxide mix and tomato juice, neither to much avail. Does anyone have another recommendation....quickly?

Kind Regards,

Dan
 
Give it a couple of weeks
It'll go away
Neighbors will just think your growing dope...
 
I've heard that that "Scent Killer" stuff you can buy by the gallon at a sporting goods store works. Hunters use it, and it seems to work well.

My neighbor also told me that this happened to his dog on a camping trip, and per Outdoor Life (lol, credible source), they grabbed the dog and held him upside down over a really smoky campfire, and they claim it works. This article appeared in Outdoor Life sometime in '96, I believe.

Good luck bro, man that just sucks!!!!
 
The baking soda mix you mentioned works, but we used Dawn dish soap along with hydrogen peroxide. You just have to use it over and over. (My dog got hit point blank, right between the eyes.)

Here is something you MUST do if the dog got inside: Remove your central air/heat filters. The smell is trapped in the paper element. Then, get with an exterminator. Our gave us a liquid to use. Put a square of paper towel in each room with a few drops of this stuff on it. Change daily. The smell will go away.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone (used the Dawn as well). I believe we have done the best we can do for now, time to put some Vick's under the nose and go to bed. Never thought about the dope part...probably get some raised eyebrows at work tomorrow.

Dan
 
Go to your local Petsmart or Petco and look for a product called Nature's Miracle. They make an enzyme-based product specifically for this...it really works
 
We spend a couple weeks hunting the pheasant opener in SD every year, usually 10-12 guys with 16-18 dogs. Every year 6-8 dogs get sprayed, usually always point blank; we've tried everything out there and the dawn/baking soda/peroxide is hands down the best solution. Directions: 1 full box baking soda, 1 full bottle of hydrogen peroxide solution, one capful (peroxide bottle cap) of dawn dish detergent. Use the entire batch on the dog, work quickly to get the solution spread on the dog; rinse & repeat. ***Use caution on the dogs face, don't get the solution in the dogs eyes, mouth or nose. It's too harsh for their mucous membranes. This sucks when they get hit in the face like pointing dogs usually do, there's no really effective & safe method for washing their eyes/noses/mouth. We carry scented dog shampoo and scented spray to make it bearable to be around them in the Suv for a 8-10 hr drive home.
Unfortunately most dogs (especially hunting dogs) usually don't learn to avoid skunks or porcupines after these types of incidents, their hate usually grows and you end up with the same situation repeatedly after this. Case in point, two of my pointing labs both got sprayed 3 days in a row last fall; of course it happened each time about 11:30 at night just before I was heading to bed and instead I got to spend 2-3 hours washing dogs. Best of luck to you, I've been in your situation.......many many times! :eek:

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
 
When my dog got it when I lived in Colorado a friend told me to give him a good wash with the BS and peroxide then dry him off and give him a good rub with carpet fresh... and rinse... He smelled like a French whore after that.. Gawd it was awful.

The second time I took him to the lake and threw a tennis ball into a lake till he almost drowned and believe it or not, that worked fairly well, only his head was in need of a good clean...

The third time.. I shot the dog.

Kidding, but I did think long and hard about it.

Their wasn't a fourth, he finally learned his lesson.
 
There was a thread on this a couple years ago.

Don't laugh - Massengale Douche - It will kill the smell and not hurt the dog. :)

A lady friend shared this tidbit. Their dogs get sprayed frequently, sometimes 2-3 times a month. She said the stares she gets when she buys "very large" quantities of Massengale at the store.
 
Dont use tomato juice, it just masks the smell very poorly.

My dogs have been sprayed several times. The key is to get to that toxin quickly. We have always used: Baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, dawn dish soap, water. Mix it all up and when it starts foaming just lather them up and let it sit as long as the dog will stay still.
When you start to rinse them off (wear gloves) the toxin should come off with it. You want to oxygenate that spray and its literally like super glue when it hits fur. If they get hit in the eyes, go get some clear eyes and flush them out. Use them whole bottle on them. Make sure you get the eyes clear or they risk going blind. MAKE SURE to clean out their ears as well. That toxin can really hurt the ear canal.

Then, to keep skunks away: get some old rags and soak them in ammonia. Hang them where you think they may be traveling and it will keep them away.
 
Last edited:
We have also used vinegar for this issue and that works pretty good too. Water is an activator for skunk spray, so when you go to rinse it off it just gets worse. Go right with the detergents/cleaners sans water first.
 
I grew up on a farm and this was a regular event with our Lab. We'd give her a bath using "Green Soap" that my Dad brought home from the Hospital and the dog got to sleep in the barn for about a week.

I made the mistake of shooting a skunk one morning that was caught in a trap outside our chicken house. Learned that a) you have to be farther than 20 feet away when you shoot and b) make sure you are upwind. I got sent to the locker room for at least three showers that day as I had to go to school right after shooting it.

Can't even count the number of new nicknames I got that week all variations of "stinky".

Just be glad it was a skunk, not a porcupine that your dog got curious with.
 
There are a lot of thiol groups in skunk spray (think 2ME (i.e. the stuff that is put in natural gas so you can smell it)) H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) works when the O binds to the Thiols through a Redox rxn (S to SO3 + H20), a Base will help as well as it will volatize the sulfhydryl group. Many use Vinegar or tomatoes but they are both acidic and have little, if any effect, with the Acidic Thiol group.
I live in the country, and I have found very few things work better than fresh hydrogen peroxide. Not sprayed on the dog, but poured on her and let set for 5 min or so. Repeat daily.
 
After my dog was sprayed, I happened to come home when a whole group of skunks was crossing the yard into the corn field. Was able to get to the suppressed 10/22, and emptied the whole mag. A lot of dead animals, but no skunks in 2 years.
After the stench/hassle of dealing with a sprayed dog, it was very satisfying!
 
Nature's Miracle does work and so does the baking soda route, problem is neither will work immediately. Your dog isn't going to smell very good for a week or so no matter what you do.
 
I had an old dog that hated skunks if there was one around she would go out find it and kill that thing then drag the thing home and eat it on the front porch. I stoped counting the skunks after 13. One thing for sure after the mailman found that sight once he never came back to the house neither did the neighbors it was kind of nice. But I tried all sorts of stuff tell I found Mother Natures Miracle. I would spray her down good with that tie her up in the wind and if there wasn't any wind load her up in the back or the truck and go for a long drive. DO NOT GET THEM WET!!!! the skunk spray will soak into there skin and you will smell that crap for a long time.