How to Get Rid of Skunk Smell on Dog

My dog came home one day, in the panicked frenzy of an overtaken race car driver, quite near the finishing line. As he zoomed past, I got a whiff of it... the nasty, horrible, nose burning smell, and I instantly knew it was a skunk. Though I'd never experienced it before (thank god for that!), I just knew it had to be it, just from other recounts of the smell from friends and the fact that my guilty looking dog could not meet my eyes. You see, I have a really curious beagle. Try as I did, I could not get her out of the habit of smelling out, all the curious things. I think she just overstepped the boundaries of personal space with a very touchy skunk. Today, she stays away from everything black and white (even my zebra striped chaise lounge!). So, with my experience (and my dog's), I have tried to give my version of 'how to get rid of skunk smell on dogs'.

The Horrors Left Behind by an Angry Skunk

Black and white skunks cannot be blamed for they smelly encounters with dogs, for they believe that their color should have served as a warning. Unfortunately, some dogs (actually, my dog) never learned that in school. With such dogs, the poor skunk still shows some leniency by following an elaborate warning ritual (stomping front feet, hissing, and lifting their tails), before actually resorting to its 'biological weapons' attack. Unfortunately, dogs that do not beware often get sprayed. Skunk spray is an oily fluid that contains complex thiols. It smells so bad, nobody pays attention to the details, like it contains sulfuric compounds, etc. But if your pet dog has seen the wrath of a skunk, you need to know this, for it helps devise ways for getting rid of skunk smell.

The problem with the compounds present in skunk sprays is that the chemical fumes have an amazing ability to permeate all your favorite things in the room. Yup, all your favorite things, even the food in your refrigerator will smell of skunk, if you do not get your smelly dog out as quickly as possible. What's worse is that, once it is in, it is in to stay. The smell can linger in the household for years, especially if it is allowed to permeate into the things. No deodorant, room freshener and cologne can help you with this. They all temporarily mask the odor but it is entirely too strong for them to overcome permanently. My advice, don't wait for that to happen, just so you can check the facts for yourself and refute some of mine, just take that 'horrible smelling', 'guilty as sin' dog out of the house, that very instant. Anyway, coming back to the fluid, the only way to get rid of the smell is to counter the thiols in the fluid. Let us see how to do that and learn how to remove skunk smell from your dog's body, so that it doesn't linger around, long after the exciting episode.

Steps for Skunk Smell Removal

Step I: I cannot stress on this any lesser, get that awful dog who's running all over the house, trying to get the smell off him and onto your furniture instead, and tie him up outside (and I do mean somewhere far, outside) the house. If you wait any longer to start this process, you may never be able to get rid of the skunk smell off your dog's fur. Please, don't wait for other skunks to gather, answering your dog's smelly mating call.

Step II: Check the dog's eyes and skin for any sort of irritation that the spraying may have caused. If the eyes are red, wash them off with slightly salinated, eye drop solution. If the dog seems uncomfortable and uneasy (don't be naive, distinguish between looking guilty and looking uncomfortable), he may need a vet. If he seems calm and resigned, he probably just needs rest and nourishment, but after you've finished with the skunk odor battle. Don't forget to check for rabies symptoms, if your dog has been bitten during his skirmish with a skunk.

Step III: Don your rubber gloves and get to work. Get a few rags or a packet (probably more) of paper tissues and start rubbing the dog down. The objective is to remove as much skunk fluid off him as possible and to locate and bites. While rubbing him down, make sure that you don't let your dog enjoy your efforts. My shameless one was purring at my efforts to rid her of the smell, thinking I was grooming her.

Step IV: Wash your dog with a skunk odor remover, as quickly as you possibly can. Put him out of his misery by using a quick home remedy, given by chemist Paul Krebaun, in 1993. For this, you mix about 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, with about half a cup of baking powder. Don't forget to add 1 or 2 teaspoons of dish washing liquid to this mixture. While it is freshly fizzing, rub this mixture onto wet dog fur. Rub in well and repeat this process a number of times, and keep it on for about 5 to 10 minutes. Keep in mind that it is you giving the dog a wash and not the other way round. When we were finished, neither me nor my dog were quite sure of, which one of us, gave the other a bath. Once you are done, you can give your dog, a regular wash with normal dog shampoo.

Hydrogen peroxide has bleaching effect on dog fur, so if you wish to avoid this, try vinegar instead. Other well propagated home remedies, like tomato juice, beer, mouthwash, Pepsi and Garnier Fructis shampoo, etc. are not effective odor removers as they just cover the smell up, temporarily. Some good skunk odor removers are: "Skunk-Off", "Nature's Miracle Stain and Odor Remover", and "Earth Friendly Skunk Odor Remover". "Bioworld's BON-CC-41" and "Dinovites' Dogosuds" are also known to work well for skunk odor removal.

If you have a dog (especially an extra curious one) and live in an area where skunks are common, the best thing you can do is to be armed with knowledge and be prepared. I understand that thinking fast is difficult when an atrocious smell is attacking your nostrils, but it is something that you will have to do as a part of dog care. Train yourself to deal with such situations, for that's easier than training your dog to leave unknown things alone. Or better still, just let your dog be sprayed once, he'll learn it the hard way, just like my dog did. As I have said before, my poor baby refrains from analyzing, pawing and smelling all things black. Thank God I don't stay in poison dart frog territories, for that would be another adventure altogether.

Hope my article has helped you. For other odor related psychological after-effects, you will need to consult a psychologist. This was what was recommended to me when I constantly complained to my husband about all the non-existent odors in my house. Boy! Was that skunk smell out of this world (of course in a bad way)!