# Sprayed by a skunk... is there anything worse?



## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

We live in rural southern Pennsylvania. It was around 10PM, put our Border Collie out for her normal pre-bed potty routine and she came in bearing the unmistakable stink of skunk! Just in time for bed!

Thankfully she was sprayed before (well, not thankfully, but..) so we had some skunk odor remover on hand that we got last time. Comes in a red and white bottle, Nature's Miracle brand. We learned our lesson last time. Bathing is pretty much a terrible idea, it just spreads the skunk oils around. Even tomato juice only seemed to mask the odor, and then she smelled like skunk AND tomato.

The only thing I don't like about this Nature's Miracle brand is IT STINKS TOO! It definitely helps the skunk smell, but then she smells like chemicals instead.

Anyone know of a product/home remedy that is a QUICK cure for skunk stink? We'd love to have better future options as this is bound to happen again eventually


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

http://dan.drydog.com/patsyann/skunk.html

This homemade stuff really works -- this is what we used every time my last dog (a 100lb malamute/collie) would get sprayed by a skunk. They used to wander into his yard all the time, so this was fairly often! He didn't mind the skunk smell at all, but we did, so this definitely helped.


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

Crantastic said:


> http://dan.drydog.com/patsyann/skunk.html
> 
> This homemade stuff really works -- this is what we used every time my last dog (a 100lb malamute/collie) would get sprayed by a skunk. They used to wander into his yard all the time, so this was fairly often! He didn't mind the skunk smell at all, but we did, so this definitely helped.


Thanks so much! I've heard about the homemade remedy, but never heard testimony that it worked. I will definitely get a hold of those ingredients to have on hand for next time. I'm sure there will always be a next time!


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

It definitely worked for us! You could usually smell a mild skunky smell off him for a few days afterwards (he was a big dog with tons of fur to trap the scent), but nowhere near as bad as he smelled right after being sprayed. The stuff foams up like crazy, so mix it outside or in the tub... and definitely don't try to store the mixture, because it will explode. If your dog gets sprayed again, try it and let us know how it works!


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

I watched an episode of Mythbusters where they tried various methods to get rid of skunk stink (they used a whole bunch of stuff--industrial cleaners, alcohol, bleach, detergent etc.)... and the best remedy they found was baking soda!


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

lucidity said:


> I watched an episode of Mythbusters where they tried various methods to get rid of skunk stink (they used a whole bunch of stuff--industrial cleaners, alcohol, bleach, detergent etc.)... and the best remedy they found was baking soda!


ha, I just spent the past couple hours with Mythbusters on in the background. Will have to see if I can catch that episode sometime. I'll be using that hydrogen peroxide/baking soda recipe the next time for sure!


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Haha, that's AWESOME! I love Mythbusters  My favourite Discovery Channel show ever. I never get tired of watching it!

I think the skunk episode is pretty old... I saw it a long time ago, lol.

ETA: I found this site which summarizes Mythbusters episodes: http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2004/09/mythbusters_solar_death_ray_sk.html

Looks like baking soda/h2o2/dish soap really works! Lol. Also.. man, my memory must be really terrible. I remembered all the stuff they tried wrong!


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Ihave used the baking soda, H2O2, Dawn, water several times with the paps. It works pretty good. There is still a lingering skunk odor after jsut the first bath. But I tryt o bathe them daily if they get skunked and I can usually make it go away within a few days. 

***I've discovered that using Dawn dish detergent is a critical step. It has an ingredient that breaks down the oil in the skunk spray so that the other stuff can do the work. It's even used on animals after oil spills in the ocean. Works great.


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

Thanks to the powers of Youtube, I just watched the Mythbusters skunk episode. Oddly enough, I think the commercial skunk odor remover is the same stuff I used on my dogs from what I could tell (they covered the label, but size/shape/top color all match). 

Last night when she was skunked we wiped her all over where the spray hit her (not touching the rest of her), with the commercial stuff. Soaked a washcloth with it and really wiped it in good. You're not supposed to rinse them, but let them dry naturally. By the time we were ready for bed we couldn't smell the skunk off her from a distance. This morning I checked and could only smell a little skunk if I pressed my nose up to her face (where she was hit). I think the key is following directions and being liberal with the amount of cleaner used (and not making the problem worse by spreading it over the rest of their body like we did last time!).

@ briteday: I think I've actually heard the same thing about using Dawn rather than other brand soaps, for whatever reason. Mythbusters claimed when hydrogen peroxide/baking soda/dish soap were combined they released a powerful amount of oxygen molecules which bond with the thiols in the skunk spray and change its chemical makeup while also eliminating the odor. 

Definitely seems like a sound theory to me. If anything, going to go the homemade remedy route next time for a comparison at the very least.


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