For those of you who’ve never witnessed a skunked dog, this is what the immediate aftermath looks like. And before you blast me for idly standing by videotaping my dog while he’s in agony, read on before commenting.
The event started innocently enough, with my 14+ year old friend wanting to take his nightly patrol of the back yard, as is his routine. I knew of no reason not to let him out as usual. His meanderings in the dark came to an abrupt end, however, when the poor guy happened upon a skunk that must have been on our deck, immediately in Henry’s path.
As soon as I smelled the unmistakable sulphuric blast, I opened the back door to get him to safety, but he came running in full speed without any encouragement (he can still move pretty fast when he needs to). The poor guy got hit at close range. Being an EMT, I assessed his well-being and knew that his condition wasn’t in any way dangerous, though clearly it was distressing.
My dog, who as you can see is also a black and white creature, then became a skunk himself by rolling on my rug, rubbing on the couch and otherwise spreading the stinky oil all over the house before I could do anything to stop him (what’s a blogger to do in that case but pull out the video camera?).
It’s important to wash skunk sprayed dogs promptly (part hydrogen peroxide, part baking soda, part soap is what we ultimately used), but I wasn’t about to take him out to the hose and give him a bath. The attacking varmint was still on the loose out there. It was around 11 p.m., so couldn’t rush him to a doggie groomer, and last time I put him in my bathtub, it was a disaster. Despite knowing the drill, I was helpless to change the course of events, which ultimately led to a contaminated house.
So, my eyes burned all night, even in my third-floor bedroom. The next morning, I removed the rolled-upon rug, washed the dog bed in hot water and scrubbed Henry (it took 3 of us). Alas, the house still stinks 3 days later, and so does the dog, though he seems normal otherwise. It’ll fade in time, I’m certain. Anyway, I know that no matter how bad the escapade was for me, getting a facefull of skunk had to be much worse. Those little critters pack a mean wallop.
Anyone else having skunk issues lately? We hear there’s a bumper crop this summer.
Ah poor Henry. I saw a skunk in our front yard this summer for the first time. A few days later, I saw one around the corner crossing the street.
“As soon as I smelled the unmistakable sulphuric blast, I opened the back door to get him to safety”
that was your mistake. Say goodbye to the rug and couch.
ROC, like a good friend, I thought first of Henry’s well-being and of my worldly possessions as an afterthought. The leather couch is brand new, btw, though it seems to have recovered (we keep a dog cover on it, which got the worst of the stink. I was told to dust baking soda all over the rug, leave it or a while and vacuum it up. Not sure but worth a try.
There is a family of skunks living around the shed at the GR Cong Church, and they are quite regular visitors to the house. They are trying to get under our garage. Sadly (I think) one of the little skunks was ripped apart in our back yard by something bigger and stronger. There are also a pair of raccoons out and about who come to the back porch with regularity. There are a LOT of creatures out there, even deer spottings in GR which are rare.
And it would have too unfriendly to leash him and take him to a bathtub straight away and close the bathroom door?
I’m sorry for the dog. I’ve had dogs “skunked” before. And I’m sorry for your possessions. I wouldn’t hold out much hope for the couch or rug.
When my bf’s dog got skunked he had no clue and thought he had made a new friend. Bf took him across the courtyard with no leash and minutes later a stinky terrier is jumping in my lap to tell me all about his adventure. We washed him with everything in the house like mad scientists trying to find something that worked. Nothing worked. Worst stench ever – like a mix of the top 10 worst odors mixed together.
tomato juice; lots of tomato juice – if it can work for the Partridge Family it can work with Henry
Nature’s Miracle Skunk Remover works wonders- have to bathe the dog 2 or 3 times with it, but then it was gone. House cleared up too after a day or so including the rug she laid on. Laid on the bed too before we could stop her!
The problem with Nature’s Miracle is that you can’t let it get in the dog’s eyes, and most skunked dogs take it in the face. Our neighbor’s dog got skunked in the face about 3 months ago, and he still smells like skunk after repeated baking soda & peroxide baths, grooming visits, etc. He threw up the skunk blast immediately after: whitish, wierdly viscous, won’t dissolve in water. My neighbor had to pick it up & throw it out.
I’m sure you’re all grateful for my sharing that. Stupid dog, planning vengeance, still goes back where the skunk lives behind a shed.
“whitish, wierdly viscous, won’t dissolve in water” – sounds like something Gordon Ramsey would find in the fridge on Kitchen Nightmares
Before we were married, my husband and I lived in a house with 5 other people, 3 dogs, 2 parrots and a cat. I think something like that actually did appear in our refrigerator.
When Ruby & I were first married, we lived in a tiny house in CG that had an open basement & crawlspace that was frequented by skunks, in spite of the many attempts by our landlord to keep them out. Once a month or so, the house would get blasted, but it was far enough away that it was not that bad – candles and air freshner and fans and open windows were enough to make it tolerable.
Then, one day, two of them had a “fight to the death” (literally) in the crawlspace itself – that was very bad – we moved shortly after that.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Gordon Ramsey found some of that in a restaurant fridge, has he ever been to CG
We too have a skunk, around very often What brings them is people who put out crumbs of bread, and other food. Once they find the goodies, they come very often. There SHOULD be a law against such. A neighbor puts out all kinda goodies for all the little animals, the good, the bad & the ugly.
We get psosums, rats, mice, squerls, skunks, and one night, a small red fox, a baby. The skunks especially have alot of chupspah and gall, and do not run away.
They eat slugs & snails. Silver lining for the gardener.
How could I 4-get? We also get an entire family of racoons, here.
Hey, ‘ya put out eatable stuff for the animals, on the ground….and they show up !!!
for the rug and couch cover- ordormute or one of the other enzyme action product – don’t bother with tomato juice.
Montclair Feed and Pet carries a bunch of different enzyme products
enzyme stuff would mean going to the store, and in Montclair that means dealing with parking, I prefer to just ring room service as the Partridge Family did and have things delivered right to my suite
There’s usually parking right outside of Montclair Feed and Pet – or you can park accross the street. Did you know that they also have a self service dog wash in the store? “Stainless steel tubs w/ ramps. Shampoo, towels & dryer provided.” They do also do Food delivery so I’m sure you could order the enzyme products.
Montclair Feed & Pet Supply LLC
Business Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
191 Glenridge Ave.
Montclair, NJ 07042
Phone: 973-746-4799
Fax: 973-746-1494
We had a night where both our dog and indoor/outdoor cat were skunked (seperately). The whole house smelled of skunk until we found the enzyme products. We tried bathing both the dog and cat in tomato juice. It didn’t help the smell and rinsing them repeatedly was a major pain – although both of them responded well to the eye rinsing that we did.