How To Get The Skunk Smell Off Your Dog

We have 2 beautiful German Wirehaired Pointers and they have both been skunked. Thankfully not at the same time. Jack was hunting pheasants (minding his own business and doing what he loves) when this devil skunk crossed his path and Jack got sprayed. It is a learning experience and we, my husband and I, learned a lot from that skunking.

First we doused him with about 20 gallons of tomato juice. Not only was it costly....it DOES NOT work! Poor baby was all orangey in color and still stinking like nothing I have every smelled. Simply awful. Not to mention the painful expression on Jack's face while humiliating him like that.

Since that experience I have learned how to handle a skunking and I wish to share my experience with you so you don't have to use your dog as a test model for products that probably won't work. Hope you find this helpful.

This is the "after" picture

Here is our beloved Joey. Unfortunately, I was so busy once he got home to take a "before" picture of him but this is the pictture of him after his "deskunking" bath.

Joey is our playful dog....he is a total clown and loves to make you laugh. He greets everyone with a big sloppy kiss, whether you want one or not. And, if the grandchildren get on the floor, well forget it. He is going to be all over them and won't be happy until they are laughing hystericaly. We love our Joey.

Joey is a hunting dog with such a passion for birds he is almost magical in the field. He and Jack make a wonderful pair and guide several pheasant hunts a year. At home and in his yard he has his nose to the ground for squirells, chipmunks, other dogs or for that matter anythinig that doesn't belong in his yard. This crazy dog points doves that sit on the roof of the pole barn.

Joey loves to swim and he loves to run. Joey is an indoor dog but loves to be outside no matter the weather. Joey loves people and brings us great joy. We love our Joey.

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I hope you never, ever, ever need this recipe but if you do make sure you write it down and put it somewhere that you can find it in a pinch or bookmark this page.

Here is what you will need:

> A plastic container for mixing the ingredients

> 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide (remember that hydrogen peroxide looses its punch if it is too old)

> 1/4 cup baking soda

> 1 to 2 teaspoon liquid soap

Mix all these ingredients together and use immediately. Do not put this solution in a spray bottle and do not store this solution. It must be used right after mixiing.

I am going to take a step backwards and tell you how this all came about and why I needed to use the skunk odor remover on Joey.

My husband gets up early, every morning, to run Jack and Joe. Sometimes it is at the school (before the children arrive) and sometimes it is in our backyard but mostly he goes to the bike trail near where we live. On this particular morning I was sleeping in because I was up late the night before. At about 7:00 a.m. the phone rings. Now you know when the phone rings at that hour there is usually a problem. I sleepily answer the phone and it is my husband on the phone. He is not frantic at all....not his first rodeo. He calmly tells me that Joey has been skunked and he is in the back of the pickup truck with the lid down. Now, normally both dogs ride in the cab with my husband but under the circumstance this would not be allowed. He was on his way home and wanted me to be prepared.

I jumped out of bed, got dressed in my very oldest of old clothes. You want to wear old clothes just in case you get that stinkum on you. I then found several big beach towels, the dog shampoo and then to the kitchen to mix my solution of skunk odor removal. By the time I was done my husband is pulling into the driveway with Jack and Joey. Poor Joey is crying in the back of the truck not knowing what is going on.

We put a dog collar on Joey and then the leash. He wasn't going to go downstairs to the bathroom without a fight and we knew it. And, if by chance he would walk right down there we didn't want him bumping into any of the furniture or rolling on the carpet. That smell is over powering!

Once in the bathroom downstairs we got him in the tub and donning rubber gloves I pour the newly made solution over his back and chest and start massaging into the fur and down to the skin. You DO NOT want to get any of this solution in your dogs eyes, ears or mouth.. Keep massaging, the longer the better. Then I rinsed him with lukewarm water. Again, I doused him with the skunk odor removal solution and started massaging again. You need to do this for at least 5 minutes. Again, I rinsed him with lukewarm water and then his doggie shampoo. Another good lather on all his coat and a final rinsing. Make sure you rinse this last time and get all the solution and all the soap suds off.

Joey was so happy when I let him out of the tub. He loves to be dried off so the collar came off and he willingly sat and let me dry him off.

I wish I had some pictures of this but taking snapshots was the last thing on my mind. So, here is a photo of Joey doing one of the things he loves to do and that is run.

Here is a must have tool for giving your dog a bath. I bathe our dogs in the bathtub and I use to bring a big pitcher with me and fill it up with water, pour it over the dog, fill it up with water, pour it over the dog. It took forever to give them a bath. Plus, they don't want to be in the tub and the longer it took the harder it got to make them mind.

Finally I got an extension hose with sprayer on the end and bath time is much more pleasant. They still don't like getting a bath (very strange because they both love the water) but it is so much easier.

As much as my boys hate taking baths they love how they feel when they are all finished. You should see them run around the house. It almost looks like they are smiling. Use a good shampoo on your dog....one bottle lasts a long time!

I can't believe this man would allow his dog to get sprayed. She might have gotten the spray in her eyes! Not to mention what the dog would smell like for a very long time. Poor Suzie.

Let me know if you have had any experiences with skunk odor and how you solved the problem.