Maggie, on regular bath day
This is a bit off-topic from our usual Flea Market Gardening, but skunks are a reality in a country garden when you have dogs. I hope our ‘recipe’ works,…I’ll let you know! ~~ Sue
Last night, 2am, our Corgi, Maggie saw some kind of creature amble by the open sliding glass door, leapt up and crashed through the screen to protect us from whatever it was. Well, it was a darned polecat! Maggie, our sweet Maggie, must have got it right in the face because she slunk right back in when we called her.
We’ll be shampooing the carpet this morning since she immediately (before we could snatch her up) began to roll on her back. Dressing hurriedly, I ran to get our ‘skunk kit’, checking quickly on the computer for exact directions. Tractor man held her in the bathtub and I doused her with the ‘formula’ with rubber gloved hands.
We had wondered what this experience might be like. The eye burning smell when it is this close is like very strong onions, burned garlic and a petroleum smell…or propane. Awful! And it filled our bedroom! We washed the dog, washed our hands and faces and threw all the towels and our clothes in the washer.
We climbed into our smaller but comfy queen bed in the guest room with the slightly aromatic Maggie hiding herself on the floor. I’m afraid I elbowed poor Tractor Man as I tossed and turned the rest of the night, but I certainly could have slept better had he not kept crying out in protest when I did so!
Oh, the skunk kit? Here is what we keep in the cupboard in case of skunk attack.
1 or 2 quarts of Hydrogen peroxide (1 bottle is 16 oz, so 4 bottles)
a box of baking soda
Dish soap is on everyone’s sink so I grabbed that as well.
The recipe is 1 qt hydrogen peroxide in a pouring type container, mix in 1/4 cup baking soda and a teaspoon of dish soap.
In a bathroom with the door shut and the window open, mix the ingredients a rubber gloved hands.
With the dog in the bath tub wash the dog with the mixture while it is still foaming.
Wait for ten minutes for it to soak in. Don’t wash the dog’s face or eyes with the mixture.
We washed Maggie with her regular dog shampoo and dried her with old car towels.
I will update this telling if it works or should be repeated. I’m afraid we’ll have to do so! Poor Maggie!
Here is the page where I got this recipe and it’s explained by the chemist who configured it. I urge you to get your kit together in advance if you think you’ll ever need it because we couldn’t have gotten to any store at 2am!
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Maggie is adorable - about the cutest Corgi I've ever seen!
What are you doing up at 2 Am? LOL Our two schnoodles bed time is 10:00 and when I bring them in from pottying they run as fast as they can to their kennel for their treat (cheerios)
Joanna, It was hard to sleep after hearing our dog crash through the screen! LOL! ~~ Sue
Poor Maggie May!!! Did you by chance name her after the Rod Stewart song of the same name? I've decided that my next female dog is going to be a red-headed (I have red hair so I want a red-headed dog, a hairless girl would be so much fun to dress! The powderpuff's hair gets matted under clothes, besides it's way too hot to dress them right now!!) hairless Chinese Crested. I plan to name her Maggie May. After all, he does have hair like a Chinese Crested!! I already have a hairless and three powderpuffs. Not to mention our Maltese and German Shepherd!! I would really have my work cut out for me, if they all got skunked!! The powderpuffs' hair almost reach the floor!! They are beautiful, but they are a job to keep groomed!! Thank you for the recipe, hopefully I'll never need to use it!!
Sue, Maggie's official name is Mountain Fox Maggie May after both her 'parents' but we call her that also because we like Rod Stewart *and* his song! At her first vet appt, we heard the Maggie is the most popular name for a girl dog. We're so *average*, I guess. LOL! ~~ Sue
Tomato juice is the best thing to use to deskunk anything. The acid in the tomato neutralizes the odor. Put the dog in the bathrun & pour a large can of juice all over them. Let it sit for a few minutes & then bathe as usual.
That's the kind of excitement nobody wants to wake up to at 2 am! I love Maggie May by Rod Stewart, When that song comes on the radio, it takes me right back to that time in my life! I hope you are able to get her and the house sweet smelling again soon, and you! You'll know if it's still lingering when you go out in public and people look at you funny and start sniffing! Dawn dishwashing is used on birds to remove the oil, so it would be gentle on her skin too. Baking soda is a good odor remover too!
Thank, Marie,...I'll try Dawn today,...she still stinks and knows she's in the doghouse! Tractor man thinks she learned her lesson,...I think not! I think she'd do it again tonight if she could! ~~ Sue
Sue, just after we brought home a rescued beagle a few years ago she found a skunk. None of our dogs had ever "caught" one on this property. When I went outside to get the dogs in, I noticed the smell and hurried them in, only to realize that Sofie had brought it in the house with her. I almost gagged. The smell close-up is nothing like the far off smell when you whiff it from a distance. GAWD! From reading other information, I knew that tomato sauce wasn't gonna do it. Like you, I got on the computer and read up a concoction that we could use. I think it was similar. But I noticed that Sofie's tongue was gray and I looked that up. Because she had been sprayed in the face, and probably swallowed some, it was necessary to spray some of the soapy mixture into her mouth. Thank God I read that or she could have died. I never knew this was a possibility ! The next day I bought a product at Pet Smart just for this occasion. It worked wonderfully, although Sofie did need more than one bath and the smell continued the next few weeks, especially since we couldn't wash her face really well, and that's where it was concentrated. So glad that Maggie is okay !!
Now, we try to get the critters inside before dark. I really don't want to go through that again. Sigh.
Patty, thanks for your comment! We are SO glad to have had our kit, an unopened bottle of Hydrogen peroxide and the soda on the shelf next to our first aid kit. We knew that she had banged out the screen before during the day when she saw a squirrel but you just don't expect it to happen all of a sudden in the middle of a hot night when you want your windows open. You're right, the smell is nothing like the brief whiffs you get on the road that tell you you're nearing home in the country. It burns your eyes and keep you awake it's so strong. Poor Maggie didn't know what to do with herself. Prepare in advance and maybe this post will help someone else in the middle of the night!
Poor Maggie....she will have skunk breath for a long time if she got hit in the face. couldn't let my Kelsey kiss me for almost 6 months~
Another good way to get rid of the skunk smell on the dog is to bathe the dog in whole milk. Apply the milk and let it sit on the dog for a bit. The smell will intensify, but the enzyme action gets rid of the smell. Also, when they get sprayed in the mouth and have skunky breath, brush their teeth every day and the smell will go away.
From experience I know your recipe works though might be needed more than once. I have found that Odor Mute works well and have only had to use it once.. I could also dabbed it on my dogs faces, carefully. OM uses enzymes to eat the odor and I was safe washing my bare hands with it too. Since it comes in powder form I just keep some around in an air-tight container just in case.
A master gardener shared this with me. She has 2 big dogs and she says you would think they would get smarter after being sprayed by a skunk a couple of times. She says she and her husband take turns going to the store and buying a natural vagina douche. She says it works really well.