Skunk

Dog: Direct hit in the face with skunk in back yard.

Human: Let her in not knowing this had happened.

Dog: Foaming at mouth like Old Yeller, getting slobber all over the floor.

Human: Out you go.

We got the dog cleaning part down. Just wondering how we might ever get this smell out of the house. Please advise. And don’t tell me the spray eventually breaks down, yada, yada. This is horrid.

11 Comments

PU!

about 14 years ago

Crazy, I just started smelling skunk like 15 minutes ago. Its like one of those old horror flicks where the hero realizes the monster is right in the room with him! We must be pretty close! (Or there's an organized skunk uprising taking place...)

Bully

about 14 years ago

How deep into the house was the dog before you noticed? This same thing happened to us last year.  

I found this online, used it around the house...
"If you have hydrogen peroxide, baking soda (not powder), and dish soap handy, you can mix up a bath that neutralizes the smell. An easy to remember recipe of one pint of hydrogen peroxide, one small box of baking soda, and a couple of squirts of any dish washing liquid mixed in a gallon of water makes an effective, scientifically based antidote."

Check out this article
http://www.essortment.com/all/skunkodorremed_rwlg.htm

Nothing we did got all the smell out, you could still smell it for a month or so but it wasn't nearly as strong.

Sorry it happened to your pup, it sucks, ours has been sprayed every summer for the last 3 years.

Stringbean

about 14 years ago

Ugh. So sorry to hear it. The exact same thing happened to us a couple years ago.

We had to get rid of our couch (which the dog jumped on). Everything smelled for a month. Even now, a couple years later, some seldom-worn piece of clothing gets pulled out of a drawer, and it'll have that smell.

Skunks now cause a visceral response in me far beyond what they should. We have had a couple close calls since then. The dog is still dumb as rocks, and doesn't remember the misery.

Oh, and we tried every single solution on the internet and at work, and there was no panacea. Just lots of washings and time.

Good luck.

j

about 14 years ago

We had this happen as well (at 11 pm) and we put open bowls of vinegar around the house.  I read cider vinegar works best but the regular stuff did the trick.  We also opened all our windows etc.  We did the peroxide, dawn and baking soda for the dog too and it worked wonders.  The only spot that didn't get completely cleaned was by her eyes because I didn't want to get peroxide in them.  For a few months after when she got really wet she would still smell a bit though so be prepared for the furniture etc afterwards as well.

It is an awful smell and I hope you get rid of it!

Jude

about 14 years ago

So sorry this happened to you.  Even if they don't spray they stink so bad.  A couple of weeks ago a skunk was around and I suddenly remembered I had not closed the garage door, it was about 11pm.  I went out in the garage, closed the overhead and the back door and went to bed.  THUMP, THUMP.  Oh S*###.  I had locked the skunk IN the garage.  I was a wreck when I opened the kitchen door a crack to hit the overhead door button.  It got out but the stink lingered.  Bounce dryer sheets spread out around and a few sprays of Febreze helped some.  Good luck.

noozelady

about 14 years ago

Mouth breathing helps.

W.T.F

about 14 years ago

If your dog is/was foaming at the mouth you had better get to a vet and check for rabies! Skunks carry rabies and foaming at the mouth is one sign. Good luck.

spy1

about 14 years ago

Thanks for the words all. Crunch time is over. It's tolerable in the house now.

wtf: not sure that hydrophobie sets in that fast. Vet said the foam is mostly the skunk. Nasty stuff.

Dog is OK. Sheepish, but OK. Langouring in Chester Creek right now. Squirrel!

Bad Cat!

about 14 years ago

Oof, that sucks. My husky got hit right in the eyes earlier this spring. We were lucky to get her right into the bathtub without exposing too much of the rest of the house.

They hydrogen peroxide/dish soap really works for getting the stink out of the dog (avoid the eyes unless you want an even sadder puppy). As far as the rest of the house, wash everything that is washable (even stuff rooms away). Anything not washable, use a carpet cleaner or fabreeze. Then leave out pots of activated charcol to absorb the odor. Beyond that, it's just a waiting game.

You should call the state vet to have your dog reviewed for rabies infection. Even if they don't look like they were bit, a tiny nick could transmit the virus.

The foamy-mouth thing is obviously not rabies, as it would take quite a while for rabies to get to that state.

We had the state vet come out to check our animals, then they were quarentined for 40 days (no visits to the dog park), then rechecked for infection. Rabies is some pretty scary stuff, and not worth messing around with. Humans can get it, the only effective treatments need to be given quick, otherwise it is almost always fatal!

Minnesota Department of Health
Super-scary Rabies wiki article

And an interesting intersect of rabies/local news, the first person to ever survive a rabies infection was from Wisconsin.

Sonya

about 14 years ago

No skunk experience, but I can attest that peroxide, baking soda and liquid soap (I use Dr. Bronners) will also remove the smell of cat pee.

tang!

about 14 years ago

Does the peroxide, baking soda, liquid soap mixture foam up a lot?  
I might try this in my carpet cleaner to get rid of general every day pet stink.

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