Late last night, Gordon steps out of the shower and opens the door. I am parked on the chair in the corner of the bathroom.
Gordon, big smile: Hey there. Were you waiting for me?
Me: Hmm. Can you walk into the bedroom, please?
Gordon, in a towel, walking to the bedroom: Sure. What am I… Why does it smell so bad in here? Dear Lord. Oh wow.
Sookie got sprayed by a skunk. We don’t know how her stupid butt managed to surprise a skunk. She is huge, she is slow, unless she is charging, and she’s barks like a fog horn. You’d think the skunk would see her coming a mile away and take off. Oh, it is awful. And I am, apparently, one of the small percentage of people who cannot handle it. I never knew this, but I literally couldn’t get close to that dog. It’s like rotten garlic and decomposed citrus rolled into one. Kid 1 couldn’t do it either.
We didn’t have any peroxide, and it was too late to buy it, so Sookie spent the night in the garage. Somehow I managed to pass out in the still noxious bedroom. I was exhausted. This morning Sookie still smells, so we will be doing the washing as soon as peroxide arrives.
Yes, I know about tomato juice, but it doesn’t work as well as peroxide and soda.
Oh the stench. The stench.
Update: it’s 12:27 pm. I am finally done deskunking. Peroxide and baking soda works, but it takes multiple applications. There is still a faint whiff of perfume de skunk, but we can deal. Cleaning the floor where she flopped yesterday really sucked.
Its skunk season. Our dog played with a striped kitty too and the skunk was not happy. Our house smelled for days.
Sorry. Just really sorry. Maybe it was a slightly deaf skunk? Lame skunk? Too busy on its phone and got startled skunk? Just sorry. Also drug store brand hydrogen peroxide or lab grade?
Some time ago my husband and I were driving through Marin County to the coast and passed a car parked at the side of the road. Then we realized the car belonged to the guy with the camera, the one sneaking up on a skunk to take a picture up close and personal. We both reacted the same, “OMG, what an idiot! ” Needless to say we did not stay to see what happened…
I’m so sorry about the smell. I’m glad that I have a strictly indoor cat. My Mischief is terrified of going outside even though she loves to look out windows. But I don’t blame her. This was before I adopted her five years ago, but the last time she was outside someone decided to use her as a bb gun target and nearly killed her. A family found her and took her to the vet that I also used. They got her all healed up but had to rehome her because their 4 cats didn’t want to share their home. Mischief still has a scar on her left side from where one of the bullets grazed her and she walks with a permanent limp from where a bullet broke her shoulder.
Poor baby! Some people are just evil. Thank you for being Mischief’s family!
I know this is horrible, but I just laughed my head off. Thank you for that! Luckily, our dogs have managed to avoid the skunks, although our hound dog refuses to realize that he should not go after copperheads.
A little vicks vapor rub under your nose will help a lot……commonly used in crime scenes to cope with decomposed bodies…good luck!!
Those things really have bad eyesight as I understand it. We never had problems with them around here until our cat was out at the wrong time, they both came around the same bush and collided. Our cat was too dumb to run away in time. Pew.
Our old cat has managed to get sprayed 4 times! You’d think he’d learn but apparently not. Never had any luck with the tomato juice, just made him smell like a skunky bloody mary. We use the peroxide, soda, dawn cure now. It seems to work the best. Problem is he has very thick fur so even with repeated washings he is fragrant for quite a while and even more so if it’s damp!
I’ve never had to clean skunk spray off a dog, but I have had to deskunk a car. Hands down, my number 1 favorite clean is the Oreck Enzyme Cleaner. I have seen this stuff work miracles in some of the foulest situations I’ve ever encountered. If you can’t get your hands on Oreck, you can try a different brand, but I keep a bottle of the Oreck stuff around for emergencies. Life saver, legit saved my car from the junk yard.
Poor pup, she’s in for a rough time of it 🙁
Hate to say it but your bedroom is going to faintly smell like that for at least a month. My dog has been sprayed twice. You would think she’d learn the first time but no. Skunks are friends and we want to play with them, it doesn’t matter that they spray us. I also suggest you buy the special shampoo from the pet store. All the homemade recipes we found worked a bit but the shampoo worked the best and quickest. Good luck.
I will say the first time our dog was sprayed gave me one of my funniest memories of my kids. I left to go pick up the ingredients for a homemade shampoo and came back to my 12 year old son and 7 year old daughter waiting for me on the front porch. My son tied a bandanna over his face and my daughter had toilet paper wades in her nostrils and they were both outside trying to get some fresh air. They looked so funny and where do dramatic about everything.
And yes the house smelled for 2 weeks and I swear that I would catch a faint skunk smell for at least 2 months after.
Didn’t read through all the comments but vinegar and water douche works well, Natures Miracle also makes a product specifically for skunk spray. I haven’t needed it since I bought it but I keep a bottle of the Natures Miracle on hand as a just in case. Nothing but time gets rid of the smell completely but I know from experience that vinegar and water douche cuts the smell at least 80%. Just tell people you have a really bad yeast infection when they give you the side eye for buying large quantities of douche. My dog was long haired and was sprayed on 2 separate occasions. Fun fun fun.
I’m also one of those small percentage. I literally gag. And my dog, one of the sweetest dogs in the world LOVES HER KITTIES. And she sees absolutely no reason that small black and white kitty can’t also be her friend. Usually late at night. We now open the door, cautiously sniff to see if there is any possible presence of skunk before we will let her out for the night. We keep skunk off on hand and as soon as we use the bottle, we purchase a new one the very next day. Because we WILL run out of it and we WILL need it again shortly. The worst part of living in Texas, including the heat and the mosquitoes, is that skunks are active year-round. You have my deepest sympathies. That smell is in your nose and your house, and I don’t care what anyone tells you, on your clothes, in your hair, on your furniture….
Been there done that multiple times. Try a product called Nature’s Miracle, we had the best success with it. They have one just for skunk, or did. Our worst case was the first time because our big boy had never encountered a skunk so he got it in the face. We had to wait for it to fade from around his eyes. And the carpet because he ran in and took a diving roll on the carpet while it was fresh at midnight of course. The good news is your nose will adjust.
Here is a link:
https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Miracle-Remover-Neutralizing-Formula/dp/B07HHKL75D/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Natures+miracle+skunk&qid=1591719324&sr=8-1
Funny story. We have a cat and a dog. Both are all black. Our dog is so used to seeing a black kitty running around, that when my roommate took him out for a walk one night, and he saw a black “kitty” out there, he thought nothing of sticking his nose right up the “cat”‘s butt.
Needless to say, it was NOT a cat, and hey, guess what? Skunks don’t like having cold wet dog noses shoved up their butt. Who’dathunkit?! He got sprayed right in the face.
We were lucky though. Apparently skunk spray to the face can actually blind and/or kill(!!) a dog. Our puppers was miserable for the night, and I was the one who had to do the majority of the scrubbing the next day (we used apple cider vinegar and baking soda), cause neither of my roommates could stand the smell, but other than that, he was unharmed. Best of luck in your de-skunking~
My family has had lots of dogs…not all smart dogs either. We’ve found the Dawn, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda is the only solution that actually works. It also works on other smells. Good luck! Gotta love the doggos. At least my girls have yet to find a skunk. There’s mythbusters episode where they test different remedies and the best part is they can’t get a skunk to spray them! It was highly entertaining to see them trying to get a the skunks to spray (humanely). The skunks were no dummies they knew they weren’t in danger.
My mom feeds the stray cats on her front porch, and there is a regular visitor of the skunky variety. I’ve often dared her to jump out of her house and yet “BOO” just to see if she’ll do it. No luck so far.
What is this peroxide and soda method?
We don’t have skunks, but we do have foxes. My beagles love a good roll. We’ve tried the tomato method – that’s a failure. If you have a secret sauce that works – share it please.
There are recipes earlier in the replies.
NO TOMATO JUICE (yes, I am yelling)
We had white cats and the tomato juice only made them pink and embarased.
It really doesn’t work. I haven’t read all the other posts but please ask your vet for the better options.
Sorry for the yelling but from experience comes wisdom, eh?
My dog got skunked once too. It is most horrendous stench imaginable. I feel for you.
Oh my that is awful. So sorry I hope the washing gets it off her. You may have to clean the garage too so the smell won’t creep into the house.
Oh man! Once when we were celebrating a birthday sleepover my sister and I (along with 8 of our friends) had the joy of a skunk dying under the porch. The smell was so bad we all were gagging, eyes watering and vomiting until morning. The smell stuck in our hair, clothes, carpets for MONTHS! I, to this day, still have a scent memory and sympathy retch thinking about it. Best of luck to you! May you not have the same experience.
Not all dogs learn the lesson. My neighbor’s dog, a lovable doofus, got sprayed point blank TWICE. Don’t count on this being a learning experience for the doggo. You have my sympathy, the stench is unbearable.
Natures Miracle available in most pet stores works amazing. I have two short coated dogs and they get skunked usually once. This stuff works
If the peroxide doesn’t work, try Nature’s Miracle Skunk Odor Remover. I have a husky that’s been sprayed more than three times and we’ve tried everything to get the smell out of his very thick fur. One time he was even sprayed in the mouth and burped up skunk smell for the next two weeks (that was fun). Nature’s Miracle was the only stuff that worked and we now always keep a bottle on hand, just in case. I hope you’re able to get the smell out. It’s definitely the worst!
Oh, the poor puppie-dog!
Oh NO!!!! I feel for you. It’s one of my big fear of mine when let the dogs out at night. I was coming back from the barn one night and saw Ted playing with something. It was a skunk! How he didn’t get sprayed that night before I could call him away is beyond me.
We had a skunk spray the intake of our aircondition unit at the Charlottesville farm. We had to leave at 11 at night and stay in a hotel for 2 days. It made your eyes water and it was the whole house.
Aaaaah! Oh, no! Bummer! All the sympathies. And sending wishes for lightning fast peroxide acquisition and effectiveness. And you probably should take a nap.
Veterinarians have a special solution that helps for skunk smell because sometimes K9 officers get sprayed. Your noses will get used to it so you won’t smell it after a few days, but visiters to your house may still detect a faint aroma of skunk even two weeks later. I’m so sorry.
Poor pup and poor Gordon! One word hotel. Either that or make sure the office reno includes a hideaway bed.
Skunks can only see about 6 ft in front of them. I feed some stray cats and I get everyone else. Lots and lots of skunks and none have sprayed thankfully. It takes a lot for a skunk to spray as it takes a lot of calories to recreate and fill their glands they normally just run away and not spray. It is funny to watch them go into threat posture with the tails up.
I have mistaken the scent of rutting deer with skunks it is even stronger.
My dogs never learned. My boxer was convinced skunks were odd colored kitties. just aching to associate with her. “skunk off” is the best, everywhere it touches the smell just disappears.
The skunk “pedway” goes right past my house – forest preserve one block east and swamp two blocks west. They carry that odor even if they haven’t sprayed anything. It comes in through closed windows even in the dead of winter. Hella wake up call at 3:00 am….
My sister has had to wash four dogs at various times: the beagle mix and the terrier mix because they got aggressive with the skunk, and the golden retriever mix and the pitbull mix because they thought it was a cat, and they live with cats, and thought the “cat” would play with them….
Hope there are good treats for everyone after the bath procedure today!!
I feel your pain (smell it too!) Hopefully the smell in your room will dissipate quickly!!
Our childhood dog Ringo escaped one afternoon and took off for the woods behind the house. An hour later he came running back to the house squeezing through the hole in the fence he had made baying and yelping. Not only had he found a skunk but it was a dead skunk and he had rolled in it. My mother was an ER nurse and on her way home from the store (tomato juice in those days) she stopped for masks, gloves and gowns for everyone to wear to bath the dog. Ringo was already an unusual looking dog being a Bassett/Saint Bernard mix but after his bath of two cases of tomato juice he was a PINK Bassett/Saint Bernard mix.
I’d love to see this moment written into a book, it’s so relatably epic! It’s also awful on a laughingly horrific way. Here’s a good remedy if you aren’t already using it already 🙂 https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/home-living/get-rid-of-skunk-smell-on-dog/
I use Dead Down Wind shampoo when my dog gets sprayed. It’s the stuff hunters use to remove their scent and it works fantastic.
Hey, Ilona–
There’s a product you can use to remove mildew from your tent or skunk from your dog, which breaks down the enzymes in the skunk’s spray, and which I’ve found the most effective thing out there. It’s called MiraZyme. I found it at LL Bean but it’s available in a lot of outdoor gear stores, an d general stores too–here’s a link: https://www.rei.com/product/852525/mcnett-mirazyme-odor-eliminator-8-fl-oz . I, too, am so sensitive in my sense of smell that tricky smells can make me gag quicker than you’d think possible! Good luck, sweetie! 🙂
I think you had the best solution for the smell…Gordon! In a towel no less!
I am so sorry about the pup and the skunk! I hope you get the smell out of everything…
Yep, class should be called Financing a Car/House 101.I luckily grew up as a daughter of 2 bankers, so all this was instilled in me at a very early age.
Thank you for the list. We all love you for it! Blood Heir is perfect!
Poor dear. I really feel bad for you.
We never found a remedy that worked when I was growing up (50 years ago!) but the dogs were farm dogs, so they stayed outside. I do remember my mother trying to de-skunk Poppy – We were out of tomato juice, so she just opened a can of stewed tomatoes. The poor dog had chunks of tomato in her hair for a week. She refused to get close enough for us to get the chunks off. (Since it didn’t work too well, we didn’t try very hard.)
Part of the problem we had with skunks was my father’s method of feeding the small animals on the farm. We fed the dogs and cats with left-overs and table scraps, but there was also kibble available at all times.
We bought dog kibble at the local feed store in 25 pound bags. The bag went into a large metal drum, we opened the bag, and turned the barrel on its side. Anything that was hungry could help itself. I know we fed possums, armadillos, and skunks as well as the dogs, ducks and cats. (The cats mostly used it as a mouse magnet, however.)
The dogs were just bright enough to avoid a second spraying, for the most part, except of course, for George. He was named for George of the Jungle from Rocky and Bullwinkle and was about that smart. He was afraid of skunks but still managed to rile one up every so often. It just had to wear off – he was afraid of people, too.
Oh Gawd! this is sooo funny – skunk stories! Best we can do in Oz is kangaroo road kill or pub(bar) puke at midnight (yep, dog rolled in in it three times at 1am +). wish all the remedies above were available 30 years ago)) Sorry for you all, but the most entertaining blog EVER!
Sigh, just to bring justice back into your marriage, some evening you are going to have to be waiting for Gordon as he gets out of the shower with an adult beverage, a slice of chocolate cake, and a smile. He can pick the order he wants. Takes a hero to deal with that.
Also might ask Misty how to attract owls to your yard. They like skunks for dinner.
I am in the midst of rereading the Kate books so I immediately thought of Grendal and laughed. Poor Sookie! The indignity, how dare that skunk!
One night when my son was two months old, my sleep addled husband let the dogs outside. He didn’t realize until they came in, shook, and rolled all over the furniture that my white dog Zelda’s snout was yellow with skunk spray. Link, her partner in crime, also got a coating.
So there my husband is, 32 degrees outside, using peroxide and baking powder for wash number one because I couldn’t stand it. I had wash 2 that night to get the chemicals out. Our entire house smelled like skunk, and we were having our annual Thanksgiving dinner party in five days. I spent the next three days waging war on my house to chase out the lingering stench. They got about five baths before it went away. And the oils smelled more when they were wet, so every time there was a bit of precipitation the dogs smelled horrid again.
I had a Sesame Street Scratch N’ Sniff book growing up in the 80’s, and one of those smells was skunk. Didn’t bother me much, or maybe was desensitized to it at the sponge-age of 3.
When I finally got to smell the real thing, I thought it was remarkable similar to pot smoke. Heh.
Skunk smell is the gift that keeps on giving. My dad borrowed my car and hit a skunk. It smelled bad after a rain for years.
Beaker got spayed three times last year. My bedroom was declared a disaster area and closed, boarded off, and abandoned. We tried the peroxide Dawn bomb. It did nothing. I also crated her, and it’s too late once it gets in follicle I guess. I did find a decent shampoo, not perfect, but Beak likes baths, from Skout’s Honor. The second spray was before a trial. Where she was touched. Judge didn’t notice. The skunk perished, I suspect a team effort. Chapter must have been in front.
Mud, stop spaying your dog! Once is all it takes.
::dies laughing:
???????????? Been there, done that! Up here in Ontario (Canada) the pet stores carry Skunk Off. It works! Good luck !
Everyone is so distracted by el skunko that you forgot your buddy Grace Draven’s new book is out today! (must…refrain…from…making…political…analogy…..)
Good book so far!
I feel for you both. There is no real describing the true nastiness of fresh Skunk smell. My dogs have been sprayed numerous times!! The worst was a tug of war that the whippets got into…….Seriously! One had the front end, one had the back end. When they finally let go, the poor skunk crawled halfway across our property and rolled over to die 🙁 The whippet who had the front end Had skunk breath until the day he died, many years later.
We’ve perfected the use of Baking Soda, Peroxide and Dawn Dish soap and I now always keep stock of all three. Trust me, washing a Leonberger (140 lbs of hair) at 1 am in October in Ontario is not fun when you are lacking supplies.
Sorry for your experience, I can definitely comiserate!
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When I smell skunk! I am always taken back to Forest River Mission in Western Australia and the Flying Fox Bats.
OMG! you just reminded me! Getting s**t on by a flying fox and having to drive kilometres to find a tap(faucet) to sit under and wash off the stench (nup!) Verrrrry long time ago….