As we sat enjoying the bees, the blossoms, and the cook breeze we couldn't help but breathe in the sudden skunky stink that began to permeate the air. OF course, we immediately hoped that it's nothing to do with our two dogs but of course it has everything to do with them.
Skunks are NO FUN at all when you have dogs. This isn't our first round of skunk SOS but this time I wasn't much help because I can't bend down and wasn't willing to kneel and risk them shaking skunky water all over me so my husband had the pleasure of bathing them.
We in the past have tried EVERYTHING. Every single web tutorial there is and honestly, once the dog is cleaned, it will still smell skunky for a long time, especially when wet. We had a bottle of skunk SOS shampoo in the cupboard so we used that. It gets them clean and reduces the smell to stinky but not tear-inducing.
If you wonder where skunks spray from (because I did)
Skunks have a pair of specialized sacs located in their anus; each sac is connected to the outside by a small duct that opens just inside the anus. The sacs are merely pouches that store an extremely foul-smelling secretion produced by glands that line the sacs. (source
The homemade version is tricky because dogs are typically sprayed in the face and the solution can't go near the eyes. nose, mouth. Mix 3 parts hydrogen peroxide to 1 part of baking soda, with a squirt of dish detergent and rub into the fur, rinse and repeat if necessary. We buy the skunk soap as it is gentler and it works. I've tried all the old folk remedies such as tomato juice, vinegar, and even Listerine and in my experience, they don't work in the slightest.
Neither dog is happy about being washed even though I pre-filled their tub and let the sun warm the water. It takes cookies, coaxing and even carrying to get the job done. There's Molly hiding in the trees watching Mischa's torture session - she thinks we can't see her.
Mischa's happy-nervous look. She, of course, shook herself out all over us and we had to shower too.
