Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Pepe Le Pew

Last night I heard my dog barking, which means she has done her duty and is ready to come in. I went to the back door and she was not there, but down by the shed. She had spotted something and was trying to get it. The first thing that popped in my head was SKUNK. My fear was confirmed as I opened the door and was met with a nauseating smell. It was so much worse than the smell of a road kill skunk. I could hardly handle it. Let's just say that it clears up the sinuses. My first thought was get the dog in the house so she doesn't get sprayed again. That was a mistake. Shortly after she was in I put her back outside, but shortened her leash so she would be at the top of the stairs.

I quickly went on-line to find a solution to clean her. I know everyone says tomato juice, but I don't buy it and besides I didn't have any. I was hoping to find a mixture of stuff that I had handy. The first one on the list looked good and had good reviews, so I decided to try it. It called for hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap. Unfortunately I didn't have the peroxide, so I was off to Walgreens.

Later I found out that I should have changed because the smell was all over me also. I even had a lady look at me and go skunk and I said yes and then she said dog and I said yes. She said her dog does it all the time. She said she never tried my solution, but would the next time.

At home with mixture in hand and dog in tub, I began to scrub and lather. My sweet dog sat there and was very well behaved. The instructions said to repeat if the smell was still there. After a vigorous sniff of my dogs entire body I was extremely relieved to discovered I could not smell any hint of skunk. Now the house was a different story. Fortunately there was also a recommendation for that. Put some water and vinegar in a pot and simmer on the stove for a few hours. This worked wonderfully also.

As of this morning the smell was gone from everywhere, but my room (I didn't get a chance to wash all my skunky clothes) and the basement steps (where the dog sat when I initially brought her in). I hope this never happens again, but at least now I know what to do.

8 comments:

Michelle said...

Now, I must say, we haven't had that problem yet - but it sounds awful. What kind of dog do you have? She sounds sweet to have just sat there for a dousing.

I'm gonna have to keep all of this on hand, I'm sure we'll run into this at some point in time since Koko is a VERY nosey and playful dog.

Very good tips - you should e-mail that or post it on Home Ec. for Grownups.

Rebecca said...

Michelle, I have a Jack Russel Terrior mix, aka hyper dog.
I just hope that she scared the skunk enough to keep it away.

Thomas J Wolfenden said...

Never heard of that little gem. Will file it away in my RT files for future reference.

Sorry you and your doggie got juiced though.

mist1 said...

The woman at Wallgreen's was really nice. I'm not sure that I would have reacted the same way.

Lisa said...

Ohhh. This is good to know because I know at some point, Abbeydog is going to get her "stink on" too. And so happy to hear it all worked!

Linlee said...

Maybe I should try that on Stinky Charlie..lol
Actually, he's getting better. I am hoping he will outgrow it.

Jen!! said...

Ewwww, that skunk smell is just awful. And I've never smelled it up close and personal as you have!

I am gonna cut and paste and print this post! My dog is always getting into something... I'm sure I will need this mix someday in the future. :)

Jaelithe said...

Wow you are very resourceful! I am sorry about your skunk problem but I'm glad I now know a good solution if such should ever happen to me.

Hopefully from now on your dog will remember to avoid skunks!