Couple weekends ago we were kayak camping at the Flats when my Min-Pin started sniffing at a pile of brush. This was his “I found a mouse hole” thing but it turned out to be a skunk nest. I dragged him away and kept him leashed the rest of the trip though one guy went up to the skunk with his dog on a leash and started to throw rocks at the skunk!! Darwin Award Time!
NOW I want to add some kind of skunk de-smeller soap/shampoo to my doggie first aid kit.
Any suggestions???
skunk fix
Our dogs got sprayed chasing a skunk under the cabin in early September. We discovered that a combination of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, with a small amount of dish detergent seems to be the best fix.
My son discovered this doing an on-line search and came up with this Mythbuster recommendation. It is supposed to work better than the tomato sauce bath. It did work pretty well, but you can’t wash everything. After a couple weeks things settled down.
Good luck
Lots of Experience With De-Skunking…
…dogs, unfortunately. Tried it all and the H2O2, Dawn, and Baking soda mix IS best. A friend bought me a bottle of spray he picked up at a pet store called “Skunk Off.” It worked almost as well, but not quite.
Believe it or not…
we had a pet (wild) skunk that we raised from the time it was a baby.
It was never descented and it never let loose.
People would cringe when they saw our kids playing with our dog, cat and the skunk.
One day a neighbor freightened it and it turned it’s rear end to him, so we figured it was time to take it in the forest and let it go.
It was a sad day for the kids(and Us) and I didn’t dare look back after we took it out of the car.
Jack L
Funny…
…but if they don’t feel threatened, they don’t spray. One time our lab “Retrieved” a small skunk, only to set it down where they played together while I cringed. After a bit, they went on their separate ways. Unfortunately, Zach then thought ALL skunks enjoyed playing, so he got “Skunked” several times thereafter (LOL)!
I encounter them regularly …
– Last Updated: Oct-17-16 6:13 PM EST –
... during evening walks in my neighborhood. I really enjoy seeing them. They generally seem pretty confident (as they should), but will sometimes turn their butt toward me for a moment (while I'm not close enough to actually be a target) and then quickly go back to digging for grubs. Sometimes they'll run off a ways rather than tolerate being watched, and other times they just don't care.
One night I'd just returned from a walk and was rapidly walking up my own driveway. I was turning the corner around my house just as a skunk came the other way. Trapped between me and the garage, the skunk passed within three feet of me. What's funny, is that about six feet before we actually passed each other (still approaching), both of us broke into a run to get it over with as fast as possible. I ran to my back door and looked back, and the skunk had run just as far the other way and was looking back at me. Both of us were thinking "whew, that was close".
Don’t forget the kitchen sink
Man, and I thought I was over-prepared. I know that kayaks can carry a lot more than a backpack, but isn’t this going a bit far? What are the chances of actually using this while you’re out? Even if your dog did get skunked, couldn’t the de-skunking wait until your return?
Better yet, keep your pet on a leash or at least well under control to avoid disturbing the wildlife that lives in the place you’re visiting.
Sounds odd, but it works
Original formula Massengill douche works great for getting rid of skunk smell, though that might not be practical when paddle camping…Min-pins are pretty small, so maybe you could tote along a couple of bottles. Our 65lb long-haired mixed breed required several bottles and two rinses after a near point blank skunking, but the douche removed 98% of the smell.
Well…
– Last Updated: Oct-18-16 12:18 AM EST –
...the statement "Even if your dog did get skunked, couldn't the de-skunking wait until your return?" is written by someone whose never had a dog get sprayed. The stuff is POTENT, VERY POTENT. Anything it gets on will be ruined. And your dog WILL seek you for protection, so....
Here you go, and it's size is nominal, even for you double bladed yak paddlers:
http://www.amazon.com/Lambert-Kay-Soaker-Remover-8-Ounce/dp/B00BKO6LSA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1476764102&sr=8-5&keywords=skunk+off+for+dogs
Absolutely!
My girlfriend’s dog got skunked recently and we tried the peroxide/baking soda/dishwashing liquid mixture. It works instantaneously to neutralize the odor, which seemed almost miraculous at the time. The proportions don’t seem to be especially critical, as she didn’t have much peroxide handy and it still worked fine. However, there’s now a quart bottle under the bathroom sink, just in case…
As for the tomato juice bath, we tried that years ago and it does nothing other than make the dog smell like a skunk dipped in tomato juice. There must be some “Tomato Juice Promotion Board” that came up with that worthless idea!
first things first
– Last Updated: Oct-18-16 2:03 PM EST –
I wouldn't be taking any more trips with the jackass. A well-placed skunk spray can be very distressing for a dog. His dog probably knows he's a jackass already, but there's no reason to expose any other living creatures to him.
same here
I’ve always found them to be docile and to give ample warning when they feel threatened.
it works but…
It’s got a short shelf life. I’ve had several dogs that got on the bad side of skunks. And once I walked into my brothers carport and spotted his cat doing some strange dance only to find out it wasn’t his cat and then suddenly my eyes started to burn and I couldn’t breath… yeah. fun. Well, the peroxide/baking soda/detergent stuff works great. It doesn’t get all the scent out every time though but it gets most of it out. The thing is, it isn’t the kind of stuff you can mix and take with you on a trip. If you have room and are actually worried about skunks, you can pack the ingredients and mix it when you need it. Peroxide, baking soda and detergent are common needed things to have any way.
Great stories!
A lucky skunk…
– Last Updated: Oct-18-16 11:55 AM EST –
Was in the woods squirrel hunting.
In camo from head to toe; sitting on the ground with my back to a tree.
Had several trees to my front, each of which had a large squirrel nest. Brush to my front was fairly heavy.
I hear something rustling around in the leaves; thinking squirrel searching for acorns.
Nope! To my front is a skunk. Most definitely heading in a beeline towards me. It covers 50 yards to get to my location. Never veers a foot to the left or right. On a mission.
I lower my shotgun barrel down to a point directly to me front, and about 12 inches off the ground. No ill will towards the skunk, but if I get sprayed........there will be natural consequences.
Skunk walks up to my boots, smells both boots thoroughly, and then smells around my ankles & lower legs.
Looks directly at me, smells some more, and then hangs a right, and saunters off into the woods to my right. Never see it again.
Happy I didn't get sprayed. He survived to live another day by not spraying me. It was a rather unique experience.
BOB
Harry, Mike, Joanne and I…
…were camping at the Flats one year when the local skunk came to visit. Joanne climbed to the top of the table and tried to scream. Mike ran away. Harry & I simply lifted our legs, let the skunk pass by and ignored him.
That was my thought
the H2O2 + soap + etc mixture must be made on-the-spot as it does not travel well and can be explosive if stored. Plus it takes a liter of the H2O2 which easts space.
With the anti-stink bottles, reading between the lines indicates that some products work better on certain dogs. I think it is because the fur of a Min-Pin is different from the fur of a Husky.
Yes, keeping the dog away is the best idea but… accidents happen and I want to be prepared.
This thread
There’s something about this thread that doesn’t smell right.
Nightly visitors
We had a skunk visit our camp a couple nights on a Colorado River trip last week. Lots of rustling around near our tents and gear. You could smell the general skunk body odor, and some of our gear was a little “skunky” in the morning. No one pissed the critter off, so no one or their gear got a real spray. Luckily the skunk didn’t tear into anyone’s gear during the night. He just snuggled amongst our stuff and left that faint “skunk funk” behind.
bob, he smelled your boots
…and decided he just couldn’t compete.
