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Has your dog been the confronted of the skunk? Don’t worry, because our guide will help how to get rid of skunk smell on a dog.
Keeping intruders out of your property is your dog’s top priority. But what happens when your dog is confronted with a skunk and gets skunk smell? This is a situation that can best be tackled immediately because it is not so easy to handle later.
While skunks are completely harmless from a distance, skunks live everywhere, they give a spray with a very strong and unpleasant odor, and if your dog becomes curious about it, they can end up with a face full of scents.
This odor is due to sulfur-containing compounds called thiols. These smell like rotten eggs and to make matters worse, the sense of smell of most people is very sensitive to thiols.
Freely available products (such as
Skunk Odor Remover) are a quick solution, but if you don’t, you can prepare the solution below.We have explored the best ways to remove bad smells from dog fur. Here are some proven home remedies that should make your dog smell like … well, better than ever.
Follow these tips first if your dog or pet is being sprayed by a skunk.
Table Of Contents
How To Get Rid Of Skunk Smell On A Dog
You probably want to keep your dog outside while you bring it together so that they don’t carry the smell inside. Check their eyes; if they are irritated or red, immediately rinse them with cold water.
Preparation
The fewer things the dog encounters, the fewer things you have to remove later. Place the dog on a bench or tie it while collecting ingredients for its treatment.
With normal household products, you can make a stink removal mixture to make your pet normal again. Ultimately, you not only want to remove the odor but also want to clean your pet by removing the oily residue from the skunk spray. Here are the steps you must follow to remove the skunk smell from your dog or pets in general.
- Rubber gloves (you don’t want to smell like a skunk.)
- 3% hydrogen peroxide
- Baking soda
- Dishwashing liquid or other liquid soap
- Old towels (in case a round of skunking is not enough.)
Hydrogen peroxide is a favorite ingredient because the oxygen it releases binds to the thiols (the sulfur substance) in the skunk spray, neutralizing the odor. Thoroughly soak the dog with water before applying the mixture to the affected areas, making sure the dog’s eyes are not avoided. Let it rest for 5 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.
If you have time or an accomplice who can run to the nearest store, a skunk odor remover like this from
is another easy choice. (You can also keep this at home if you live in an area known for roaming skunks. Better than cure!)Cleaning
With the exception of skunk-specific dog shampoo, all the remedies we encountered in our research are made from ordinary pantry items. Chances are that you have everything you need for these blends without having to run to the store, but if you are short of one ingredient or two Amazon Prime Now, another delivery service can help you.
Rub the mixture through their fur, but don’t let it sit too long (peroxide can bleach fur). Rinse them thoroughly.
Then wash your dog with pet shampoo and rinse thoroughly. In the meantime, they must be skinned and smell sweet. Dry your dog thoroughly with a towel and make sure that you place it in a warm, sunny room in the coming hours so that it does not cool down.
If your dog rubs some of the odor on you, you can get rid of your clothes with normal detergent mixed with half a cup of baking powder.
Be Careful
Be careful around the dog’s eyes, as this is a powerful formula. Do not use a hydrogen peroxide solution with more than 3% because it can burn. Mix it fresh, use it and throw it away. If you store this mixture in a closed container, it will explode. The hydrogen peroxide can bleach the coat (think bleached blonde) so be careful with those black dogs.
The less time the solution contains, the less likely it is for bleaching. But in the end, the choice is yours – a bleached beauty or a wrinkled nose.
Skunk Smell Aftercare
Now your dog is completely scrubbed and hopefully, it smells clean, but you have to keep an eye on them for a while. It is very rare, but some dogs react violently to smelly spray and can cause anemia. Symptoms include lethargy, black stools, and brown urine. Have them checked by their vet if you see any of these symptoms.
Common Misconceptions When Removing Skunk Smell
You may wonder why I didn’t mention tomato juice to skip your dog. Well, according to no less than that of Discovery Channel (Mythbusters), a tomato juice bath is just not that effective for removing skunk odor. What it actually does is to mask the scent and deceive your tired sense of smell by thinking it’s gone.
A common theory is that tomato juice or tomato soup baths remove the skunk smell of people and pets. The truth, however, is that tomato juice or soup simply masks the smell of skunk spray.
It does not completely remove its presence. Skunk spray leaves an oily substance on the victim, which is just as difficult to remove as the odor itself. Tomato juice does well in reducing the oils, but you will still have remnants of both the smell and the texture.
