Dogs got nailed by skunk...

Happened 15 mins. ago. Can't get supplies for a couple hours.. Last time my dog got hit, the word permaculture hadn't yet entered my lexicon, and "organic" was just about food ... hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and pert plus usually got most of the odor out.. Swapping the Pert Plus for Dr. Dronners makes sense looking at it now.. Anyone got some brilliant ideas, some-what quick-like? Thanks a lot in advance.

The only way to get rid of the smell, permaculture or organic or conventional, is to oxidize it away. Bleach for inanimate objects, 3% hydrogen peroxide for living critters.

Deodorizing Skunk Spray

There are many different recipes for the removal of skunk spray from pets and other sprayed objects. The most common is the use of tomato juice. Bathing an animal in tomato juice seems to work because at high doses of skunk spray the human nose quits smelling the odor (olfactory fatigue). When this happens, the odor of tomato juice can easily be detected. A person suffering olfactory fatigue to skunk spray will swear that the skunk odor is gone, apparently neutralized by the tomato juice. Another person coming on the scene at this point will readily confirm that the skunk spray has not been neutralized by the tomat juice (personal observation by WFW). To get rid of the odor of skunk spray, it is necessary to change the thiols into compounds that have little or no odor. Oxidizing the thiols to sulfonic acids can easily do this.

Many oxidizing agents can effect this change. For pets, Paul Krebaum of Lisle, Illinois developed one of the best home remedies, an adaptation of a laboratory method he used to destroy hydrogen sulfide and thiols [19].

· Bathe the animal in a mixture of 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide (from drug store), 1/4 cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and a teaspoon of liquid detergent.

· After 5 minutes rinse the animal with water.

· Repeat if necessary.

· The mixture must be used after mixing and will not work if it is stored for any length of time. Since it releases oxygen, it cannot be stored in a closed container. For inanimate objects one cup of sodium hypochlorite solutions (liquid laundry bleach) in a gallon of water is cheap and effective.

The reason tomato juice does not work, is because the 'skunk juice' will not dissolve in water.
The added detergent helps break down the oils in the 'skunk juice'.

I appreciate both your responses, gentlemen.

Stickin' to my guns and not changing a good thing seemed to work once again. JE, that suggestion is right on.

I did change one thing.. JE's post regarding oxidation got me thinkin. Animals who get nailed in nature probably don't smell forever and nobody used hydrogen peroxide on the Tower of Liberty. So, as opposed to cleaning them immediately as I have usually done, I let them sit overnight, to "oxidize". Not sure if this had anything to do with it, but they smell surprisingly good and usually the skunk smell sticks around for a bit longer.. But who knows, could have been a "mild" skunk...

Ingredients for 4 dogs, large breed, medium length hair: $25-$30 depending where you're going.

6 of the smaller sized bottles of 3% Hydrogen peroxide
4 Boxes baking soda
3 or 4 bottles (depending on size) Pert Plus or Dr. Bronners or some other really strong smelling shampoo/soape type deal.

Took each dog one at a time, put them in a harness attached to a rope and slung the rope over a tree so the tension on the harness was vertical. Started by wetting a wash cloth with the hydrogen peroxide, and wiping their mugs thoroughly. From my experience (8 or 9 times-ish, got hit myself once), the dogs usually take it point blank and this is a good way to chizel away at that. Next up, I take the hydrogen peroxide first and thoroughly wet them. The baking soda goes on next and gets massaged in with the HP. I lay the shampoo product down along their spines from the upper neck to the butt, careful not to get it too close to their ears, eyes and mouth- when possible. Massage that in quick so they can't shake it off, and quickly hit them with the hose so they get wetter. Massage everything in real good and let them sit there for a solid 5-10 minutes so the stuff works itself into their coats. Rinse them down and repeat if necessary.

24 hours later, after one of the above treatments per dog, and they are all back inside chillin out, 99 % percent smell free. We put peppermint essential oil on the dogs as a double up measure and that was also a great addition.

Next time, I'll hopefully have a variety of Dr. Bronners soaps on hand and probably use those. But if this happens to you at night and the only the places that open are the regular supermarkets, than pert plus is the way to go. The essential oils also worked really well. I'll stock up/try to make those as well. Anyone make essential oils?

Animals who get nailed in nature probably don't smell forever and nobody used hydrogen peroxide on the Tower of Liberty. So, as opposed to cleaning them immediately as I have usually done, I let them sit overnight, to "oxidize".

Sunshine, the ultraviolet in it, also works to oxidize organic molecules. Skunks are nocturnal animals, so they are likely to tag their pursuers at night, and then the pursuer can spend the following day soaking up some rays and trying to get their fur oxidized. Now if it a cloudy day....they might stink a while longer.

This would be a good time to let the dog know that skunk sprayed dogs live outside. Perhaps the dog will avoid skunks if there are more consequences than smell.

My dog gets skunked atleast 1/ year. Best thing is make them sit outside for a while. It wears off. If they get it in the mouth or eyes, then you gotta try to help flush them a bit. If in the mouth, feed them some watery treat. Atleast, this is what works for us. All other remedies fall short. As for getting it in the house, wash what you can and baking soda and vanilla extract/air out the rest. It does go away eventually too.