Removing Skunk Odor From Your Dog

July 9, 10:24 PMSeattle Garden & Kitchen ExaminerJerry & Kristy

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Seattle Garden & Kitchen Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

We have had an unwanted guest in our garden lately - a skunk! While this might not be so bad, our dog Jake insist on chasing the curious little visitor. We kept our fingers crossed that the skunk wouldn’t get the upper hand but sure enough, it did! We could smell Jake coming from the other side of the property! We called the Washington Animal Control Association (WACA) for some help. They gave us a solution to use and I am happy to say that Jake is back to his regular dog smell! Well actually, he smells good because he got a bath with lavender shampoo afterwards - now if he will just stay clear of that skunk!

In case your animals end up getting “skunked” like Jake here is the solution we used that worked really well:

2 quarts of 3% hydrogen peroxide
10 drops of liquid dishwashing soap
1/2 cup baking soda
This is for a large dog, cut the amount in half for a small dog.

Wearing rubber gloves mix all the ingredients together in a bucket. Wet down the dog and add cotton in his ears if he will allow it. Shampoo him with the solution, avoiding the eyes, ears and mouth area. Rub the solution in well to make sure it gets down through the fur and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. Rinse the dog thoroughly: at least two times.

One thing to note is if your dog has short dark fur, the peroxide in the mix may bleach the fur some. It may be better to try an alternative solution of 1/2 cup white vinegar and 1/4 cup baking soda added to a bucket of water. Hopefully, you won’t need to use either solution!