# Skunk! Need answer quick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265 "2017-10-31T03:12:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/21 "2017-10-31T13:49:11Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I will also attest to this method. Our boxer has been sprayed numerous times (15!) and he’s only 4. It’s something they don’t ever seem to learn from. Even though this method works the best, you will still have a residual odor for quite a while. Especially if the dog gets wet. I’m talking MONTHS! I will join the chorus on this as well. I have multiple dogs, one of which took a long time learning to leave the little black and white waddley things alone. This mixture is like magic in removing the scent. I always keep a bottle of peroxide on hand just for this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/22 "2017-10-31T13:51:24Z")
The dog is in pretty good shape after 1 vinegar bath, 2 baths with peroxide, and 1 bath with shampoo. I can’t smell it on him, but I could just be used to it. The house is OK except for one room where we must have missed a spot, we are going to do a deep clean of it today. I am not too worried as it has wood floor and he was never near any furniture or the rugs in the room, if we can find the spot we should be able to clean it. The worst of it is my wife’s car. She immediately packed up the frothing dog and took it to the emergency vet clinic because we did not know what to make of it. We thought it was either skunk, he had eaten a can of gasoline, or that somebody had spayed him with some kind of chemical. Anyway, the smell is strong in the car. Pretty much unusable. Luckily it does have leather seats, so we will try to scrub it with various products today… Thanks for the replies everyone, I appreciated the input and stories. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/23 "2017-11-01T22:55:36Z")
OMG! WWI wrapped in ass is the exact description of the smell. Great capture…and I admit I laughed at that one. I had a cat that go skunked once and the smell really confused me. As you say it has a chemical odor and doesn’t really smell at all like the skunk passing by odor commonly encountered. I recall the smell of nauseating burnt rubber mixed in as well. Glad to hear things are improving. Took me quite awhile for the smell to dissipate. Had to trash a throw rug that the poor cat rolled on upon entering the house. ---
**Author:** ![Chickenwrangler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chickenwrangler/32/91_2.png) [@Chickenwrangler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenwrangler)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/24 "2017-11-02T10:56:43Z")
Sorry wrong reply ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/25 "2017-11-03T03:50:02Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Your dog has been skunked. There is a way to get most of the stink off. A good description is [here](http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/de-skunking_dog.html). You’ll need 3% hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, and baking soda. The Humane Society Page I linked to provides step by step instructions. Basically, you’ll be washing the dog in the mixture you created. You’ll want to work it in thoroughly and get enough soap in the mixture to allow for thorough distribution throughout the dog’s coat. Really make sure you’ve worked the mixture throughout your dog’s coat. > > [Mythbusters](http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/skunk-smell/) did a show on the different methods people recommend for skunk removal. This is their favorite method as well. > > My dog used to get sprayed several times a year. I can attest to the effectiveness of this method. Yes, this is the best method. My dogs get skunked so regularly I keep all these ingredients in a dedicated bucket. In the 45 years I’ve had dogs I’ve tried a lot of different things. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/26 "2017-11-03T03:59:31Z")
Skunks may be stupid but it’s hard to say because their lifestyle is such that they really don’t need to display their intelligence. I had one get into my chicken house once (they like eggs, chicken feed, and chickens, in that order) and he was totally disinclined to leave. He was taking a snooze in the nest box. Eventually I hit on the idea of slowly dribbling a hose on him. He was annoyed by his ceiling springing a leak but didn’t associate it with anything requiring the use of force so he wandered slowly out the chicken door. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/27 "2017-11-03T12:56:02Z")
The way I always used tomato juice was take a big glass, fill it halfway with tomato juice. Fill the rest with vodka, drink it down, and the smell doesn’t seem quite as bad! 30+ years of owning dogs in heavily skunked areas. For years we just used repeated bathings using whatever cheap shampoo. Worked just fine. never had a need for all the suggested formulas. Couple of problems, tho. We live near Chicago, and a good part of the year it is too cold to bathe the dog outside. So that requires getting the dog - and his skunkstank - into your house, where that stank can permeate and linger. Our recent “solution” is to use a local groomer. Costs about $50, they do all the work and even dry him, so we don’t have to deal with the wet dog. And whatever they use seems to have an aroma that stays with him and keeps him softer longer than a home bath. Fortunately, the dummy hasn’t gotten skunked in the past year or so, tho he has found some especially pungent stuff to roll in a couple of times. ---
**Author:** ![Windchaser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/windchaser/32/294_2.png) [@Windchaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windchaser)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/28 "2017-11-05T14:14:15Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I once washed a dog with tomato juice. > \ > It may have helped. It didn’t help that much. Tomato juice doesn’t help remove skunk smell at all. The reason it seems to is that tomato juice has such a strong smell itself that your nose gets burned out and exhausted and you can’t smell the skunk any more. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/29 "2017-11-05T14:41:51Z")
Be very, very careful about recourse to shaving a dog, especially a double-coated dog. It’s not healthy, although in winter it’s an easier deal with doggie-vests; more so in summer heat. Plus, after full grow back, the dog might look different, with new curls here and there, or uneven through and through. ETA: I see you have dealt with the problem. (Although, we all know about he who dealt it…) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/30 "2017-11-05T14:48:35Z")
ETA 2, since it came up, and something which I was told is a no-no, for chemical and, of course, advertising reasons for dog supply stores: : At the Westminster Dog Show, I passed a grooming table with an Irish Setter sporting a ravishing sweeping lustrous chestnut coat. It’s groomer/handler: Dawn dishwashing soap only. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/31 "2017-11-06T16:46:55Z")
Tangential to the topic, but interesting IMHO. When I was in college, living on my grandparents Florida rural property, we had a spotted skunk that lived in the yard. Spotted skunks are different; it’s the striped skunks that spray at the drop of a hat. We had a number of yard cats, and we first noticed it when it joined them for dinner at the communal “cat dish.” The cats took no notice of it, and it took no notice of them or us. It declined to spray even when somewhat provoked. We would cover plants during cold snaps, and one morning my grandmother sent it rolling out by removing the blanket it had crawled into out of the cold. :eek: It even allowed me to pet it a few times. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/32 "2017-11-06T17:24:25Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > ETA 2, since it came up, and something which I was told is a no-no, for chemical and, of course, advertising reasons for dog supply stores: : At the Westminster Dog Show, I passed a grooming table with an Irish Setter sporting a ravishing sweeping lustrous chestnut coat. It’s groomer/handler: Dawn dishwashing soap only. I can’t quite follow if you’re saying that it should or shouldn’t be used, but I can tell you that Dawn is used in a number of animal situations, including wildlife rescue. I think they even run TV ads on that. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/33 "2017-11-06T18:31:20Z")
Huh. Good to know. I was in fact saying it’s good to use—imagine the commercial 5-second clip of that guy and his Setter as the announcer says “ top groomers agree…” I was informed, by whom and under what circs I forget, that even the Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo I was using was “bad for dogs” because of x, y, and z. As advertising/marketing for the $ gazillion dog grooming market continues to tell us. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265/34 "2017-11-06T20:05:50Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > One night the black cat got out, and Scooby went to go herd her back into the house. The cat went across the street and into some bushes, and Scooby followed. He found a small black critter, roughly cat-sized, and got sprayed point-blank in the face by a skunk. I thought this story was going to end with the skunk successfully herded into your house. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunk-need-answer-quick/800265.md?page=1)