Skunk and My Dogs

[bdholsin]

I often set a live trap out to catch squirrels in my yard. I relocate them a few miles away in a heavily wooded area. The reason I don't want them here is because they chew on the wire for the invisible fence that keeps my dogs in the yard. Incidentally, my dogs are a lab/collie mix and a Bernese Mountain dog. Two fairly large dogs.

A couple weeks ago I walked outside and I saw the trap was tripped. I got within about 10 feet and realized that this squirrel had a white stripe down it's back...it was a freaking skunk! I ended up letting it go by turning the trap upside down with a string and a magnet. No way I was going to get close to that damn thing.

Last night there was a ruckus in the back yard. Turns out my dogs killed a skunk. It appeared to be approximately the same size as the one I released a couple weeks ago. The weird thing is, my dogs don't reek of skunk. They smell "wrong"...kind of like stink weed. I think it was a juvenile skunk and didn't/couldn't spray them.

Now I have to come up with something to get the skunk smell off them so they can come back in the house. My wife has suggested a combination of peroxide, baking soda and dish soap. Going to give it a try this afternoon/evening.

What a day! Just thought I'd pass it along for you guys in case you thought you were having a rough day.

 

[jayel]

traditional method is tomato juice but The following solution has worked for many people and is a favorite among home remedies: mix 1 qt. of 3% hydrogen peroxide, ¼ to ½ cups baking soda and 1 – 2 tsp. dish soap. (It's important not to store this in a closed container since the mixture of these ingredients creates pressure and could burst.) Another thing to keep in mind is the bleaching effect hydrogen peroxide could have on your dog's coat. If this is a concern, try substituting vinegar for the peroxide.

 

[bdholsin]

jayel - That is exactly what my wife found for a "recipe" to wash the dogs. I'll post the results after giving it a try.

 

[jamesgs4]

baby skunk is way less potent than adult skunk, and the baking soda and peroxide works pretty well. My mutt has been sprayed 3-4 times in the past year, I think he likes the taste. barf.

 

[bradshaw106]

I recently used the peroxide formula on my dog who took it point blank to the face. Stuff worked awesome and his fur is super soft!

 

[hamamatsu]

My daughter and son-in-law have an English coon hound that has a habit of finding skunks rather than coons.

I guess skunks are easier to find than English coons in Ohio.

They use a peroxide formula too.

 

[xjwmx]

Just spray the dogs with the hose and the wet dog smell will overpower the skunk smell

 

[bdholsin]

Just spray the dogs with the hose and the wet dog smell will overpower the skunk smell

This is true.

I washed them last night. Yeah, the wet dog smell was present. I sprayed them with some essential oil that my wife has (per her instructions) and they are smelling normal now. While spraying them you'd think I was dousing them with napalm. They just cowered and shivered until I was done. My poor buddies.

 

[hooktool]

No advice really on the skunk, but I caught one under the same circumstances. Got all dressed up in respirator tyvek suit gloves etc, and it just walked away when I opened the cage. As for the squirrels, I was taking them a couple miles away, across a busy road. We live in a fairly rural area, and there were always new squirrels to take the place of the ones I evicted. SOmeone told me they were coming back, and I said bullshit-no way. One day I spray painted ones tail green and he was back in the yard the next morning. He may have beaten me back. I started shooting them, and the yard still stayed full.

Now we have a dog again, and only a handful of squirrels that don't do much damage.

John

 

[Purplezinger]

You must have walnut and/or hickory trees in your yard. That's why they're there.

 

[hooktool]

Bird feeders!

John

 

[pa23driver]

skunk off - the product works great. we had 2 shih-tzus when i was growing up that would think that the skunks were other shih-tzus, they would go and greet the skunk with a nose in the ass and the skunk would always do its thing.