Sprayed by skunk!!!...

Last night my dog Kuba got sprayed by a skunk! heavens, what a stink!!! In the bushes in our backyard!

Thankfully, he only got a bit of spray around the mouth so after a thorough wash it wasn't too terrible,
we even were able to sleep in the same room. You can detect a skunk smell from close up only.

But the bathroom, the entryway between the deck and the house where the dog had to wait until we gathered
our wits as per what to do, stinks horribly.
I just finished scrubbing bathtub with Comet and poured some baking soda with dishwasher liquid down the drain.
It helped a little. Nothing can be done about the entryway, though - it smells from the dog just being there for awhile.

The skunk is going to be gone. We had had it. For at least half a year we endure his daily visitations right smack under our windows, sometimes more than once a day.
And now - the worst has happened - he sprayed our dog!! In the middle of the night, which wasn't convenient either.

I figure he or she must have a nest nearby as it always travel the same path so much so it became bare of grass.
At nighttime, I am afraid to get to my car as you never know where the skunk is hiding.
It quite often walks under the car!


So we are calling animal control.
I am looking for company who releases them back into wildlife,
only far away from humans.
yep, humans and skunks doesn't go well together...

Unless they are downtown skunks, these know how to behave properly

Risa

Sorry, but that is so funny.

We don't have skunks that leave smells, only a blocked drain which took three hours on Wednesday of pulling apart every pipe from the sink down.

Your adventure holds a lot more appeal.

Your vet should have a deodorizing spray called "Skunk Off" to use on the dog and inside. The spray is an alkaline so an acid will neutralize it. Vinegar and water will do it if you don't mind your house smelling like pickles for a few days.

Back when I worked as an EMT we transported a 15 y/o girl that got sprayed and it triggered an asthma attack. The ER was only ten minutes away but in that time my partner and I along with the entire rig were wreaking beyond words. The ER staff was very "tickled"with us for bringing her there. It permeated the entire first floor of the hospital. Within and hour people on the fourth floor could smell it.

Part of the problem is they took her up to one of the floors to get her showered. Except they used soap and warm water which just makes it more pungent.

Mean while my partner and I both had watery eyes and lung irritation. We left all of our clothes bagged up at the ER and had to wear hospital gowns while I drove our out of service ambulance back to the station. The ambulance was out of service for an entire week while the crews scrubbed every square inch of the inside.

Two days later I was back on shift and were at the same ER and it still had "essence de shunk" present. I will never, ever forget that call.

Skunk sprayed dogs have died in rare cases from a type of anemia.

I have always used tomato juice. I am a bit concerned that no one has mentioned the worst thing about skunks, they are a vector for rabies. When I lived in the country, I would shoot them if they were around the house. Sorry, too many to have animal control come out and if I waited, they would not find them. In Oklahoma, we have a serious problem every year with rabid skunks. I have had my rabies shots, very expensive, and need a booster every so often. I think the first set cost around USD 1500.

Hal

Rabies is a very regional problem. Up where I live the veterinarians rarely ever see it. If they do it ends up on the evening news. Which is why we are not afraid to have our raccoon clan come up to visit each night. If there was a rabies issue in this area that would not be happening.

I guess the skunk's game plan is to never let anything get close enough that they would have to bite them. Just think if us humans had that kind of chemical warfare built into us.

Any of the acidic juices would work to neutralize the alkaloids in the spray. I read that the strong odor comes from mercaptan which is what gives flatulence their distinctive "bouquet". It's also mixed in with natural gas so leaks can be smelled since the gas itself has no odor.

All of our dogs have been sprayed numerous times! I often smell a local skunk that must be lurking outside my window at night. My brother found the best solution we've had so far. Tomato juice, while famous for getting off skunk smell, has never worked well in our case. Instead, Andrew threw Justice into the swimming pool! The combination of the clorine and I guess the acids in the pool (and maybe the cold water, based upon Brent's comment about warm water) seems to make a big difference. Unfortunately, Justice is too old to throw in the pool anymore; he isn't strong enough to swim. And Libby won't let you get her near the pool.

The first time Justice got sprayed was quite funny. Normally, when the skunk sprays, it upsets the other animal enough that the animal leaves. Not Justice. It just made him angry and made him want to attack that skunk all the more! But his way of attacking was always to get behind the animal and pounce from the back. Not too smart when that is where the skunk sprays from. My brother had to drag Justice off the skunk, fortunately, not getting sprayed himself. But when Justice discovered that Andrew wasn't going to kill the skunk himself, Justice went right back to try to finish the job! It took Andrew more energy and power to get that dog in the house and away from that skunk!

My mother in law had a Norwegian Elk Hound that would show up with his face full of porcupine quills at least once a month. You would think that one porcupine adventure would be enough. But apparently the fun was worth the pain. Or in your dog's case the horrid stench was worth it.

We miss so much here in the UK!!!

Are there no skunks or porcupines in the UK?

Brent wrote:Are there no skunks or porcupines in the UK?

No Brent, but we have hedgehogs....
Biggest wild things we have really are foxes and badgers.
Oh and deer, but they dont frequent gardens..
We dont have any poisonous spiders and only one poisonous snake...

I have smelled skunk though.....

Oh no, Risa..I'm so sorry...

Oh rats, we just found out it's gonna cost around $300 to catch a skunk, so.. I guess we gotta co-habit for a longer while, grrrrrrr

The bathroom stopped smelling once I threw away a shower curtain and got a new one (the cheapest, clear one)
but the foyer still smells.

We did went to a pet store and got a 'skunk de-gunk' or something like that, a big bottle,
and I washed our floor with it, it helped a little. The rest, I suppose is for kind backyard air to take care of it.

The dog still smells a tiny tad funky around a mouth, mostly when it opens it.
I suppose he must have licked himself a lot when he got sprayed, and now it's in his mouth, lolol.
But it's not bad.
What an adventure.

And the #@%$# skunk i still coming here! yesterday we could still smell his funk wafting thru the windows!
We were hoping he would get scared after the whole encounter. apparently he did not! but we did! aaaaargh!

Risa

We often have rabies quarantines in various counties in our state.

In the past, we've gotten a humane live trap from the county to catch skunks and racoons that terrorized our dogs and the neighbor's giant garden.

At about 4 years old, I was chased by a skunk. I'm terrified of them and the smell makes me nauseous. My dad and older brother were able to throw me into the back of the pickup and throw a bucket over the skunk and shoot it. Since it was daytime and the skunk was chasing, it was pretty certain it was rabid (this was in Minnesota). My brother and I remember it well, and it's been 45 years.

When you smell the skunk, it doesn't necessarily have to be in the immediate area. The smell seems to permeate the air over quite a large area.

Hope you're able to get the skunk smell cleaned off everything, Risa.

Those live traps can catch skunks but then you have to find someone to get close enough the trap to re-locate it. They can spray just fine inside one. I have used mine to catch and relocate many possums but I always have the fear of getting a skunk.

But there are dozens of very effective repellent devices out now like motion detection sprinklers, strobe lights and ultrasonic sounds.

I hope you can get rid of it soon. That is by far one of the most obnoxious smells to deal with. At least once a skunk sprays it takes a while for the scent glands to refill.

Yeah, I hope as soon as we get some spare money we will call the 'trappers' who will relocate it (or them) into wildlife far away from urban area.
Otherwise, let's hope there will be no further "encounters of a third degree".

I have seen Billy the Exterminator catching and releasing a skunk. You are right Brent, a skunk can as easily spray inside a cage as out of it.

The trick is to approach it very slowly, as to not disturb it.
Still, you need to cover yourself with a large cloth, head to toe, preferably lined with a rubber like material
so it won't soak thru.
This way, if the skunk sprays you are behind the cloth, protected.
You need to do that again while releasing the skunk.

Another problem is, you will need the transportation for the skunk. Don't even think of putting it inside your car!
It will stink for months to come!

Risa

I sometimes volunteer at a wildlife refuge. They had a mother skunk and severl babies in a large cage. No one worried about it spraying and they would even change the water and food in the cage. I was told that if you didn't scare them, they would not spray. I walked next to the cage several times before I noticed that there were skunks in it and wondered where the slight odor was coming from.
SURPRISE! These were wild skunks.

Smart dog, Brent. I'd wait too.

Hal

Your dog is gorgeous, Brent! What breed is he or she?

That's a pic I ran across on a photography forum. I have never seen a skunk around my place (yet). We capture them and relocate them up around Risa's area.

Brent, you are just too kind!

We capture them and relocate them up around Risa's area.

looks like relocation is a blooming business,
since whenever and wherever I drive lately I see a lot of these critters wobbling here and there!

Risa

I just talked to a friend of mine who is the regional "crazy dog lady" and two her dogs have a skunk fetish. She says Johnsons baby shampoo does a good job of getting rid of most of the smell. Enough she can tolerate them in the house. FWIW

Risa, My sister had a skunk living in the bushes next to their house. Their 2 dogs were sprayed repeatedly. One day her husband realized that they didnt like the sprinkler. They started turning it on several times a day in several areas and even overnight. It caused the skunk to relocate itself! I am very sensitive to skunk smell and can smell it even when no one else can. It makes my head ache as much as perfume does! Hope you get rid of the little rascal.
Hugs,
Cindy

They even have motion activated sprinklers now to keep critters away.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_1050064_1050064

Thanks! I like the idea of something as simple as sprinklers driving the skunks away!

Risa