How to wash Skunk Stink off your Dog.

TonTon is all clean once again. In fact I would go so far as to say he is the cleanest he has ever been in his short life.  So here is how I did it.

When I first smelt the fresh skunk smell it was the middle of the night so he was left a few hours before washing. By then the smell had dissipated somewhat.  And I was able to wash the dog without actually gagging.  I wore rubber gloves of course.

I washed him outside with the hose. It would have been cold, poor wee fella. First he was lathered thoroughly with good old dishwashing liquid. I used Dawn.  This is what my vet uses when cleaning an animal. Fleas hate Dawn. We used the frangipani scented one! 

Rinsed. Then tomato juice. Pour it over, rub it in and leave it on the dog for a few minutes. I am assuming the acid in the juice strips out the sticky skunk spray. 

He was still obviously smelly.  So then I lathered him with a strong solution of bio green clean. This is what I use to clean my house. But is supposed to be animal friendly. It comes in big jugs and you mix it up yourself. It is made from plant products, and is an all American natural cleaning product. I like to buy products from the country I am living in. It has no nasty chemicals in it, no perfumes or colours and can take the grime out of an oven. Once again I  lathered it up and left it on for a few minutes.  Then rinsed. This cut straight through the stink.  He was almost clean. 

Then I poured a few gallons of fresh milk over him and rubbed that in because I had it and Cleopatra bathed in it so I thought what the heck.  Don’t tell Daisy. 

Then good old dishwashing liquid to finish.

And tons of rinsing. There was a wee bit of hiding under the car, but generally he is pretty good about having his bath.  And will stand without shaking. And stand to be rinsed.

Anyway he was quite clean by now. Only a tiny residual smell on his face where I could not use soaps so close to his eyes. Next time he decides to do the tango with a skunk  (apparently he is a slow learner) I shall use the hydrogen peroxide remedy which you can read about here (thank you Bill) and here (thank you Joss and your daughter). And report back. 

It seems to me that the skunks are walking past the bedroom doors about the same time every night. Both strikes have been about 2am. So TonTon has to stay in at night all night for the meantime. So just to be sure he was clean, last thing before bed he had the vinegar rinse. He was reluctant. He is not trying to jump out, he stood like this for quite some time avoiding my eyes before  finally capitulating and lowering himself into the bath  to be rinsed in the vinegary water. 

Of course his biggest fear was that someone might see.

Good morning. Thank goodness we got him clean. I have read so many horror stories that I was actually surprised that we got it out so quickly.

Last night about 1am he thumped his tail on the floor to wake me, asking to go out,  sitting at the door staring out intently. I smelt the slightest of skunk smell wafting in through the doors.  They were parading past again.  Go to bed I growled from my pillow.  He glared at me then went back to his bed and that was that.

If they keep to their nocturnal routine and I keep to mine we will all get along just fine.  The Tall Teenager said trap them. No, I said nature loves a vacuum. If I take them out a hole will be left in my farmy ecosystem and it might be filled with something worse. We will learn about them.  They can wander about the garden looking for grubs and mice at night. And if we do not bother them, then I am fairly sure they will not bother us. There is a lot of rabies in the small animals in this country so keeping out of their way seems like a better option.

Today is going to be very hot again, so I will start the chores early and get everyone set up with cold waters and mineral under their trees for the day.  Yesterday we carried 100 bales of straw into the barn.  Our preparations for winter are coming along just nicely.

Have a lovely day.

celi

On this date a year ago. murder in the chook house and a little about how tiny Mary’s Cat come to be on my porch that morning!