Dogs are curious creatures by nature. They like to chase squirrels and cats and foxes and birds… and skunks.
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In order to get rid of skunk odor, and to avoid transferring it to yourself in the process, you will need the following:
- One skunky dog
- One quart hydrogen peroxide
- One-fourth cup baking soda
- One tablespoon of liquid dish soap, such as Dawn (make sure to use hand dish soap, not the kind you put in the dishwasher)
- A bottle of the dog shampoo you typically use
- Old clothing and gloves (for you to wear)
As soon as you realize your dog has been sprayed by a skunk, you want to wash him as soon as possible so that the oil doesn’t have a chance to dry.
If he’s outside, do not let him in the house if possible. Once you’ve finished deskunking the dog, you don’t want to have to repeat the procedure on your carpeting and furniture. If you must bring him inside, or it’s already too late, sprint to the bathtub as fast as humanly possible with your dog in tow.
Be certain to put on old clothing before handling your dog, as the skunk’s oil may be transferred to you and can be difficult if not impossible to remove from the fibers later. Also wear gloves to prevent any skin irritation.
Prepare the Wash
The old wives tale is that the best odor remover for skunk spray is tomato juice. But you can actually make a much more effective deodorant solution yourself. Take the peroxide, baking soda and dish soap and mix them together in a bowl or bucket. If your dog is large or has long hair, you can always double the recipe. Don’t be alarmed when the mixture bubbles up. That’s just the peroxide reacting with the baking soda, like the volcano kids always make at the science fair. It will actually help to neutralize the smell.
However, due to this reaction, you will have to use this mixture immediately after you mix it. Do not wait – and don’t seal it away in a container, for obvious reasons.
The Cleaning Process
Lather the dog
With your dog in the tub or a secure outdoor area, speak calmly and positively to him as you wet his fur and then lather him up with the soap mixture. Wash his entire coat, but if you know of the area on his body where he was sprayed, pay special attention to that area.
Use caution around your dog’s eyes, nose and mouth. Make sure none of the mixture makes its way in to these areas. If you’re worried, you can wash his face with a washcloth. Also, do not let your dog lick the solution off of his fur.
Rinse him off
Rinse your dog with water that is room temperature. Make sure that you get all of the soap mixture out of his fur, or it may irritate his skin in the future.
Repeat if needed
Does he smell better yet? If not, you’ll have to mix some more soap solution and wash him again. It may take a couple tries, especially if his coat had time to dry between now and the time he was sprayed. You can also try letting the solution sit on his coat for a couple minutes before you wash him. Be sure to mix a new batch of solution before each washing. It loses its effectiveness quickly if left to sit out.
Wash him with his regular shampoo
If you’ve been washing him outside, it’s okay to move to the bathroom if that’s easier for you and he no longer smells, but it’s important to wash him again with his regular shampoo so that his hair and skin are conditioned. Plus, then he won’t smell like dish detergent. Then, rinse and dry him as normal. See how to wash your dog for more information.
Other things to try
If you need to wash your dog right away and you don’t have all of the ingredients necessary to make the soap mixture, there are a couple other things you can try.
- Oranges– Make a soap solution by mixing the dish soap with pureed oranges. (Put five to ten of the fruits in the blender with the peels still on and blend on high to make the puree.) This soap should sit on the dog’s coat for about ten minutes in order to work well.
- Soda – Most likely you’ll have some sort of carbonated beverage in the house. The air bubbles in the soda can be used to mimic the reaction of the baking soda/peroxide mixture. Wash your dog with a bottle or two of any type, depending on his size. Make sure you wash him again with his normal shampoo or your next task may be removing the ants.
- Store-bought skunk odor removers – Most pet supply stores sell shampoos specifically for the removal of skunk oil and odor. It may be wise to keep a bottle or two on hand, especially if your dog is particularly friendly with polecats.
There’s no way to really prevent your dog from getting sprayed by a skunk, besides keeping him cooped up in the house 24 hours a day. Since that would drive both you and your dog crazy, it’s better to just keep the cleaning and deodorizing products you’ll need handy.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
The last time our St. Bernard found a skunk we threw away the “skunk-off” stuff and went to Simple Green. It worked very well. Not knowing the length of “sudsy” time or skin issues we dove in and washed and soaked for ~30 min. During the bath time the topic of conversation was how long and what if she has a skin reaction… Well it turned out fine. After drying there was a slight smell of skunk, but I think that was from me making contact before the bath. Give it a try. We used it full strength.
When my son was a little boy he decided he wanted to play with a cute little skunk. Well, of course the critter sprayed him good and my son came running home to Momma. I stripped him down (outdoors, of course)and washed him all over with plain old tomato juice. That’s how you get rid of the skunk smell, folks! The clothes? Well, they were history.
Our dog got skunked a while back, and we used the baking soda, peroxide, and dish detergent. The tomato juice just doesn’t cut it on the dog fur. Before washing her we also soaked her down in mint mouthwash another tip we found online and you let that sit for about 30 min then do the mixture mentioned above and there was no more skunk smell!
We have had a skunk problem this year in our back yard. We live in a city subdivision but there are some woods around in the area. Both of our dogs have been sprayed. The first time our rat terrier was sprayed we didn’t realize it but she smelled bad. She was just bathed with dog shampoo and that got rid of most of it. Then our neighbor told us about their beagle being sprayed and she found the peroxide remedy. I soon remembered to get a big bottle of peroxide to have on hand to use for cleaning, there are many uses for it as well. Soon our mixed breed terrier got sprayed and I happen to see it happen so out came the peroxide, baking soda, shampoo/dish soap and we set to work on him. The only part of him that had a lingering skunk smell was his nose but it was not really bad. We did let him in the house and we got the skunk smell in the house for a few days. Again last night at 11:30, I let the rat terrier out as she kept letting me know she needed to go out. Well she was running around the yard like she was in pursuit of something but I did not realize what she saw. When She finally came in I realized she had been sprayed again. I got the peroxide remedy together and gave her a bath. It seemed to take care of the smell right away. The smell that we get in the air is not the same smell that is on the dogs when they are sprayed. I did read about another remedy which is to bathe with Apple Cider Vinegar. I have a bottle of that on hand as well.
One of our huskies in particular, often came home reeking of skunk. I always kept several large boxes of baking soda on hand for that reason. Outside I’d literally dump the baking soda all over and would then leave him for about 1 hour before brushing out his fur. Most of the smell would have been absorbed and neutralized by the baking soda. Repeat if necessary, this time you can get close enough to rub some of the baking soda in his fur. Leave for awhile and then brush out again.
i’ve had two dogs sprayed by skunks. The first attempt was a disaster – multiple attempts at cleaning/de-odorizing before the smell was removed. While i was doing this, my wife had to go to work and unfortunately brought along a bit of the odor with her. A co-worker has a spouse that was a veterinarian and it was suggested that we use feminine hygine product – douche. Of course the next time the dog “got it”, i went to the store and purchase a bottle of concentrated product (along with assorted snickers and stares). I mixed up enough to make approximately one gallon and sponged it on the dog, allowing it to soak for several minutes. Worked like a dream!! No smell what-so-ever and a soft coat as well.
I’ve used the baking-soda-peroxide solution several times, it’s not perfect because my dog gets sprayed right in the licker and I have to keep the stuff out of her eyes. Clean the stink up FAST, don’t let it cure.
I used the hydrogen peroxide mixture on our dog when he got “skunked” and it worked very well. It was quick and easy to prepare and caused no skin problems.
Last night my big dog got skunked in the face. All the hydrogen peroxide in my house had lost its bubbles (old) and so we wound up using about half as much cider vinegar with water, baking soda and some liquid hand soap. This seemed to work well enough.
White dog owner
I have two small white dogs I wash them often with white dog shampoo,but they are always stained from dirt/mud/and rolling in other dogs urine and poop.What can I use to get my dogs white fur clean and stain free again?
what???
is it okay if a dogs gets skunked in the face?
I have worked as a professional dog groomer for years and have seen this forever we use douche to rinse the dog in and it works like a charm.
Martha's House of Skunk
I rescued a skunk that my 2 dogs had attacked. My beagle got the direct hit in the chest, but we all got “skunked.” Then, being me, I rushed the dogs inside the house before they could go after the skunk again-NOT a good idea. I have bathed all 3 of us in the peroxide, soda, soap recipe, vinegar, tomato juice and plain dish soap. I’ve also cleaned walls, floors, furniture, rugs, dog beds, my bed with the peroxide recipe, vinegar, oxiclean, ammonia and greased lightning-not all at the same time. we all still smell like skunk and we’re all exhausted. HELP!!!!
An old "skunk" remedy
Many years ago we would use tomato juice to cut the skunk smell on a dog, kid or clothes. It requires quite a bit of tomato juice but it works.
Try Off Insect Repellent
Over the years I’ve tried many different home remedies and “bought” products, but have found that using Off Insect Repellent neutralizes the skunk smell better than anything else, including Organic neutralizers used for kennel smells.
P.S. Tomato juice does practically nothing.