How to Remove Skunk Odor From a Dog

By John L

Overview

An encounter with a skunk rarely has a happy ending for a dog. The stench the canine comes away with gets even worse, if this is possible, when the dog gets wet. There are products on the market such as Skunk Off and Skunk Kleen that are designed to get rid of horrible skunk odor, but there is also a simple home recipe that can accomplish this task.

Step 1

Attend to your dog rapidly after it has been sprayed. The smell will be much more difficult to remove after the chemicals in the skunk's spray have dried on the dog's coat. Realize also that if nothing is done, most of the odor will eventually go away on its own, but this will be only after several weeks; dogs with longer hair that happen to get wet will have the foul smell return.

Step 2

Take the dog outside to wash it. Change into an old set of clothes for this task that you can afford to dispose of right after the washing and use a pair of gloves. Keep the dog contained after it has been sprayed so that it will not contaminate the interior of your home before you can attempt to deal with the odor.

Step 3

Combine 1/4 cup of baking soda with 2 teaspoons of a dish washing product (such as Dawn) along with 2 pints of hydrogen peroxide in a basin. If you have a very large dog, simply double the amounts of these three ingredients. Use your outside hose to get your pet wet, then begin to shampoo the hair of your dog thoroughly. An old sponge will come in handy while using your mixture. Do not be alarmed that it will be fizzing as this is what happens when the baking soda and peroxide are mixed. Avoid getting any of this mixture in your dog's eyes or on its nose.

Step 4

Leave this concoction on the dog for as long as 4 minutes before rinsing it. One application will not be enough to have removed the entire amount of skunk spray, so you will have to repeat this process a few times. After applying it once and then rinsing, resume right away with another shampooing. There's no need to let the dog dry off.

Step 5

Apply a crème rinse to restore moisture to your dog's coat, but only after about a week has passed since it was treated for being sprayed. Do not do it during the treatment as this will be very counter-productive, since it will keep the mixture from being effective. Bring your dog to a veterinarian if it shows any ill effects from its meeting with the skunk.

Comments (1)

Jul 22, 2009 KrystaH

I live out on a farm and we use peppermint mouthwash... All you do is pour it onto a cloth and wipe the dog down... The dogs love the taste of it and I have had people come over in the past after the skunk and they have not smelt a thing... Even the dogs smell good!!!

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