How to Remove Skunk Odor From Your Dog

By eHow Pets Editor

This means the skunk is ready to release some odor, hopefully not on your dog.

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Though you'll find sprays and rinses at pet stores for removing skunk stinks, you rarely have the luxury of running to the store when a skunk strikes. Battle the odor with this homemade remedy.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Rubber Gloves
Dog Shampoo
Eye Drops Or Olive Oil
Tomato Juice

Step1

Keep your dog outside if possible. It could take weeks to remove this noxious odor from your house.

Step2

Check her eyes. Skunk spray can irritate them. If they are red and irritated, add eye drops designed for humans to relieve the irritation.

Step3

Don rubber gloves and wash the dog thoroughly with dog shampoo. Rinse and dry her.

Step4

Douse her with tomato juice, which diminishes the stench. Use enough to soak the fur thoroughly. It might take several cans. Allow the tomato juice to soak in for 10 to 20 minutes.

Step5

Rinse out the tomato juice. Reapply it if the odor lingers.

Step6

If the tomato juice doesn't work or if you'd rather drink it than wash your dog in it, try a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and regular dish soap. Use about 1 qt of 3% peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda and a drizzle of dish soap. Mix it well and add a cup of water if needed and then lather up your dog right away.

Tips & Warnings

Keep skunks away by using garbage cans with tight-fitting lids and by bringing pet food indoors at night.

Comments

exring said

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on 3/9/2008 The peroxide mixture works pretty well as a first step to get rid of the skunk smell while you are waiting for your bottle of OdorXit to come in the mail.

SilverDevil said

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on 1/26/2008 All remedies are somewhat effective. You're nose will definitely become fatigued and you will think the smell is gone but a visitor to your house will definitely notice the smell. Skunk oil is the carrier of the odor and it sticks to everything. You have to remove the oil. Although many people read that acidic juices cannot but mask the odor, they do infact remove quite a lot of the oil. It may take three baths in juice to get most of the oil off the pet. People tend to repeat things they read on the Internet and it becomes like gossip. All the peroxide recipes are the same so I suspect most of the postings are gossip. It should be effective but probably not much more than juice or detergent. It is the detergent that acts as a surfactant to loosen the oil and let it wash off.

Dinodixie said

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on 1/21/2008 Thanks everyone, my dogs picked the coldest night of the year for their skunk encounter !! EWWW !! I did the peroxide mixture soak... my dogs each weigh about 100 pounds so I led them into my shower for the rinse-off. Dino was really nervous about it until I began to wash him in the body wash I usually use. He is familiar with that scent and calmed down right away. Also he really appreciated the eye drops. I really hope they learned their lesson LOL we just moved out to the country and I really don't care to go through this again !

xny556 said

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on 10/20/2007 My lab was sprayed BIGTIME, as was I. After reading all these comments, I headed to the drugstore to purchase Peroxide..they didn't have much left.I purchased what they had. The pharmacist added more information.She shared with me an even more effective treatment prior to the bath.Get a large can of coffee, the type used in drip machines. Do not wet the grinds.Take two handfuls of the dry coffee grounds and rub them briskly into your dogs fur. Use lots.When it falls out on the floor or deck or tub, scoop it back up and reapply. I was amazed at how much odor it was releasing.Just about made me puke the odor was so strong but I kept rubbing him vigorously with it and let him sit outside for a while and then bathed him. AMAZING RESULTS FOLKS...ADD THE COFFEE TO YOUR REGIMEN!