# Skunk junk



## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

So, the North-American famous skunk smell found us a week ago too... Early morning at the creek (Texas heat makes us go for our runs right at sunrise), i just release the boys, Miksa heads towards the creek and goes on point, i see his bird and praise him. I look back and see Bende in the bushes, also on point, but i don`t see his bird due to all the vegetations, so i start moving towards him, he is still frozen and focused - mom`s heart filled with warm fuzzy feeling enjoying the morning dog fun before the work days starts. Then i see Bende starting to move backwards, ears pinned back, tail going between the legs, and then there it is, the famous black and white tail raised up in the air... i call back Bende, he gets out from his frozen status, runs to me, jumps up and down, waiting to be praised and petted and then i smell it... and refuse to touch him, just a grimace on my face, Miksa coming to us and like, dude you smell strange.... Poor Bende starts running very fast, as if he wanted to get rid of the smell.... so after many washing, throwing out biothane collar etc, finally on Sunday i dared to bring them dock diving and i could not smell it on his neck anymore afterwards...

And now i am a vizsla myself again (relentless searcher in Hungarian) during our walks in the mornings, hoping that we can avoid this horrible junk smell for a while... evolution for sure helped those beautiful looking creatures.

It would be a shark tank idea to get rid of the smell quickly with a safe method. Or even better to retain skunks from being in close proximity to our dogs.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Some dogs learn to leave them alone, and others still go after them.
Cash was sprayed once in his lifetime, and never went after a skunk again. The girls (June, Lucy) would get sprayed 2-3 times a year.
If they went on point, and Cash back away. I knew immediately to call them off. But I wouldn't always see them in time. Always felt like Lucy was on a mission to try to kill them all. She would crawl through thick briars to drag them out.

One of the worst, and funnest things is watch someone go in to flush a bird in front of their dog. Then see them spin, and run because it's skunk. Sorry for my sick sense of humor.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Skunks, what a pain the little buggers can be.
Gunnr used to try, and sometimes succeed, to kill them, and it always seemed to be a 11pm at night!!
We always had lots of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide on hand. 
I also have a 1lb can of cinnamon. You can't ever get that smell out in one wash session, so I would put cinnamon on her to knock down the smell.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

never heard of the cinnamon, will add it to the portfolio. interestingly the extreme urine and odor eating enzyme would take it off quickly from my hands. so did tea tree oil. but i was afraid to use those on Bende.


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## Erniesmom (Oct 11, 2017)

Poor Bende! Our last Vizsla had a bad habit of finding skunks at night when left out for his last pee at night. We used to keep large cans of tomato juice on hand for such occasions. Ernie goes out on a leash for his last trip out at night. It's like wild kingdom in our yard after dark and when it's time for bed we don't want any drama, especially because he sleeps with us! This recipe below, for skunk spray neutralizer was part of an email, I think from the Whole Dog Journal. It was developed by a chemist who figured out how to neutralize the stink. I bought a couple quart bottles of hydrogen peroxide and attached the recipe to them, just in case. Kind of like paying for insurance and hoping you never use it, lol. I'd suggest you print the recipe and instructions below and do the same.

*Skunk Spray Neutralizer Do this first don’t wash dog*

Krebaum came up with a formula — a quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide and a 1⁄4 cup of baking soda — that would alter the thiols in skunk spray and render them odorless. He recommends using fresh peroxide (not an old bottle that’s been open for years). Stir together in a bucket or large bowl — NOT a bottle, as the mixture will bubble and produce gas bubbles (which could cause a plastic bottle to explode). A teaspoon or two of dishwashing liquid (such as Dawn) is added to make it easier to distribute the mix evenly through the dog’s hair.

He recommends you wet the dog thoroughly with the mixture, down to the skin. Be careful not to get any in your dog’s eyes (or cuts) however; it stings! I’ve used a sponge before to thoroughly wet my dog’s face without getting it in his eyes. (You can also put a sterile lubricant eye ointment — such as Artificial Tears — in your dog’s eyes first, which will help protect them from being stung by any of the mixture.)

After the dog is thoroughly wet, you shouldn’t be able to smell the skunk spray any more. If you can still smell it, you haven’t gotten every bit of the skunk oil wet with the mixture. Once the odor is neutralized, rinse the mixture off. I usually follow this rinse with a regular shampoo bath; even though you can’t smell the skunk spray any more, it’s still oily and a shampoo will help get it off the dog’s fur. 

If you FIRST washed the dog with water (or tomato juice, or some other home remedy), sorry, this approach won’t be as effective as it could be. Water also affects the thiols, making the stinky substance resistant to being chemically neutralized.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I've used that recipe many times.
My dogs will still have the slight smell of skunk. A good chance it's because they take a direct spray to the face, and I don't want to get it near their eyes.


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