This may seem like an unlikely scenario, but with cabin season fast approaching it’s good to know what you can do to de-skunk your dog if sprayed. Here are five steps to cleaning up the stink without using up your entire supply of tomato juice.
1. Keep Your Dog Outside
Once that smell is in your house, it’s in your house. And it’s gonna stick around for a while. If you don’t have a fenced-in yard or don’t trust your buddy not to escape at the end of a lead, a closed garage will work too.
2. Check Fido’s Eyes
If they’re red or irritated, flush them with cool water immediately. (Aren’t you glad you’re already outside? You can get the water everywhere without worrying about a mess!)
3. Mix It Up
Here’s what you need:
- a quart of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide
- a quarter-cup of baking soda
- a teaspoon of liquid dishwashing soap
While we don’t typically recommend using dish soap on your dog (their skin is far too delicate and has a different pH level than ours), desperate times call for desperate measures.
Also, and this is crucially important, do not make this mixture up ahead of time or try to save extras in a bottle; there’s a high likelihood that it will explode. Seriously.
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4. Scrub ‘Er Down
Wearing rubber gloves, wash your dog with your mixture as soon as possible after the spraying. Be extra careful not to get any of this solution in your dog’s eyes! Rub the mixture thoroughly into the fur, but don’t leave it on too long. Try to be as efficient as possible (get someone to help you if you need), as leaving the mixture in too long could bleach the fur. Then rinse and rinse and rinse again.
5. Shampoo your Pooch
Wash your dog as you regularly would, with his/her regular shampoo. Make sure you rinse thoroughly, of course, and rub down with a towel to wick away excess moisture.
And that should do it! On warm summer days, your buddy is safe to air dry, but dogs with especially thick fur (or any dog when it’s cold out) should be dried with a hairdryer. Just be careful where you point it, as the noise can be scary and/or harmful to sensitive doggie ears.
