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Dog Sprayed By a Skunk? How to Make Them Smell Great Again

You don't have to live out in the country to be exposed to skunks. Skunks lurk in the suburbs as well. If your dog has recently encountered a skunk and been sprayed, the spray from the skunk is going to stick on to them. Although the smell will wear off your dog eventually, it will take a while to do so naturally, and the smell will irritate your dog until it is gone. Here is what you can do to help out your dog.

Decide How to Bath Your Dog

You don't want to bath your dog inside of your house. If your dog rubs against any furniture while you are trying to get your dog to the bathroom, the oils and smell from the skunk will transfer off of your dog and onto your belongings. Then you will need to clean those belongings as well as your dog.

It is best to bathe your dog outside. If your dog is used to being bathed inside, you may want to get a large plastic or metal tub to use to bathe your dog outside. If your dog is used to getting baths outside, you can just wash them with their standing under the hose like usual.

Prepare to Wash Your Dog

The skunk smell can transfer onto you if you are not careful. When you wash your dog, be sure to wear gloves as well as long sleeves and pants; that way, if any of the smell gets on you, you will be able to simply throw away your gloves and throw away or wash your clothing.

Create a Hydrogen-Peroxide Solution

Next, you need to create a hydrogen-peroxide solution. This solution will help neutralize the smell on your dog. To make the solution, take an entire bottle of hydrogen peroxide and mix it together with about a third cup of baking soda and a dash of dish detergent. The hydrogen peroxide will help rise up and remove the oil from your dog's coat. The dish soap will help provide some suds to the solution and will help remove the oil that the skunk sprayed onto your dog's skin. Baking soda is a natural odor neutralizer, and that is the role that it will play in this solution.

Wash Your Dog

Get your dog's coat wet. Then, take the hydrogen-peroxide solution and apply the solution to the dog's coat. Make sure that you get it all over your dog, including under their belly. Once you put the solution on your dog, let it sit for around 10 minutes. This will allow time for the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to work together to neutralize the smell. This should remove the smell from your dog's coat. You may need to apply the solution and wash it off your dog twice to remove the smell.

After you clean your dog's coat with the homemade solution, rinse it off and then wash your dog with your regular dog shampoo. This will help remove the solution and any smell that is still lingering behind.

When you are done, throw away the gloves that you used to wash your dog, take off your clothing, and wash it right away to remove any smell that may have been transferred onto them. Consult a veterinarian for more tips. 


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