Pepe must have had a big family this year! It’s a rare occurrence in which we do not see a skunk on our morning walk this spring. Jasper and I barely avoided one in our side yard, as it ran across the lawn, early one morning last week. Jasper, Boo and I came within 20 feet of one in the neighbor’s yard while going for our morning walk this past weekend. We’ve seen them in the neighbors’ yards, as well as all throughout the subdivision we live just outside of. Occasionally, on our morning walk we smell the smell too. That familiar, unmistakable smell.
In the past, it has been more typical to see skunks after nightfall – not so much later in the morning. We do tend to walk fairly early (anywhere between 4am and 7am), but there has also been a lot of skunk activity even after the sun rises – which is atypical, around here anyway.
This morning we encountered three skunks. A rather large adult at the beginning of the subdivision and two smaller ones – I assume juveniles – one toward the back of the subdivision and the other in the neighbor’s yard at the end of our walk (well after the sun came up).
Pepes abound!
Skunks are the second largest carrier of rabies (behind raccoons) in Michigan, so take extreme caution should a skunk come up to you. That said – skunks are very docile, unaggressive animals. I don’t know how many times I have unwittingly walked by a skunk that was digging up something in a yard. Skunks only spray when they are attacked or feel threatened and cannot escape. Their first instinct is to escape – which is also my first instinct whenever I see a skunk. Just make sure you are both not escaping in the same direction.
I have only had one dog skunked and that was my first Golden, Hailey. She was a pretty curious, happy-go-lucky pup and early one dark morning she managed to get her head sprayed. Oddly enough I did not realize it and let her in the house.
I don’t really smell that well, due to acute sinus problems. I saw that Hailey’s head was wet, but just thought she had shoved her head in one of the bushes that line the house looking for a long lost tennis ball – which was very normal for her.
A few minutes after letting Hailey in the house, I started to wonder what the funny smell was. It did not smell what you normally think of as ‘skunk’ smell. It had a muskiness to it, but it just wasn’t the skunk smell. But after 5 or 10 minutes passed it started to smell more and more like the skunk smell that we all are familiar with and the smell also seemed to get stronger.
At this point, Hailey had lied down in the family room, traveled down the hall and was taking a nap on the front bedroom floor.
So – so – so not good.
Photo Credit: PAPERCUTSKIN Flickr via Compfight cc
Not to mention I had touched her and I was starting to smell too. And if I could smell it – that meant it really, really smelled. I had no idea what to do. I vaguely remembered reading about different remedies for skunk spray including the well-known tomato juice remedy. Bathing a dog in tomato juice always seemed a bit absurd to me. I ended up calling a friend at work and asking her what to do and she put me on a destinking formula that consisted of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dishing washing soap. She said the oxygen molecules will bond with the chemical compound in the spray and neutralize it.
Unfortunately, I did not have any hydrogen peroxide in the house.
I sheepishly apologized to the cashier at Rite Aid for spreading my Pepe LePew Eau de Cologne fragrance throughout her store, as I bought several bottles of hydrogen peroxide. She was nice and told me that I did not smell toooo bad.
The formula worked fairly well. I had to give her another bath when I got home from work that day to take care of the remnants, but ended up having to throw out her collar, as I could never get the smell out.
The moral of the story? If you have skunks in your neighborhood BE PREPARED. Or you will end up stinking up your local drugstore like I did.
Let’s face it – it is not the worst smell…but it most certainly is the most smell.
I’ve seen variations of the hydrogen peroxide deskunking formula, so if you have a formula you would like to share, please leave it in the comments and we will post. If your dog’s eyes look irritated, make sure you flush them with cool water.
Deskunking formula
1. 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
2. ¼ cup of baking soda
3. 1 teaspoon of dishwashing soap
- mix the three ingredients to make the solution
- rinse your dog with water and work the solution into your dog’s fur-be careful not to get it in your dog’s eyes
- let the solution/lather sit for 3-5 minutes and then rinse off
- wash with pet shampoo
*************************************************************************************************
Interesting tidbits about skunks
- Skunks can spray up accurately up to 10 feet
- Skunk spray can be detected for up to 1.5 miles
- The chemical compound (thiols) found in skunk’s spray is also found in rotting flesh
- Skunks will eat bees and wasps and have been known to attack beehives
- Skunks are immune to some snake venom, including rattlesnake venom
- Skunks will hiss and stomp their front feet in warning before they spray
- Skunks are omnivores – typically eating mainly insects and grubs. Skunks are also opportunist eaters – eating small mammals, birds, reptiles, fruit, vegetables and seeds.
