Blowing off the Stink at Our Little House
When the weather last Saturday was a warm 70+ degrees, we decided to take the dogs for a walk.
My mom used to use the expression, “Go outside and get the stink blown off of you,” and that was partly what we were trying to do on Saturday – literally.
The night before, Chloe and Abbi, who have taken up the second generation that love to roam the woods, got skunked.
Emma, who also used to roam with Sade, got hit once.
While it usually only takes once before dogs realize what damage these black and white stinkers can inflict, once is more than enough, especially in a little house.
We tried the tomato juice thing with Emma and learned it didn’t work. Still, I didn’t remember the stink being this bad on her or lasting this long. Maybe she wasn’t hit dead on and at least it was only one dog that got it.
This time, I didn’t have anything in the house and on such a frigid night, I had to let the dogs in. My throat burned the entire night. The next day, try as I might washing their beds and spraying Fabreeze, nothing seemed to work to get the smell out of the house.
“Blowing the stink off” on Saturday didn’t work either.
On Monday, while on an errand to pick up supplies for the terrible storm that thankfully, wasn’t here, I bought an $11 bottle of all natural, concentrated stuff that was supposed to “dissipate” the smell both on the dogs and on anything they’ve come in contact with.
I sprayed it on them and massaged it into their coats, sprayed their beds and blankets and it helped some, but I can still smell it.
One lesson about living in a small house I was reminded of this week is that unpleasant odors are magnified.
What’s the worst smell you’ve had in your own home? Do you know of anything that will completely eliminate skunk?
My grandmother used to say, “Go outside and get the stink blown off you,” too. I guess it spanned generations.
The worst smell is our dogs when they completely relax. They easily clear a room. At first I thought it was just one of the dogs and then I took the beagle on a car trip. She almost cleared the car.
Oh, you’re right, Heather. I have a couple that can clear a room too! 😉
Oh and I forgot to mention, Kerri. February is mating season for skunks!
I hope what I gave you helps. There really isn’t much on the market for neutralizers of skunk. And throughout the year, if the dogs get a little wet or damp from dew, you will still get a faint odor.
Well, Happy Valentine’s Day to the skunks! Thanks again for the tip. It seems Emma never really got rid of that faint odor.
I have become very sensitive to fragrance, so if we have B&B guests who spray perfume, despite the fact that we specifically state “no spraying of perfume,” then I have a hard time. I actually got an air sanitizer, but have not used it enough times to say whether it really works or not. No solution for skunking. I got skunked once as a little girl. My mom used to tell me how she threw out my clothes, not an option for dogs. I will be interested to see if V’s recipe works for you. Do report back, okay?
I will, Alexandra! Perfume affects me the same way.
Oh, man! I have nothing for comparison. That skunk smell close up is brutal. My sympathies.
Thanks, Roxanne. 🙂
Oh, that’s so nasty! My mom always called it “shaking the stink off”! I hope you can get rid of the smell!
It’s funny how some sayings take on different words, based on the region or inherited saying, I would guess. Thanks for the wishes!
Oh peeeeuuwwww! Our old dog Licorice got hit by a skunk once, but it must not have been at close range because the smell wasn’t too powerful. In fact, it wasn’t until we got in our car to leave our property that we noticed the odor. I took the lazy way out and drove him directly to the groomer, who had a sure fire treatment for skunk stink. After that, I did buy a bottle of solution made especially to remove skunk odor, but haven’t had to use it with our new dog, TJ, yet (thankfully!)At least it sounds like you might have warm enough weather this weekend to maybe open up some windows. Until then, I would be burning a lot of scented candles!
I have an oil lamp that has worked on every smell in the house – other than this one! 🙂
Kerri,
This is what we used at my vet’s clinic and when I groomed dogs many years ago.
I use Dr Bronner’s liquid soaps.
1 qt. of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1 box baking soda
few drops of dr bronners or mild dishwashing liquid.
mix fresh each time, in a small plastic bucket and take a kitchen sponge and soak the places that are saturated with skunk. Let sit for a few minuites and then dry parts as best as you can.
I know that its winter and this will be hard to do, and when it gets spring and warm, wash the ones of the fab 5 that got sprayed with this solutiion in a tub and rinse. You may have to do this several times during the spring and summer. But this is the recipe from our clinic and we had pretty good success with it. It was all we had. This neutralizes the spray with the peroxide and baking soda. Skunk spray is an acid and is oily based.
Hope that this helps.
Thanks for the recipe, V. I will look for this soap and try it this weekend. We’re supposed to get into the 40s on Saturday.
How awful! Tomato juice is what was used years ago
and was proven to work -so I was told.
Mildew smell is hard to remove and stay removed.
I am so happy our storm wasn’t bad. What happen the skunk didn’t want to play?
You’re right, Mary, mildew is awful too. I guess the skunk wasn’t in the mood for a round of rough and tumble with two giant dogs! I’m with you on the storm. Now they say we might have another next week. Don’t we live in the south!?
Northern friends and family are always saying that “Don’t you live in the south?” My answer is “Yes, south of Missouri.” It can’t storm on sunday I have a party to go to and monday a meeting. Oh, well, so goes life.
Let’s hope our luck at dodging the bullet continues to hold out!