Here's What to Do If Your Dog Gets Sprayed by a Skunk

Just got home from a baseball game and our dog got sprayed by a skunk. She ran inside flopping and rubbing all over the house. Now the WHOLE HOUSE SMELLS LIKE SKUNK… and… she is in bed with us.- Natalie Hardin

Yep! That happened to my friend Natalie's dog earlier this week. As a matter of fact, it's happened to a couple of my friends in the last month or so. And, while my own dogs have been known to throw down with possum in the backyard, they, thankfully, have never encountered a skunk. And it's a good darn thing. I know my dogs and they would act just like Natalie's. They wouldn't leave the thing alone, would get all up in its business and get royally sprayed.

I imagine it would go something like this!

This is Natalie's baby, Bama Girl!

Natalie Hardin

Here's Natalie's play-by-play of what happened when Bama Girl met a skunk.

Natalie 's Facebook post got me thinking. What exactly are you supposed to do when a dog gets sprayed by a skunk? I have heard about some humans getting sprayed and taking a bath in tomato juice. According to Daniel Pate, that didn't work at all when he tried it on his dog. He shared, "We have tried tomato juice. It didn’t work and is disgusting. We tried skunk off shampoo sold in stores and it didn’t work" either.

So, I reached out to my good friend Dr. Laura Richey. She owns Animal House Mobile Veterinarian in Grandview, Indiana. While she's never had to personally "de-skunk" a dog, she gave me a recipe, made from relatively common household ingredients, that apparently works wonders.

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

SKUNK FORMULA

1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide (a fresh bottle)

1/4 cup of baking soda

1-2 teaspoons of liquid dish soap

That sounds simple enough, right? Here's a video that explains the science behind that potent skunk smell and why you should NEVER put water on the skunk odor before you treat your dog.

This solution has worked for folks right here in our area. Emily Miller Floyd tried it. She chimed in on Natalie's Facebook post and shared her own tips. "Spray it on the dog and let it sit for 10 min or so then bathe the dog. Worked a lot better than just a bath but it took a couple times to completely get rid of the smell."

Now, one more tip to pass along from Dr. Richey. The ingredients of the skunk solution have to be mixed in an open container. You should NEVER mix the ingredients in advance because the solution will release oxygen and that may cause a closed container to explode.