How To Get Rid Of Skunk Smell On My Dog
Skunks are well-known for the powerful, hard-to-remove, terribly smelling spray they leave on their predators. The horrible smell of skunk spray can linger on your dog’s body for as long as one year and it keeps on growing stronger with each passing day. Skunk spray has a very oily texture and it contains sulfur partly causing its awful stench. If a skunk has sprayed on your beloved pet dog, then it is important to get rid of it as soon as possible. Read this oneHOWTO article to find out how to get rid of skunk smell on my dog.
Steps to follow:
As soon as your dog gets sprayed by a skunk, keep it outside and don’t let it come inside. Otherwise, the skunk smell will also come inside your house along with your pet. In addition, many dogs either do not like to take baths or find them too cumbersome, so there is no use bringing them inside.
To de-skunk your dog, you will need 3% hydrogen peroxide, liquid dish detergent and baking soda. You can also use 2% vinegar solution in place of hydrogen peroxide, though the former works best. Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide work together to defuse the smell, and the grease-fighting properties of the dish detergent is useful in breaking up the oils of the spray. When all these ingredients are mixed together, they work like a shampoo to get rid of the skunk smell.
Mix 1 quart hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup baking soda and 2 tsp of liquid dish detergent in a pail. However, the amount of mixture you make depend on the size of your pet. If you have a larger breed of pet, you will have to take double or triple the amount of ingredients mentioned here. The mixture you make should be enough to properly wash your pet. Because this mixture is unstable, you should prepare it just before you are ready to use it immediately.
Without wetting your pet, apply the solution directly on its entire body. The solution may not get well absorbed on wet skin of the dog. Start working from the collar and move towards the tail. Make sure that the solution covers the entire skin area of the dog. Extra care is required while washing the dog’s face with the solution. You may use a wash cloth to do this on its face. Use a dry cloth to cover the eyes of the dog, and use gentle hands to carefully wash around them. Take extra caution not to get the mixture in the dog’s eyes, as the hydrogen peroxide in it can cause extreme irritation and burning.
Let your pet sit with the solution on its body for around 10 minutes. Then use tap water to rinse off the solution. Make sure to give a very thorough rinse to the pet, so that no solution is left on its body. While washing the head, tilt it upwards so that the solution does not get into its eyes. Tilting the head will allow all the solution and water to run back through the pet’s neck.
You may need to repeat the entire process around 3 times before the smell gets fully off the pet’s body and it starts smelling fresh again like before.
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