Dog got skunked, haalp

November 19, 2014 5:56 PM

My terrierist got skunked tonight, in the face/chest. Before I realized what had happened, she ran in (very distressed), and rubbed her face on part of the couch, and probably more.. She's fine now, I'm pretty sure my house is not. Everything smells so bad I can't even tell what needs cleaning.

I bathed the dog down with the Google-suggested peroxide/baking soda/dish detergent mixture, which seems to have worked on most of her, with the exception of the snout, ears and very close to her eyes. How do I get that without getting solution into her mouth, nose, eyes and ears??

How can I tell if she got it on my coat? I have all of my clothes I was wearing when I bathed her the first time in the wash (detergent and baking soda), but I can't tell if she got my coat or not.

I Nature's-miracled the couch on the spot she rubbed her face . will the peroxide mix be OK to use on that?

I have windows open and bowls of vinegar around the house. Anything else I can do to get the stink out?

Will I be tracking this into my car tomorrow? Work? How do I not do that??

( I apologize for the panicky rambles.). Thanks in advance!

posted by Fig to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

The problem with skunk smell is that even just in the air it takes a while to dissipate. (I used to have a bedroom window that overlooked the Skunky Freeway in my neighborhood, and on open-window nights I'd wake up thinking the house was on fire and then choke on the smell for an hour.) Plus, once it's up your nose you can't tell if it's real or not.

Put your coat outside to air overnight, leave your stuff alone until tomorrow when you can better isolate what does and doesn't actually need to be surface-cleaned.

You can gently wipe her face with a series of old clean rags, when she'll let you. She will be faintly whiffy for a week or two.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:07 PM on November 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

Its oily so anything you would use to remove grease helps. Don't peroxide your couch!
posted by fshgrl at 7:21 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ugh, I am sorry. This just happened to me, the first week of October. It took about three weeks for me to walk into the house and not smell skunk.

I had to take the following day off work because I stank up the office, so you might want to consider calling in tomorrow.

During those three weeks, I bleached all the walls, washed everything washable and steam-cleaned the carpets.

Go to the vet and get Skunk-Off. There's a rinsable shampoo and also a leave-in rub you can use on her face.

Honestly, my dog is still a little wiffy sometimes, especially when he gets wet. I had to throw his collar away and the tags that were on the collar only get put on when he goes to the kennel now, because the stink is still in the metal.

I also noticed the smell on some metal jewelry that was in my bathroom when we got skunked. I had to dip all those in vinegar.
posted by mibo at 7:24 PM on November 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

I also came in to suggest a vet visit, not only to get Skunk-Off, but also to have her eyes, nose, and ears inspected. When my beloved terrier got sprayed in the face, he ended up having an allergic reaction to the skunk stuff that we weren't aware of until we brought him in for another problem and his vet told us his immune system was all funky because of the reaction. It's apparently (and thankfully) rare, but I really recommend touching base with your pup's doc just in case.
posted by Hermione Granger at 7:49 PM on November 19, 2014 [3 favorites]

Agree with Hermione Granger - skunk spray can be quite harmful to pets that get sprayed in the eyes and face. Skunk spray has to be one of the most horrendous smells ever! One of our boys was sprayed (twice in one week) and the house smelled for months afterwards. It will eventually go away, but we had to clean and wash everything Jake came into contact with - multiple times. This video should point you in the right direction and teach you what you need to know. Good luck!
posted by ATX Peanut at 6:37 AM on November 20, 2014 [1 favorite]

Can you remove the cover(s) on your couch? I'd wash them (in very mild detergent) and let them air dry if you could. I'm so sorry this happened. It happened to one of our dogs and we were out hiking. The car was practically un-drivable, it smelled so bad. Our vet let us use plain saline solution on his face because he also got it in the eyes. Then I sort of used a washcloth and gently cleaned around his eyes. BTW our dog was a yellow lab and natures miracle did bleach his fur somewhat.
posted by lasamana at 7:19 AM on November 20, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Update: The house smelled better this morning. The dog seems fine, and a little less stinky than last night. Myself and my clothes smell OK (my coat that was left outside is not, and surprisingly my shoes were also not acceptable) so I came into work. I realized in short order that the inside of my purse (wtf) and keys are way, way way stinky. So, I'll be leaving here shortly to spare my coworkers.

I called the vet, they gave me the recipe for peroxide/baking soda/dish soap, and said don't worry about bringing her in, but to keep an eye on her over the next week for any changes.

I've heard from coworkers to stuff dryer sheets in air vents, simmer good-smelling spices on the stove, etc etc, so I'll be trying that.

I sprayed down the couch with Nature's Miracle (not skunk-specific, just regular urine eliminator which is all that I had) last night, and this morning it was still awful. I'll be getting copious amounts of Febreeze and Skunk-Off, and seeing what happens.

Thanks for all of your help and condolences!
posted by Fig at 8:30 AM on November 20, 2014

Oh, and one more thing -- don't forget to change your furnace filters!
posted by mibo at 7:10 PM on November 20, 2014