Last weekend, our beautiful Collie … with very long fur … decided to try and herd a skunk at about 11:30 Saturday night. Since it was 11:30, I figured there wasn’t much we could do about it right then and there, only because we live in the middle of nowhere and there wasn’t any way I was driving 30 minutes one way for tomato juice. Big mistake … not the part about not going to get the tomato juice … that was a good call. I’ve since learned a few things about de-skunking dogs. Just in case you find yourself in my shoes, a couple of tips I’ve picked up:

1. Don’t wait to do SOMETHING. I can’t testify to the effectiveness of this solution, but one thing I learned is that the nasty stench is sprayed in an oily spray. If you can get this off before it has a chance to dry, it’s not much of a big deal. Don’t bother with tomato juice, just get the dog somewhere you can soap him or her up really well with dish soap. One of my choir members swears by this solution if you can wash the dog immediately.

2. The tomato juice solution is an old wives tale. Don’t bother unless you want a smelly, pink dog.

3. If you either can’t or don’t have the opportunity to get the stench off right away, there are a few options to try. One is one of the enzyme based commercial formulas. We used Natures Miracle, and it did OK; and I think it could have completely done the trick if I had bought enough of it. I’m cheap, though, and only bought one bottle. For our large (65 lb plus) very furry Collie, I really needed a second bottle, but it was $15 a bottle at the only pet store in a reasonable range of where we live. There are also several other homemade concoctions that are supposed to work pretty well. The one I tried used 1 cup of dish soap, 1 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide, and 1 cup of vinegar. After using the Natures Miracle and this goop, the dog is very clean, very fluffy, and only smells a little bit. Keep in mind, since I didn’t know the part about doing SOMETHING immediately, he sat with skunk stink on him for about 16 hours. Another formula that is supposed to work uses 3% peroxide, baking soda, and a lot less dish soap. If I had it to do over, I’d use this instead of the formula with a full cup of soap. If you opt for the cup of soap option, see number 5.

4. You can spend a lot of money to be told how to de-skunk your dog … or you can just do a Google search. 

5. If you put goo with 2 cups total of dish soap in your dog’s fur, you’re going to be spending a lot of time rinsing …. and rinsing and rinsing and rinsing and rinsing. 

And the most important thing I learned? Don’t let the dog out off-leash in the dark. He likes to chase skunks…