The following mixture is the best way to remove skunk odor. The skunks are out and about. You never know when your dog is going to run into a skunk or for that matter when a skunk is going to find your dog.
For example one quiet afternoon mrs. elk and I were walking along a country road with our dogs checking things out like normal dogs are prone to do. Enjoying the beautiful weather our situational awareness was not up to its usual high level. Seemingly the skunk appeared from nowhere, sitting there in the middle of the road… All I could utter was UH-UH! mrs elk yelled something like OH-OH! EEK. Fortunately, the dogs looked our way and trotted over to see what was wrong with the masters because OH! and UH! are not in the usual dog command repertoire. Leashes clipped quickly to their collars in the nick of time, and an alternate route home saved the stinky mess that time.
Here is the recipe for DE- Skunking / removing skunk odor from human or dog. Also, works to remove many other nasty odors such rolled in beach ripe fish or summer time fermented manure.
- One gallon water
- 1/2 cup hand dish soap
- 16 oz. hydrogen peroxide
- 3 oz. liquid deodorant containing aluminum zirconium
Mix all the above in a bucket or jug; if a jug is used decrease the water to allow enough space to shake the ingredients together. Work the mixture into the dog’s fur. I like to wear rubber or latex gloves. Rinse. The odor will be completely gone.
Cut back to a tablespoon of dish soap and the above mixture will remove the human scent from hunting equipment. These are the ingredients many of the commercial scent removers and blockers put in a spray bottle to apply to hunting gear.
JCarlin says
Having some experience with this, the specialty products at the pet store work well and more or less immediately. Even better, the hunting descenting sprays that many of us have on hand work as well and are generally less expensive.
Charlie says
Thanks for your comment JCarlin I have always wondered if any of those commercial de-skunks work. There has never been one available when I’ve needed it.
While doing some research on scenting abilities, there was a study done by a university where they used aluminum zirconium to cover smells and included was a link to the manufacturer.
Aluminum zirconium or some other similar derivative is used to deodorize sewage processing. Then I learned that this is the active secret ingredient in many scent killer products.
The recipe I came up with uses the soap and peroxide to remove the oil with the aluminum zirconium killing the odor.
FirstBubba says
My vet have me that recipe when my Rotty literally ripped a skunk in twain!
It reduced the odor to an acceptable level, but it still took a couple of days and another bath to “deodorize” the beast!
Charlie says
In really serious situations a second or third dose may be required.