Skunks

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thepennywhistle
Posts: 669
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:20 pm

Skunks

Post by thepennywhistle »

Ewwww. The skunks yesterday were out and active and really, really unpleasant.
Last night I let the dogs out for a bedtime potty run, and though I didn't smell
skunk in the area (I check before letting the girls through the door), the dogs took
off screamingto the front fence. And then came That Smell. I panicked and went
charging after them wearing a very long shirt, but not taking time to put on jeans,
just praying no neighbors chose to check out the chaos and take note of my less
than attractive state of (un)dress. It took quite a bit to convince them to leave
the fight and go back to the house. Fortunately, the skunk had departed after he'd
squirted, and bless his little stripey heart, he'd sprayed ACROSS the gate and not
through it, so no dogs got hit directly. Hit my gate, and for reasons I cannot fathom,
he sprayed my van. Very stinky, my van is now.

Got the dogs back in the house, and while they hadn't been hit directly, the stench
in the air had been absorbed into their coats as well as my favorite shirt, so we
brought it into the house. House then was full of that gaggy smell.

About an hour after our skunk encounter I heard something screaming behind my
yard. It was the unmistakeable sound of upset pig, very loud, and it went on and
on for nearly a full minute. And then came EVEN MORE of That Smell -- a nice,
fresh wave of it. Apparently the skunks were still feeling touchy, and one of them
sprayed a Javalina, which I am also thrilled to have circling my house.

This morning my yards front and back, and my van reek, and my favorite shirt, while
not as bad, has been hung in a tree for now. Fortunately, the dogs have aired out as
of this morning, and the house (inside) smells only faintly of skunk, but my shirt and
the van and the gravel are still not good, and I am very unhappy.

I am officially unnerved, and do not want any of us to go outside after dark now.
Not sure how we're going to manage this potty-wise, but I'm trying to think of a safe,
skunk and Javalina-proof schedule. Not having much luck, but still frantically thinking.
And stinking.

A World of Ewwww. :( :( :(
emmabeth
Posts: 8894
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:24 pm
Location: West Midlands
Contact:

Re: Skunks

Post by emmabeth »

I am SO glad that the only wildlife i really need worry about is wasps and the odd adder... skunks and 'almost a pig but not quite but more aggressive and with self sharpening teeth' (i just went and looked Javalinas up!... peccaries.. how odd!) sound like NOT fun at all! Especially if they argue with one another in the middle of the night!
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
jacksdad
Posts: 4887
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: Skunks

Post by jacksdad »

I have had couple close encounters with skunks when out with Jack. Fortunately no spraying.
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GllntKnight
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun Jun 06, 2010 11:22 am

Re: Skunks

Post by GllntKnight »

We've only had one skunk encounter in three years unless it has relatives it is a dead skunk almost torn in half by my two playing tug of war with it you know mine no mine , mine and so on. Best thing for anyone that does have them in the area is just be prepared with the proper skunk odor remover and I'm not talking tomato juice as that only turns your dog into a stinky pink dog. :lol:
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. ~Author Unknown

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive. ~Gilda Radner
wvvdiup1
Posts: 3397
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:31 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Skunks

Post by wvvdiup1 »

I have my fair share of skunks lately, however, so far Karma and I have been fortunate so far (knock on wood). However, if any of you are interested in getting the smell of skunk off/out of your dog, we have a thread on this topic. You'll learn a lot from this thread.

That thread is: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4013. I hope this helps! :D
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"Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius." -author unknown
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Mattie
Posts: 5872
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 5:21 am

Re: Skunks

Post by Mattie »

I am with Emmabeth, so pleased we don't have these in the UK, at least you can see and hear wasps, horse flies are a lot sneakier and I get a bad reaction from them.
[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/PIXIE.jpg][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/Nethertumbleweed/th_PIXIE.jpg[/img][/url]
pam
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 3:56 am

Re: Skunks

Post by pam »

Like Emmabeth and Mattie I had to look up Javalinas, never heard of them either.
No wonder your dogs were barking! Here we only have to worry about cats and foxes at night, so not so bad :)
Fundog
Posts: 3874
Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:31 am
Location: A little gambling town in the high desert

Re: Skunks

Post by Fundog »

Thanks for posting that, wvvdiup-- I was going to re-write my whole story again, but now I don't have to! :lol:
If an opportunity comes to you in life, say yes first, even if you don't know how to do it.
Christie
Posts: 112
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:28 pm

Re: Skunks

Post by Christie »

[quote="thepennywhistle"]Ewwww. The skunks yesterday were out and active and really, really unpleasant.
Last night I let the dogs out for a bedtime potty run, and though I didn't smell
skunk in the area (I check before letting the girls through the door), the dogs took
off screamingto the front fence. And then came That Smell. I panicked and went
charging after them wearing a very long shirt, but not taking time to put on jeans,
just praying no neighbors chose to check out the chaos and take note of my less
than attractive state of (un)dress. It took quite a bit to convince them to leave
the fight and go back to the house. Fortunately, the skunk had departed after he'd
squirted, and bless his little stripey heart, he'd sprayed ACROSS the gate and not
through it, so no dogs got hit directly. Hit my gate, and for reasons I cannot fathom,
he sprayed my van. Very stinky, my van is now.

Got the dogs back in the house, and while they hadn't been hit directly, the stench
in the air had been absorbed into their coats as well as my favorite shirt, so we
brought it into the house. House then was full of that gaggy smell.

About an hour after our skunk encounter I heard something screaming behind my
yard. It was the unmistakeable sound of upset pig, very loud, and it went on and
on for nearly a full minute. And then came EVEN MORE of That Smell -- a nice,
fresh wave of it. Apparently the skunks were still feeling touchy, and one of them
sprayed a Javalina, which I am also thrilled to have circling my house.

This morning my yards front and back, and my van reek, and my favorite shirt, while
not as bad, has been hung in a tree for now. Fortunately, the dogs have aired out as
of this morning, and the house (inside) smells only faintly of skunk, but my shirt and
the van and the gravel are still not good, and I am very unhappy.

I am officially unnerved, and do not want any of us to go outside after dark now.
Not sure how we're going to manage this potty-wise, but I'm trying to think of a safe,
skunk and Javalina-proof schedule. Not having much luck, but still frantically thinking.
And stinking.

A World of Ewwww. :( :( :( :( I It will take 8 cans of tomato Juice to get rit of that smell that happened to my sister's yorky because it was cool at night & my sister & brother in law were sitting in the family room with the door open & Milly smelled something & when she went out to investagte that happened to her since then my brother in kaw built a screen :(
wvvdiup1
Posts: 3397
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:31 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Skunks

Post by wvvdiup1 »

Fundog wrote:
Thanks for posting that, wvvdiup-- I was going to re-write my whole story again, but now I don't have to!
You're welcome! :D
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"Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius." -author unknown
thepennywhistle
Posts: 669
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:20 pm

Re: Skunks

Post by thepennywhistle »

My thanks to everyone for the sympathy and suggestions :)

I did find a really easy, cheap, and effective deskunking recipe,
and it does rely heavily on the baking soda, so that was a great
suggestion. This is nice because it won't turn my white collies
pink. (I can only imagine what the neighbors would say about
that. They already think I'm potty!)

For those who are interested:

1 quart of hydrogen peroxide solution
One fourth cup of baking soda
One table spoon of Dawn dishwashing detergent.

The trick is to find an empty 2 liter soda bottle to
pour all this into, since the Dawn detergent plus
baking soda won't fit into the H2O2 bottle. This worked
perfectly. Pour it on, let it sit for a couple of minutes,
then wash.

It was recommended for the dogs, but spraying it on
my van's tire and the driveway gravel followed by
hosing has helped immensely, so I guess it's good
for most anything skunked. I offer it here for anyone
who might need it, and with great hopes no one ever
will.
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: Skunks

Post by Nettle »

I am so very glad we don't have skunks, and the wild pigs are not too common yet.

Thank you all for your de-skunking recipes - maybe we should pin them?
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
wvvdiup1
Posts: 3397
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:31 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Skunks

Post by wvvdiup1 »

Nettle wrote:
I am so very glad we don't have skunks, and the wild pigs are not too common yet.
If you want, I'll send you some skunks, Nettle! :P :lol: (Hey, I'm joking!) :lol: :lol: :lol:
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"Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius." -author unknown
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: Skunks

Post by Nettle »

NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO No skunks! :lol:

Some people keep them as pets here, but I assume they have been de-skunked. The skunks that is - the people are anyone's guess.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
wvvdiup1
Posts: 3397
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:31 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Skunks

Post by wvvdiup1 »

Nettle wrote:
Some people keep them as pets here, but I assume they have been de-skunked. The skunks that is - the people are anyone's guess.
I wonder about that too, Nettle! :lol:
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"Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius." -author unknown
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