OOhhhh, Noooooo, Sadie!!!!

MLBob Furia

MLBob Furia

Well-known member
When I opened the door to let Sadie back in before turning in for the night, it didn't take but a second to realize what had happened.

For those you who don't have a handy reference on this stashed away for these inevitable times when your hunting buddy decides to harass, chase ,or corner one of those "striped cats" and gets sprayed, a refresher on what to do:

- DO NOT let your pup back in the house .

-If it looks like they've taken the spray head-on, a bucket of clean water straight to the face will help take the sting from their eyes and mouth.

-We keep a 32 oz bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the bathroom cabinet. Usually de-skunking "recipies" call for more peroxide, but I find this much is plenty (...matter of fact, last night there was probably only 3/4 left in the 32 oz. bottle)
Dump the peroxide and about a 1/3 cup of baking powder into a bucket along with a few squirts of dishwashing liquid.

- Soak your pup down with the garden hose; then lather him or her up with the peroxide/baking soda/soap mix. I use an old sponge and rubber gloves to do this. Take some care to not get the peroxide mix in your dogs eyes. Let it sit a minute then hose it off.

- Lather the dog up again using just dish-liquid soap and hose off again - I guess you can use dog-shampoo if you have it.

- If you're like us there's a stash of "dog towels" somewhere in the house, so you can dry pup off after he's drip-dried for a bit.


You can throw some baking soda in with laundry detergent when you wash your "dog towels."
 
True story, I swear . . .


When I was about 16, my parents and younger sister went away on a trip, leaving me in charge of the house for the weekend by myself for three nights. The second night, my beloved Springer Joshua snuck out the back door past me, and returned 45 minutes later thoroughly skunked. I locked him in the garage, called the emergency number at the vet's, and was informed that the best product for de-skunking was Massengill Medicated Douche. (I can't remember which "flavor" but there was a particular recommendation.)

As Springers go, Joshua was a big boy--26 inches at the shoulder and about 70 pounds. I was informed that it would probably take three of the packaged Massengills to treat him, and I might want to double that to have enough for a second treatment.

I grew up in a pretty small town with just a single drug store where every employee knew my name. As 16 year old boys are, I was pretty uncomfortable even walking near the "feminine products" aisle. (Shoot, I'm 48 and married, and still don't like that.) I was not about to walk in there and buy six douches.

So I drove 45 minutes to a larger town where I was pretty sure nobody knew me, wore a big coat, a hat, and sunglasses, and boldly walked into the aisle, only to discover that there were a lot more "flavors" than I had realized, and I was going to need help from a professional.

The very nice pharmacist somehow avoided laughing out loud when I told him I needed help in the douche aisle, got my story out of me, told me this happened all the time, and helped me get the right product and out of the store without further embarrassment.

The product worked like a charm--by the time mom and dad got home, there was only the faintest whiff on the dog.
 
Bob, that brings back a flood of memories. If I ever write a bio of my life, there will be a big chapter of skunk stories. Live ones, dead ones, skunk encounters with me and most of my dogs. The only part of it I have never done is the peroxide wash though have heard good things about its effectiveness.
 
Yup, you are in good company here. One year when I had both dogs in the boat after the morning flight had dropped off I let them run in the picked bean field behind me. After a bit I called and Charlie came running with a bit of "Eddie Haskell" look on his face. I stood up to see poor Booker trying to rub his face off in the dirt. I figured it out pretty quick and got him in the water to rinse off what I could. I had some commercial skunk sent killer along in my blind bag, I suppose the 'ol Boy Scout is still in there somewhere. Several washes later he didn't stink so bad. The next day I had a check by the local C.O. who asked if my dog was friendly, I said "sure" and as he reached over to pet him the distinctive odor hit him in the nose. Years later he still remembers. Since then I do carry the douche also.
 
I have had to use the peroxide wash 3 times so far through the years. Always keep the recipe and supplies handy. Works great. What amazed me the most was when my old lab/springer cross got a face full and on the way back to the truck kept scenting and flushing pheasants like nothing ever happened.
 
I feel your pain Bob....just a bit different.


Consider yourself lucky.

Here is a post I made back in November of 2009:




Here is an experience I had with my lab a few weeks ago:

Tonight Echo and I were scouting a farm that I have permission to hunt and we had completed about half of the loop I wanted to walk when I see her just inside the woods doing the dog roll thing in the tall grass. I yell at her to stop and "here", she obeys and starts to trot toward me but as she gets closer I see something that I don't want to see.....toilet paper hanging from her collar.

"SIT" I scream.....and she freezes and sits.

I walk slowly toward her and I see from her head to her tail on her left side she is covered in human feces.

She had found a fresh pile from a bowhunter.

I'll save you the gruesome details of the next hour but suffice it to say I've had better evenings.
 
This is just one of the reasons that I like this site so much. Great stories and I know what you are going through.
Al

Jeff, yours was a dandy! I was laughing out loud when I got to the "douche aisle".
 
Thanks for that refresher....

I do kinda worry about my boys meeting one of those neat little striped cats....or even better a spotted one....when I'm not home, getting introduced to them in such an odoriferous way and then going back into the house to lay down on the carpet (since they do have the benefit of their own door to come and go as they please). I imagine I won't be laughing then....
 
I remember well the first time my old lab Stagger lee played with one of those striped kitties. I had just finished grad school in Florida and took a job in NW Minnesota. The faculty sponsor for the Natural Resources club asked me if I wanted to join them on a weekend camping trip. I jumped at the opportunity. We had a great day and Stagger Lee loved having a bunch of young guys to throw things for him. We had bear kabobs for dinner. I'm not sure if it was the bear or not but I became sick after dinner and retired to my tent for the night. The kids went for a night hike and took Stagger Lee with them. He cam back with that pungent smell. Fortunately I had a cap on the back of my truck where he spent the rest of the night. I headed home the next morning with my tent and sleeping bag on the seat besides me instead of Stagger Lee. Several downey baths alternated with tomato juice removed the worst of the smell. For the rest of the summer I could still smell it on after he went swimming.

Thanks for bringing back the memories of a long departed friend Bob!

Tom
 
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