Has anyone house-sat where a dog encountered a skunk? I’ve tried every suggestion and/advice to remove the oil from the dog, including six shampoos. The house also reeks of that horrible odor. The majority of my time has been spent cleaning up the smell on the dog and inside the house.
That’s not fun! you can always try to ask for compensation, never know.
As for the smell itself, I believe only time dissipate it.
Baths in tomato juice are supposed to help a lot.
Tomato juice does not work. Especially on a Saint Bernard who has been sprayed in the face in front of an open front door. Or on the carpet that she subsequently rubbed her face into. Ask me how I know
You may have already tried this (above) but not able to know from your post. I would think that until the odor is off the dog, the house will just continue to be ‘infiltrated’
@Fpmeehan Been there with one of my own dogs. The issue wasn’t your negligence, but where the HO’s live and their dog not being trained to avoid skunks, so they can pay costs.
I’m from an area with a lot of skunks and a lot of dogs, so de-skunking services are pretty common. I’d contact dog washes in the area to see if they offer de-skunking baths and a house cleaning service that offers the same. Then present costs to the HO; they can pay services or you. I would never ask that someone de-skunk my dogs for free; It’s time intensive, expensive, and unpleasant.
Can’t stop thinking of Pepe le Pew now
A dab of Brut behind the ears?
Brut !! Oh my that is a blast from the past. Elvis’s favorite.
big mistake, never let a dog that has been sprayed into the house. The smell will linger for many days. I also had a can of tomato juice somewhere, when it was an issue, and pour it over the dog outside. Then towel it off and then wash. Some people use baking soda, but tomato juice takes most of it. And then shampoo. You can smell it up close, but it is bareable.
That thought kept popping in my head.
Then, I thought about that line in the movie, Spy, when Melissa McCarthy’s character meets up with her guide in Italy who is a real obnoxious lecher and she asks, “was Pepe Le Pew not available?”
Seriously! More like a can of eau d’Lysol.
Or, Old Spice!
I used the homemade remedy with peroxide, baking soda, and Dawn liquid dishwashing soap (from the internet). The tomato juice wasn’t recommended online, but a friend said she used it and it worked well enough. There wasn’t any tomato juice in the house.
I washed the dog about four times and it still smelled. The owner had two products delivered to the house (neither were very effective) and I spent two nights shampooing the dog in the bathtub. I was exhausted afterward. The house still reeked of the skunk odor so I opened all the windows and turned on the fans.
The dog was foaming at the mouth and drooling heavily initially when he entered the house the first night. I think the saliva spilled onto the couch cushions and bedding (no hint of the skunk OIL). So, I washed the bedsheets, duvet cover, and towels and the odor disappeared. Thank goodness!
The cushions were placed outside to air out for a few days. By the time the owner returned, she said she couldn’t smell anything except for the hair on his muzzle. Well, that’s because I spent nearly a week getting rid of that stench.
Sadly, she showed no appreciation for all the extra work that I did when I had planned to do some computer work during my stay. She did compensate me for the trouble by paying the equivalent of one bath for a dog. None of groomers I contacted would touch the dog when I told them about the skunk spray.
Thanks for the update. I’m sorry the owner was not appreciative of your efforts.
sad tale, sorry the sit turned out the way it did. Did it happen by letting the dog out in the backyard, early or late?
Late at night. Never again! I learned my lesson.