Skunks and the Demon Odor

Demon odor is what one former neighbor lady called it. She must have known as her dog was not a fast learner! Let's face it though, if you have dogs, you will have to deal with skunk odor sooner or later.

When driving down the road we'd just say, "think lemonade!" Lemonade is close enough in smell that you'd kinda forget the bad implications of what you were really smelling. Maybe it is conditioning but the lemonade "trick" works for me.

While that works for the momentary exposure along the highway, it doesn't work when the odor permeates the house. That can get a bit rugged even if you have somehow acclimated yourself to the scent. Many folks say that tomato juice will neutralize the odor. Never did for me.

A better decontamination formula is this formula

For pets that have been sprayed, bathe the animal in a mixture of 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide (from drug store), 1/4 cup of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and a teaspoon of liquid detergent. After 5 minutes rinse the animal with water. Repeat if necessary. The mixture must be used after mixing and will not work if it is stored for any length of time. DO NOT STORE IN A CLOSED CONTAINER - it releases oxygen gas so it could break the container. This mixture may bleach the pet's hair. (Paul Krebaum's Recipe from Chemical & Engineering News , October 18, 1993, p. 90).

This seems to work a slightly lighter hue of hair not withstanding...

As we approach spring and the slightly higher probability of running into one of these odifurous animals dog owners might want to print this out and have the components on hand. Just sayin'...