Introduction
If your dog enjoys exploring, you may be familiar with the following scenario: when you and your dog are chilling in your backyard, your dog suddenly spots a skunk nearby and decides to explore. No matter how stridently you call for your pet or how fast you run in their direction, the skunk will still become startled, says Matt Davies Harmony Communities.
What can you do about a dog that has been sprayed by a skunk? You’ve probably heard terrible stories about how tough it can be to get rid of the skunk smell from canine fur. Is there anything you can do at home to help your dog?
Let’s discuss what to do right away if your dog gets sprayed by a skunk and how to get rid of the skunk smell.
What’s the Reason Why Skunks Spray?
Was a skunk spraying your dog? You might be wondering why skunks spray in the first place, and it can be a terrifying situation to be in. Skunks merely spray as a kind of defense. According to Matt Davies Harmony Communities, if confronted, skunks frequently try to deflect attention by stomping their feet. If that doesn’t work, they’ll lift their aim and tail and spray at any incoming people. Although their spray is quite unpleasant, it generally won’t harm your pet (except their smell).
A thiol, an organic molecule containing sulfur as its primary component, is what skunk spray is. Their spray is so potent that it can accurately hit targets up to ten feet away and be detected from a mile away. In fact, the spray doesn’t cause much suffering; the worst that can happen to humans is nausea and sometimes eye stinging or brief blindness.
The skunk most likely sprayed to fend them off when your dog startled it. And it happened. Your pet moved back, giving the skunk room to leave.
How to Evaluate the Situation and Get Rid of the Skunk Smell from Your Pet
- Figure Out if There Is Any Immediate Danger – Check to evaluate the severity of the situation as soon as you discover that your dog has gotten into a fight and been sprayed. If so, be sure to look for any signs in your pet’s eyes.
Additionally, carefully examine your dog for any signs of wounds because skunks are frequent carriers of the rabies virus, which can be spread by an infected animal biting another animal. Due to the fact thatskunks are usually active at night, a daytime encounter should send up even more warning signs that your dog might have come into contact with a rabid or otherwise sick skunk.
- Try to Keep Pets Outdoor – You could be tempted to bring your dog inside to clean them off if you’re accustomed to cleaning dogs inside the house. You don’t want to bring any of the spray or fragrance inside your house, though. If you do, you’ll need to clean everything they come into contact with inside your house, in addition to your dog.
It’s challenging to get the scent out of your house, but if you can’t keep your pet outside, you can try running fans throughout your house and opening boxes of baking soda to aid with the smell absorption. In the end, there is no instant cure for the skunk smell inside, so you might have to wait.
- Clean Up – If any of the skunk sprays got on your skin while dealing with the situation or afterward as you tried to contain and clean your pet, you should also apply the remedy mentioned above to yourself. To help get rid of the stench from your clothes, the AKC advises using ordinary washing detergent with 1/2 cup of baking soda added.
As long as it isn’t used on cloth, you are advised to wash any outside furniture or possessions that the skunk may have sprayed. The formula to use is one part bleach to nine parts water.
Conclusion
Before you start to panic, Matt Davies Harmony Communities suggest giving the situation some thought. You have choices for assisting your pet get cleaned up, and they’ll probably be alright. Even while it might appear as though the smell will never go away, following a few thorough washes, the residue of the skunk spray and its particular smell will fade.
