What does a skunk smell like?

Hello there friends,

Most of us have been in the presence of a skunk at some point…you know the black and white “cat-like” creatures that roam the countryside? They are actually kind of cute until you encounter one like we did last night.

While out walking our dogs in a field (yes, it was almost totally dark too), my dogs got the scent of something they wanted to investigate. That must have triggered the skunk to release it’s spray…because we were immediately engulfed in that distinctive, not to pleasing odor.

It almost looks like a scene from “Breaking Bad”, doesn’t it?

My male German Shepherd Shadow, our protector, went and did this job. He grabbed the threat and took it far away from us back into the woods. There was no way that I was going to go after him; I had enough. So Dandra and I sat in the “stink” and waited it out. We could hear Layla barking in the distance but not a sound from Shadow. He was busy doing his duty saving us.

Layla showed up first, not looking or smelling too terribly, but exhausted. Then came Shadow out of the darkness coughing, smelly and a little battle worn. He had just been through a mission he wasn’t really prepared for. When he returned, I managed to grab his collar, sit him down as he was choking and panting to tell him “good boy”, and as I rubbed his neck, I was also getting “skunk” all over me. It was all inside of his mouth, his eyes, and all over his thick German coat. We were now both covered.

The funny thing is that it really didn’t smell like a typical “side of the road” skunk smell. It almost smelled industrial, like burning rubber or some sort of kerosene…it took me a while to come to terms with the fact that he hadn’t found something else but just the skunk itself. All the while I’m grabing and holding him to make sure he was OK.

What would you do at this point? Probably the same thing that I did. Get on the internet and find out how to get rid of that awful smell as quickly as possible.

The best concoction that seemed to do the trick was a quart of hydrogen peroxide, mixed with 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1 tsp. of liquid laundry soap. We put that mixture into a spray bottle and started soaking everything. 6 dog baths each (yes, that’s 12 dog baths last night at Midnight), then a few for Dandra and I (I can still smell skunk in my sinuses) and we are almost back to normal.

After 6 dog baths consisting of tomato juice, vinegar, dog soap, and our peroxide mixture a few times, he was able to come back into the house the same night. He was exhausted.

Needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep last night and this entire scenario was not something that I ever thought I’d have to deal with. I go hiking with my dogs a lot; many times at night and even in the middle of the night; but we mostly just find mice and an occasional deer or two.

Don’t get me wrong, Layla was smelly. But I don’t think she went into the skunk lair.

So, what does a skunk smell like? It’s horrendous. I would compare it’s effects to tear gas of some sort; I had running eyes, sick to my stomach and difficulty breathing. It was so potent that it’s going to take some time to fully get the stink out of the house. I know, I let my dogs inside…hey they are my babies and we are in this together. What else could I do for my brave boy that saved us from being squirted in the eyes directly? He took one for the team and it’s time to repay him. From a distance 😉

Have any good skunk stories? Let’s hear em. I now have one of my own.

See you tomorrow, I’m taking the rest of the day off, Ryan