Skunks and Dogs

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2017 00:33:40 +0000
From: Michael Barnes <>
Subject: Skunks and Dogs

In a recent posting somebody suggested something that involved Dawn dishwashing liquid to remove the skunk smell.
Neither necessary nor desirable.
First, be sure to rinse the dog’s eyes out with warm or lukewarm water to help remove the irritant.
Then use tomato juice. Do not put dish detergent on your dog. It might remove the oil in the skunk spray, but it will also remove the oil in your dog’s coat. If you have to use some kind of soap, use a good commercial dog shampoo.
* Tomato juice: lather your dog in his regular shampoo, dry him off and then cover him in tomato juice, saturating the coat completely and letting it soak for 10 to 20 minutes before rinsing and washing again with your dog’s shampoo. You may have to repeat these steps several times and, if your dog is white, they may temporarily turn orange after the procedure, according to Konecny.