Skunks Are Jerks.

In reply to Tony Sestito :

That is one beautiful dog!

Argh it's awful.  My great danes found the neighborhood skunk last year and got both barrels.  The formerly white fur was literally yellow from it.  It took 4 washes in the funky mix of deskunifying goop.  They still had a funk on them for weeks despite the washing.

To remove the stink from your hands you need to replace the smell with another strong chemical. Gear oil/diesel may work but my go to would be Lestoil. It's a superb cleaner with a lasting odor.

Appleseed said:

A skunk has the balls to hose me, it'll be the last thing it ever does.

A friend got it in the face when he surprised a skunk that was checking out his tent. He couldn't see for 20-30 minutes, and was pretty well incapacitated.  

I've heard Massengill douche is supposed to work well for de-stinkifying your dog.  

I've used this witches brew ala the interwebz with decent results after multiple washes.

1. Warning: Mix up the following in an open container. ...
2. 1 Quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide.
3. 1 Cup Baking Soda (not baking powder)
4. 1 Tsp liquid soap (E.g. Dawn dishwashing detergent)
5. Directions: Mix together and bathe dog well.

I had a pet skunk that I raised from a baby, we did have the scent glands removed - btw, you're not supposed to adopt one from the wild, and the vets are not allowed to remove the glands. This one had been abandoned or it's Mom was killed and I talked the vet into doing it so it wouldn't die in the wild, and this was way back in the early 70's - I'm sure things are much more tightly regulated now.

Anyway, they can be affectionate and so much fun to watch. They're near sighted as can be and they just wander around, tail straight up in the air...... when playing they'll run up to you, stop suddenly (and almost go ass over head) the stomp their front foot at you!

We had a party for our car club, we kept him in a back room when people were over and someone must have opened the door looking for the bathroom, suddenly I noticed the whole party seemed to have moved out doors! Someone warned me there was a skunk loose in my house so I picked him up and introduced him to the group, but no one wanted to pet him.....he lived a good long time!

I'm told that in addition to grubs and other insects they also eat mice and even rats. 

I had one living in my yard in Sandy Eggo - I had a steep hill in my back yard covered in Iceplant. I was told mice and rats love to live in that stuff and that's why the skunk liked my back yard.

Downsides- don't ever have a mating couple living under your crawlspace - they're like Klingons when they mate!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITmnIY_H24o&ab_channel=ltwally

84FSP said:

I've used this witches brew ala the interwebz with decent results after multiple washes.

1. Warning: Mix up the following in an open container. ...
2. 1 Quart 3% Hydrogen Peroxide.
3. 1 Cup Baking Soda (not baking powder)
4. 1 Tsp liquid soap (E.g. Dawn dishwashing detergent)
5. Directions: Mix together and bathe dog well.

This is what we used. I think we've bathed her with that concoction 6x since Friday morning. She is mostly stink-free now, save for her face wrinkles. Those continue to have a hint of stank, and I'm not surprised, since that's where she got it the most. 

Mattk said:

In reply to Tony Sestito :

That is one beautiful dog!

Thank you sir! We love her, even if she got hosed with the stink. 

In reply to MiniDave :

My brother in law used to trap skunks and sell the scent glands.  The chemical in them is used as one of the ingredients in perfume (after the stinky part is extracted, of course.)  I don't recall what he got for them but they're apparently pretty valuable.

In reply to Tony Sestito :

I also have an old English Bulldog named Brutus, and he ran into a skunk one time. Thankfully, the skunk didn't fully spray him; it just let off a warning spritz in his general direction. But even that was a nightmare to clean, since he hates water so much, and I had to take extra care cleaning his wrinkles. I'm glad Olive is doing well after taking a direct hit, she is such a cutie. 

I'm truly shocked I've made it as long as I have without getting skunk sprayed because I think they're absolutely adorable. But i also agree that it might be hard convincing one in the wild that I'm not a threat and just want to give it a friendly cuddle.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

There are videos on YouTube of skunks trailed by skunklets just sort of walking up to people, checking them out, then wandering off again.

As long as they aren't afraid, I wouldn't mind.  I can't see why they would be aggressive.  To paraphrase Alien, they have a wonderful defense mechanism: you don't dare mess with them.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

This is what I say about basically every animal, but especially ones that could hurt or kill me: If not a friend, why friend-shaped?

It's been interesting observing Olive for the past few days since the incident. I think she has learned her lesson.

When going outside, she wants to investigate the scene of the crime, but something kicks in mid-trot to the spot and she tucks tail and heads back for the door. She has been fearless up until now. She even saw a bunny yesterday - a big ol' fat one that she would have at least borked at before-  and got scared and took off. Hope she isn't traumatized for life, but I also hope that she doesn't tangle with another skunk! 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

"Why have you brought me back to the scene of my greatest defeat?"

-Dog Tzu, probably...