Skunks 1, Dogs 0Here is our beloved border collie, shown with our beloved Frito-Bandito. This is her typical disposition, looks, smell, etc.
She came bounding in last night... and the stench hit me about a half a second later. Ugh!
Being the sound scientific mind I am, I did a little bit of research. The nasty part of skunk smell is causes by compounds called "thiols". Thiols can be readily broken down by a process called "oxidation", where oxygen is added to the molecule and the molecule is changed. Stink is gone, dog can once again venture inside.
More research revealed that others have had luck with hydrogen peroxide (an oxidizer) combined with baking soda, a dash of Dawn to lather up, and a cap full of chlorox. This sounds reasonable to me, especially since I have these things on hand. So it's off to the outdoor bath with my concotion and my stinky dog. The sucker blows like a shaken beer, and the oxidizing process is going along smoothly. Dog is beginning to smell like dog, and I am pleased with my keen intellect.
She was so mad, she would barely make eye contact. And when she did, it was only to give me hateful, dog stink-eye looks. She also decided that rolling in horse poop would make her feel better, but hey... I would take horsepoop smell over skunk any day.
She eventually dried and forgave me. She even smells much better, though her face still stinks (I didn't want this chemistry near her eyes, so the nose and eye area were spared the bubbly wrath). She won't be allowed into the house until the rest of the stink is completely gone.
So this story is finished except for one small thing... the oxidizing. I sort of forgot that oxidizers and bleach... well... oxidize and bleach! My tri color border is now more of a four color border with her new frosted tips! Now it's time for her to freshen up that breath, lose some fur off that big booty and go out on the town in her swanky, hip new doggie "do"!
