Dog + Skunk

Al_wat

So my dog just got sprayed by a skunk. I'm pretty sure I know what to do about shampooing her and all that.

What I really need to know is would it be alright to leave her outside for the night with a temp of 11C / 50F? Dogs can take the cold a lot better than humans right? Shes a black lab, so she has some fur. I just want to make sure that she wont freeze.

I mean its not that cold right....

right?

Casual

Well it's a little mean but I know people who keep their dogs outside in colder than that. Is there anywhere for her to sleep with a bit of shelter? A garage or a dog house? If not I don't think it's a great idea. She wouldn't freeze to death or anything but it would really suck for the dog.

Al_wat

yeah it sucks balls. The garage is the same temp as outside, so all i would really accomplish is making the garage smell really bad.

I want to bring her in but I know it will be a nightmare when everything smells like skunk.

Casual

Personally I would just let her spend the night in the garage. Trust me, four walls and a roof always beat the hell out of being in the open all night. It'll keep the wind off her and the fur will take care of the rest.

As for the smell? Not having direct skunk experience I can't really tell you how long the smell would take to fade but having your garage smell of skunk beats the hell out of having your house smell of skunk.

L Ron Howard

To help you alleviate the smell as quickly as possible, I believe there's a Mythbusters episode where they tried to figure out what was the best stuff to remove skunk stench. I think the OTC stuff did pretty well, but it's been a couple of years. I'm sure you could find it online and get the info you need to de-stink your dog pretty quickly.

Al_wat

Yeah several websites recommended using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap. I just washed the dog with that and it worked pretty well but not 100%. I'm letting her inside at this point.

Its just been a pain in the ass to deal with this in the middle of the night. I know I'll be smelling this for a while.

nuka

Get the dog some old towels and blankets to sleep on and curl up in.

The_Glad_Hatter

nuka wrote: »

Get the dog some old towels and blankets to sleep on and curl up in.

and add some cardboard under it perhaps. The cold coming from below is worse than the cold air.

GoodOmens

Remember that dogs handled cold weather long before heated human houses came along. I agree that you should give your poor pup something to make a bed out of, but 50 degress should be fine.

It makes me think of the Alaskan Malamute I had growing up. Needless to say, she loved the cold, and would willingly stay outside in the dead of Illinois winter. On more than one occasion, we thought she had run away in a snowstorm, only to find that she was simply buried by the snowfall. We'd call her name and a mound of snow would suddenly go flying, and our big dumb beast would wander in. Of course, a lab is not a Malamute.