The discussion about bearded dogs in the other thread prompted me to drop a little hard-earned knowledge over here. As the alpha of two wire-haired, bearded snuggle monsters, I have experienced the fur-drive that these beasts possess first hand. Skunks, coons, possums, squirrels, porcupines, prairie-dogs, foxes, coyotes, the neighborhood cat, they don’t care. If it has hair or feathers, they want it dead. The unfortunate side-effect of that prey drive for me is two porcupine incidents and four skunk blasts in the last three months. Maybe I have something to do with it and it has nothing to do with breed. A previous mutt who was my daily side-kick for 16 years was easily skunked 40 times in his short (for a human) life.
This half lifetime of cleaning skunkass dogs has made me a black belt in the art and I am willing share my secrets with y’all here for the low, low price of... nothing. The secret is... Wait for it... HAND SANITIZER. Yup, that alcohol gel that is utterly useless in defending you from your kid’s rhinovirus is actually the best thing since sliced bread for getting rid of skunk stink.
On Wednesday morning, I dropped my kid at school and skinned out to road my dogs for a few miles in an attempt to leave them semi-sane with my wife while I went to OK for work for a few days. Three miles in at 25 mph, the younger one winds something and makes a right turn into a pasture. The grass is tall so I can’t see anything. He’s not exactly looking birdy, but he heads upwind and then quickly turns back to the road. I roll up in the truck, windows down, right as he and the cloud of skunkass roll over the road... Damn.
Get a big bottle of the stuff and a pair of nitrile gloves. Rub it into your dog’s coat liberally and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. The alcohol in the gel causes the oils in the skunk spray to denature and the gel keeps it where you put it (like around, but not in the eyes) and slows the evaporation. I usually come back for a second coat but go immediately to dish soap and a hose without letting it sit.
My wife has that superhero woman-nose that can out track a bloodhound and she is convinced that this is some strange Asian bear gall/squid penis/chakra-bending, magic cure-all. Try it yourselves. I guarantee it will resolve the banishment of you and your dogs to the dark, dank man-cave and will make your wife almost like you again.
This half lifetime of cleaning skunkass dogs has made me a black belt in the art and I am willing share my secrets with y’all here for the low, low price of... nothing. The secret is... Wait for it... HAND SANITIZER. Yup, that alcohol gel that is utterly useless in defending you from your kid’s rhinovirus is actually the best thing since sliced bread for getting rid of skunk stink.
On Wednesday morning, I dropped my kid at school and skinned out to road my dogs for a few miles in an attempt to leave them semi-sane with my wife while I went to OK for work for a few days. Three miles in at 25 mph, the younger one winds something and makes a right turn into a pasture. The grass is tall so I can’t see anything. He’s not exactly looking birdy, but he heads upwind and then quickly turns back to the road. I roll up in the truck, windows down, right as he and the cloud of skunkass roll over the road... Damn.
Get a big bottle of the stuff and a pair of nitrile gloves. Rub it into your dog’s coat liberally and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. The alcohol in the gel causes the oils in the skunk spray to denature and the gel keeps it where you put it (like around, but not in the eyes) and slows the evaporation. I usually come back for a second coat but go immediately to dish soap and a hose without letting it sit.
My wife has that superhero woman-nose that can out track a bloodhound and she is convinced that this is some strange Asian bear gall/squid penis/chakra-bending, magic cure-all. Try it yourselves. I guarantee it will resolve the banishment of you and your dogs to the dark, dank man-cave and will make your wife almost like you again.
