If your dog has a disagreement with a skunk, the result will be smelly. Here’s a recipe that will be helpful in getting rid of that smell on your dog, or we can de-skunk your dog for you at A Stay in the Country Pet Lodging.

There are commercial products that will get rid of skunk smell on your dog. You can use these, or use a simple home recipe that we use grooming dogs who have had an unfortunate experience with a skunk.

De-skunk your dog as soon as you can after he is sprayed. The smell tends to be more difficult after the chemicals from the skunk dry in your dog’s coat. Actually, the odor will wear away all by itself, but it may take three weeks, and you and Fido will have to suffer with the smell for that time.

Use the following ingredients to defy skunk odor:

1/4 cup of baking soda

1 tablespoon of dish-washing liquid

1-2 pints of hydrogen peroxide

Mix these ingredients into a thin paste. If your dog is very large, double the amounts of each ingredient. Make sure that all the ingredients have been well mixed in a bowl, so that they will work most effectively.

Wet your dog thoroughly and then use the mixture to ‘’shampoo’’ him. Use an old sponge that you will not mind throwing away when you’re done. Do not worry if the mixture fizzes, since this is natural when you mix peroxide and baking soda. Be sure that you don’t get any mixture in your dog’s eyes or nose. You will need to carefully apply this mixture to your pet’s face. Dogs are often sprayed in the face because they have used their nose to inspect the skunk.

Once you have covered your dog with this mixture, leave it on for five to ten minutes and then rinse it off. One application will not remove the entire smell, so the washing process usually needs to be repeated several times. Resume washing after each rinse.

You cannot make this de-skunk mixture in advance, since it won’t keep, says HealthyPets.com. Keep the ingredients on hand, though, so you can make the mixture when you need it.

A week or so after you are done, apply a cream rinse to your pup’s coat, or take him to a facility that offers dog grooming in Richmond, VA. If your dog has any ill effects from his skunk encounter, take him to your veterinarian.