We Got Skunked

We got skunked....literally that is. It all started innocently enough last week. The Baron & I decided to do a serious hike. We had been cooped up by cold and rainy weather for far to long. The sun had peeked through that morning and off we went.

These say that dogs often reflect their masters. Well Baron and I both like to explore. He follows me through the woods and pastures. Sometimes I follow him because he has the nose and finds interesting things. That proved to be a bad plan on this day.

Of course, he loves romping in the water. That usually is pretty safe, except when he runs up to me and does that shaking thing.

Heading into the woods might turn up some deer or turkeys. Chasing turkeys or squirrels is ok but running after deer is a no no.

We were heading across a grassy field where Baron got his nose down and began tracking seriously. Then the "pronking" started. For those unfamiliar with the term, African antelopes are most famous for the technique. All my hunting dogs did this in the field, especially when they were trying to spot a pheasant in the tall grass. Apparently Baron, the GSD, also had a use for it. I figured he was on the trail of a mouse or something akin. Wrong!!!

It was ugly. I never saw the stripped pussy cat in the tall grass, but when Baron came rushing back to me and then rolled over and over on the ground, I knew what he had found. Phew!!!

We trudged back to the truck and loaded him up. A minor plus was, that for the first time, I wasn't totally sorry that a few years back a virus had taken away some of my sense of smell. Later, Mrs T pointed out that besides the dog, the truck, the garage, the kennel, me and my clothes all reeked. I barely escaped being banished from the house. What to do? Actually I already knew from a previous experience with Max (my first lab hunting dog) that the tomato juice remedy was highly ineffective. Calling ahead on my cell phone and warning my spouse of our immenent arrival, she did an internet search for a cure. Here it is -

1 Qt 3% hydrogen peroxide 1/4 cup baking soda 1 tsp. liquid soap

All you need to do is wet down the dog with a hose, mix the ingredients together in a container, and then slowly pour the mixture over the dog while rubbing it into the fur.

After the dog has been bathed in this solution rinse it down with the hose and the dog will be odor free.

My dog weighed 100 lbs so I doubled the amounts shown above, but if you have a small to medium size animal, the recipe listed should do just fine.

Although the ingredients are not dangerous, care should obviously be taken to keep the solution out of your dog's eyes, ears and mouth. Credit for this remedy goes to chemist, Paul Krebaum, of Molex Inc. in Lisle, Illinois. The above listed ingredients were published in the August 1995 issue of Popluar Science.

It worked great. Here's hoping you don't have to try it!