Bocephus and Christina vs. Pepe Le Pew
(Dogs 0 - Skunk 100 gabillion)
As I sit here typing, I have a headache from smelling--fumes. It was so hot Friday, I didn’t take the vegetable scraps out to the compost pile until after dark. The dogs always have to go with me to smell exactly what I am throwing away and make sure it isn’t anything they want. Christina is a Lab/Shepherd mix that takes her job of patrolling the parameters very seriously. Her biggest thrill in life is to chase squirrels. I am sure when she saw the intruder in the compost pile, she thought SQUIRREL, but then, she has never encountered a skunk before--until now that is! Pepe Le Pew (accent on the PEW), got her smack in the face. Bo was right behind her, and he got it more on his neck and side. I don’t think my blue flower garden will ever look--or smell the same. Pepe couldn’t exit fast enough, and at this point neither could the dogs. Chrissy went into a snorting and diving into the grass mode. The spray burning her eyes. I didn’t get hit, and it was making my eyes burn.
We called the vet, and he told us to flush their eyes with water, mineral oil, and contact solution. He said tomato juice doesn’t work very well, and to wash them with a hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, dishwashing liquid mix, let it sit for five minutes, and do it three times total. As soon as we put the solution on them, it fizzed up and drove the dogs crazy. They would take off like a streak of lightening, rolling and diving into the grass every so often. After five minutes we would grab one, hose it off, reapply, and grab the next. By the time we were through, the smell was less strong, but by no means gone. I have been washing, burning candles, and spraying room freshener all weekend. The dogs won’t go near the corner where they encountered little Pepe. I am rethinking my distain of compost containers.
Bo and Chrissy with Granddog Mojo in happier, less stinky times...
The rest of the pictures are what is blooming in my garden right now, even if it is looking a bit weary.
14 comments:
Poor dogs and naughty skunk......I have dogs, I hate it when they get hurt....hope they are soon ok and the smell dies down. Fortunately we do not have skunks here!!!
I cannot believe it is so hot, it seems hard to imagine at the moment....
Your blooms are pretty and still showing signs that summer reigns....
Thank you for dropping by my blog...
Cheryl, your blog is one of my guilty pleasures! I am especially inspired by your bee pictures. I hope that with a lot of practice, mine will turn out half as good as yours! I just can't seem to keep the silly thing in focus!
Oh my, you've had quite an experience! We occasionally have skunks around here, too, but I've been lucky so far that Coconut hasn't encountered one yet. I know it's no fun for them, and quite an ordeal to get the smell out of their coats. I've always heard to use tomato juice, but maybe that's just an old home remedy.
Your flowers are looking good in spite of the heat.
Poor doggies! I've never heard of the mix of peroxide, baking soda, and detergent, how much of each do you mix? I'm putting that in my "non-edible" recipe file.
I love the last photo of the yellow flower against the rock wall.
Don't worry about the plants looking weary, everything (myself included) in Texas this time of year is weary from the heat and humidity!
Oh no! I'm so glad we don't have skunks over here. I can't imagine what they must smell like. It's bad enough when George rolls in badger or fox poo.
Poor dogs too. Doing their guard duty and getting that in their faces.
I've been grumbling to myself because, with all the rain we've been having, it's impossible to dry dog-walking coats and the house smells damp and musty. I shall count myself lucky!
Hi Rose! Yes, it was after midnight before we finished washing dogs. Their coats have never looked so clean and shiny, unfortunately they still smell skunky! Daughter and granddaughters gave them another bath with the tomato juice yesterday--but still stinky! I had to throw away their collars, and have made them herbal bandannas to wear. They look quite jaunty, and the lavender oil helps some. :-)
I am looking forward to Fall so much and the renewal of the garden before it starts it's winter nap. I had planned to prune back the tomatoes and roses Saturday, but spent it fumigating the house instead!
Hi Liz, Yes, it's a tough job guarding land and house for ungrateful owners. They doused us with the cold water hose outside! We are used to getting our baths in the shower with nice warm water and a little coconut conditioner to make our coats soft and smell good. We stank so bad we couldn't stand ourselves, and were very embarrassed at all the held noses, shouts of, "You stink", running away from us. Yes, it's a thankless job we have! But at least Mom gave us a treat of canned dog food, which helped ease the pain somewhat. Tell George he is one lucky pooch not to have to worry about skunks (we didn't know we had to either!)
Nola, we used large bottles of peroxide with about 1 cup of baking soda per bath (3 for each dog)with just a squirt of dishwashing liquid. I was thinking that Dawn would have been a good choice for the concoction because it does cut oil so well and the spray seemed oily. We bathed them yesterday with tomato juice, but it didn't do anything.
Thank you for your kind words about my flower pics. I can't wait for Fall! I do feel like we need to live for today, but this time of year I really do yearn for cooler weather. Glad to know others struggle with it too. I know those in colder climates feel the same way about cold weather.
Oh poor babies. That has got to be the worst experience. I had a little dog one time, who loved to roll in things. Once he rolled on a dead for many days, lizard. I got confused and grabbed the tomato juice and washed him in that and then soap and water..worked for that. LOL
Your flowers look so pretty. My summer flowers are showing the strain of all this heat.
I am sorry, but I am laughing! I know the poor dogs were just miserable, but the thought of you washing, them running, you grabbing and hoseing them down sounds like something you would see in a cartoon. I'd always heard tomato juice too-there goes another wives tale. How about spraying them with those oder out products(being careful of their eyes)? I suppose in the end the only real help will be time. Let's hope they (and you) learned a good lesson. For late summer, your flowers are still doing well.
Hi Eve! Other than skunk, there is nothing worse than the smell of a dog that has been rolling in dead things. I have read that is an instinct behavior to mask their doggie odor from predators, but it's just gross! LOL! The dog we had growing up used to roll in dead snake--that was such a nasty smell. I didn't realize that was the way snakes smelled, I thought it was because they were dead. I went with my daughter to a snake farm, and the smell just about knocked me down. Since then, I can smell when a snake is in the yard or near by. EWwwwwww! Hum, maybe that would make a good post--going to that snake farm was definitely an unusual experience! :-)
Beckie, I certainly had trouble seeing the humor over the weekend, but even while I was scrubbing dogs Friday night, I was thinking this is certainly a "blog-worthy" experience! LOL! Right now, they are refusing to go anywhere near that corner of the yard. When I walk over there to water, they sit under the trampoline and wait for me. I wonder how long that will last? I have been putting essential oils on bandannas for them to wear and hopefully mask the smell. I was afraid to use my favorite oils, so I picked one I didn't like. BIG mistake! The only thing worse than a dog smelling of skunk, is a dog smelling of skunk and patchouli! LOL!
My sympathies to your and your dogs. I remember all too well when my collie got sprayed. It took forever for the smell to go away. The only upside is that very few dogs are silly enough to do it more than once:)
Marnie
Marnie, Thanks for visiting my blog. I am still battling that naughty skunk. Both dogs have developed burns around their snouts and mouths. Dr. Shane says they must come in. Sigh! Pets are almost as expensive as kids!
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