Last night coming home, we got to see the skunk that doused our dogs a week or two ago in action. The dogs were surrounding it, and it was lunging at them. Well, needless to say, a few of the dogs got sprayed, and we didn't realize the one dog that comes inside at night got the worst of it. The whole house REEKED even though he was only inside for a minute or two. So, two questions:
First, Is there any way, other than using tomato juice to get these dogs clean? We have five, so it's not practical to make a whole bathtub full of juice.
Second, how do you get rid of a skunk? I'm worried, since it seems to hang out near where we're going to be keeping our chickens. I've seen traps at the local feed store, but I don't want to catch it and then have to deal with it alive. Animal control won't come out our way since we're so far out of town. It may be inhumane to want to kill it, but I'd rather have it dead than killing my chickens.
Thanks for your help!
Eileen
Skunk!
Mix peroxide, baking soda, a little dish soap and water. Wash the dogs. It really works. Even on people. I know this from personal experience.
Skunks are pretty easy to live trap. They love marshmallows, tuna, scrambled eggs, whatever you've got. As soon as you know you have one in the trap, calmly and slowly cover it with a blanket or rug and you can transport it. Lift just enough of the rug to open the door when you release it. If it doesn't come out, then pull the rug off from the back. He will just want to get away and won't spray.
You may want to try and check if it is a nursing mother if you can (It's ninnies will be obvious). Some may have already delivered in your area. The babies would starve without her.
Good luck!
I agree with jylgaskin. Hydrogen peroxid/baking soda recipe below:
http://www.humboldt.edu/~wfw2/deodorize.shtml
A bathtub full of tomato juice, impractical??? Five dogs, practical??? Hmmmm. As for dealing with the skunk a .22 works just fine...I know i'll take the heat for this one...LOL Have a great day. Hey if your gonna frequent this forum your gonna have to take the heat...LOL. Really, have a great day.
In our area any skunk seen out in daylight is likely to be rabid; I'm with Haystack on this one.
AwwwwwPorkpal, your such a pal, no pun intended. What would I do without you?
Okay, well, five dogs were not intentional - only three were our actually dogs (one that lived here, and our two that moved here with us). The other two were rescued along with 5 others from the road after two more of their litter were run over. My husband hit one of the three we had left yesterday, and she died yesterday afternoon. So we're down to 4. The skunk was out at night, so I have no reason to believe it was rabid. That said, I'm thinking I'm leaning toward the .22 solution. That's what our farmer friend said as well. We've got a deck up above where we saw it, so it would be a straight shot. If there are any babies, I hate to say it, but if they starve, at least I won't have to shoot them. :(
If you capture and release it, where could you possibly put it that it won't be someone else' problem? I'm not for killing animals willy-nilly, but if it means protecting my animals, I'm afraid I'm not too worried about it. Hopefully I'm a good enough shot.
trap it then shoot it thru teh cage. That's what my neighbor does.
I agree with Hay.. a .22 works just fine. They are cute.. but after you've seen what they will do to a chicken coop... and the fact they carry rabies around here.. they are better off dead if they get too close to humans without fearing them or domestic animals.
OK Mevanmart, You passed the test in flying colors. I like having fun and sometimes it means a little dig here and there, I was hoping I would not offend you at the mention of your five dogs. But the only way to find out is test and thank you for being such a good sport as to not be offended. I don't relish ever taking a life, but I am very protective of my flock and if that means humanly destroying a preditor I have no qualms with it. P.S. I was reading your post on the farmlife forum, and I think your desire to be self sustaining is a noble endevour and I for one wish you the best of luck. Haystack.
mevnmart, I know exactly what you mean about the dogs. We moved here with a Corgi and an ancient red heeler. Someone dumped a Great Pyrenese almost the first day we moved in. We managed to find someone who spent a few days catching it and took it home with him. Eventually we ended up with a chihuahua/rat terrier mix (dumped but son #2 fell in love with her), a maybe-Catahoula leopard dog (really in bad shape, spent more on her at the vet than if I had bought a show dog), and now DH replaced my beloved Corgi who died with a new Corgi puppy. And then someone dumped a sheppard/heeler mix puppy (DH fell in love with her). Five dogs in all. We built a kennel with runs. When we finally build our barn we will have inside kennels with outside runs.
Also feel your pain RE the shunking. The black sheppard mix. She refused to be washed. None of the other dogs would go near her. She didn't even seem to be bothered by it. I ended up throwing a bucket of the above mix on her, putting her in her kennel, and letting the rain rinse her out. She is just one goofy girl. This year's agenda item #7: train Queenie to sit still and get a bath! =D
We got donkeys to chase off coyotes and they chase skunks too. I think the skunks still come around at night, though.
(Haystack, we posted at the same time. I hope you don't think I was offended either by the dog-thing. I just happen to have ended up with five dogs as well =))
But the stars sure are pretty at night out here in the county!
This message was edited Feb 26, 2010 8:08 PM
Ok, I have been exposed as the soft touch of the fourm again. Go figure. I'm the one with the PPO against her!
Five dogs? That doesn't strike me as unusual; we haven't had that few since we moved here nearly twenty years ago. We live on a road that is suddenly rural outside the town of Richmond, and it is a favorite dumping ground for unwanted pets. Our joke is that there is a doggy hobo sign on the road somewhere that says, "Free eats at the top of the hill". At any rate they all seem to end up at our house and many get successfully re-homed; we get to keep the ugly ones.
LOL, Haystack, I'm not easily offended. Really, actually, I'm at the point of wanting to re-home even our dogs that we moved here with. I'm pretty sure they'll kill my chickens if given a chance, and they are SOOOO destructive. Yesterday, they shredded my FIL's chair cushion, and this morning, I found two more cushions torn up. They also managed to wipe out an entire papasan chair cushion. And a sleeping bag. We're getting two small greenhouses for the upper deck, and the fact that we're measuring out particle board to try and protect them from my dogs is a bit ludicrous. I've just come to the realization that I'm a terrible dog trainer, and my dogs deserve to be with someone who's not going to holler at them throughout the day.
Porkpal, it's funny, but the three dogs (two now) that were remaining out of the litter are the ugliest mutts I've ever laid eyes on. It's disappointing though, because I've had two people from Craigslist and Freecycle say they wanted them, and then they never showed. If they had, the third puppy would still be alive. We're going to have to spend the money to get the other two fixed now, which is also frustrating, but we don't want every male dog in the county coming 'round when the girls go into heat.
Anyway, thank you for all of your advice. I appreciate the desire to be extra humane about removing the skunk, jylgaskin - it's not a bad thing to be a "soft touch". It's interesting how much death I've been exposed to since I got here, between the dogs dragging home what my FIL calls "chupacabras" (actually just "cabras" - we're pretty sure they're goat carcasses), finding a dead puppy (not ours) on the driveway, having all those chicks die on me, and then Pom-Pom getting hit by the car the other day. Pretty unnerving for the first month this suburban-slicker has been here.
My FIL wants us to sit on the upper deck with a night vision scope so we can take out the skunk safely. Should be an adventure!
Good luck and hang in there!
PS. PPO? Sorry, I need to ask--I'm acronym impaired!
Personal protection order. I am aparently a dangerous woman and must be restrained. All for wanting to protect my animals.
When we moved to the farm my friend gave me a gallon of Skunk Be Gone No More Smell Dog Shampoo. She is a dog groomer. I have not had to use it yet but have it on hand for if and when the time comes that my two dogs get sprayed. I think that is the way to go. Have a product specific to this situation on hand and use it immediately on your pet. There is an ingrdient in the shampoo that breaks down the sulfur found in the skunks scent. There are dozens of shampoos specific to skunk odor. Pick one and keep it on your shelf and be ready.
We had a skunk trying to make it's winter home under my nice deck by the house. I was so afraid my dogs would get sprayed. I went to the store and bought 5 boxes of moth balls and about 4 of those deoderizing cakes that hang in toilets. I threw all of it under my deck. The skunk (and rabbit) didn't like how it smelled and moved on. I got the mothballs and deoderizing cakes at the dollar store so it wasn't much money but was very effective.
The best solution is the man who owns the farm across the road has men coming in to trap and shoot. They've been at it all winter. They are mostly wanting to get rid of the coyotes but have shot some skunks, opossums, raccoons and a fox. I'm glad they're doing it. I don't want the predators attacking my animals or the deer here. Sounds terrible I know but much easier than dealing with the damage these animals can do to our property and animals.
Active ingredients break down the sulfur found in skunks scent
Skunk Be Gone No More Smell Dog Shampoo
I did read on line that you can use simple green,spray it on wash it out.Now I don`t know if it works have not had to try it yet,but I did buy a bottle last summer just incase my dumb dog gets to playing with skunks again.
I put this on the reference thread: Fair Warning!!
Okay, so I bought the trap, and plan to put tuna fish in it tomorrow night to see if I manage to catch the skunk. Now. I have no problem exterminating the animal, but I'm not sure quite how to go about it. I thought the holes in the cage would be larger. I'm worried about trying to shoot through it! I would guess that the metal of the cage would just be cut by a bullet (.22 rifle) if I hit the wire. (It wouldn't ricochet, would it?) So, let's pretend I'm a good shot (I'm not bad) - how far away should I stand to not get blasted by the skunk spray? This makes me sound like a goon, but I'm serious. My husband suggested we throw the cage into the pond and drown it, but that sounds awful, even to me. (He was kidding, but still). So - suggestions? I'm not asking for anyone to "assure my safety" - I recognize that I wield a firearm at my own risk. So I'm just looking for some general info on the above. Thanks guys!
Eileen
Im a dog groomer too and have used the skunk be gone. It helps but we use the bakeing soda,peroxide and dawn dish soap that works the best you do however have to take a q tip and clean inside the ears and the nostrals thats where the smell hides.The mixture works well and will cut the smell way down when the animal is dry.peroxide will bleach the coat tho so dont worry if your black dog turns a little brown after being in the sun.It will grow back out.We see so many skunk dogs this time of year as all the farm dogs come in after they have been sprayed!Please excuse my spelling i dont spell well on a normal day but today i havent had my coffee yet and all i can think about are my eggs at the post office Im off to get them soon and way too excited!