160 Bear Christiana Rd
Bear, De 19701
302-322-6488
Dr. Jim Berg
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Dog Questions
Dear Dr. Berg,
What's the best thing to get that awful skunk smell of my dog? Is there something better than tomato juice?
R. S., Wilmington.
Dear R. S.,
I sincerely hope you are not waiting for an answer in this column before you do something about it! I can still
recall the 2-hour trip back from a mid-winter camping trip in a little red VW Bug with 4 other adults and a skunked
dog named Huckleberry. It was a VERY LONG TRIP, and poor Huckleberry didn't understand why no one wanted him to
kiss them!!
The old standby is still tomato juice. I have read of a more effective remedy in the Tufts University Newsletter
(an EXCELLENT publication, for all you dog owners). Chemist Paul Krebaum recommends "using 1 quart of 3 percent
hydrogen peroxide with a quarter cup of baking soda and one teaspoon of liquid soap. Work the solution thoroughly
into the dog's coat, then rinse. The mixtures reacts with sulfer molecules in the skunk's scent to produce odorless
sulfonic acid. The solution MUST BE USED IMMEDIATELY (it has no shelf life at all) and if you use too much peroxide,
you can bleach out your dog's coat." I have not had a need to try this solution out yet on my animals, and
I hope I won't in the future!
Prevention goes a long way towards stopping skunk encounters as well as other unwanted accidents, namely walking
your dog on a leash. Put on your coat and get out there and explore the world with your dog. Dog walks are healthy
exercise and fun for both ends of the leash. There's so many good smells out there, and so little time!
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