Buddy is a New York City dog, accustomed to bedtime walks around the block on a leash. But on family vacations in rural Maine, I let her out the back door each night unaccompanied.
One night last summer, she was gone awhile. I called to her and when she finally stumbled back, she seemed stunned. Her fur and face glistened in the dark.
Then the sickening, unmistakable odor hit. She’d been sprayed by a skunk.
It was late and we were miles from stores that sell dog shampoo or even tomato juice, which I vaguely recalled hearing was a remedy. But my sister using ingredients we had: a quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, a quarter-cup of baking soda, and a teaspoon or two of liquid soap.
We kept Buddy outside while applying the solution to her fur. The smell immediately dissipated.
I became curious about this miraculous antidote for one of the most unbearable smells on earth. Here’s what I learned.
A chemist’s tale
In 1993, chemist Paul Krebaum was working for Molex, a manufacturer headquartered in Illinois, when he developed a substance with odors that were “not appreciated by others in the building,” as he recounts on his website. Krebaum devised a compound to neutralize the smell, and created a gentler version — the skunk remedy — when a colleague’s cat was skunked.
He sent the story to Chemical & Engineering News. It was later reported by the Chicago Tribune. He’s been getting thank-you letters ever since, along with thousands of hits on his website. He’s rightly proud of the formula: It’s cheap, biodegradable and eco-friendly.
William F. Wood, emeritus professor of chemistry at Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif., helped popularize the recipe by posting it on another site.
In an interview, Krebaum said he never patented or sold the formula, partly because the solution can’t be stored; it must be fresh to work. He could have developed a solid version, but wasn’t interested in marketing. “I like inventing things,” he said.
The science of skunk
Skunk stink comes from a family of sulfur molecules called thiols. Hydrogen peroxide or bleach changes the molecule “to something that does not stink” by oxidizing it, said Theodore Stankowich, assistant professor at California State University, Long Beach, who
Krebaum’s “hydrogen peroxide formula is the best one that I’ve ever seen,” said Stankowich. “I’ve used it on my hands after I’d been sprayed. It immediately took away the scent.”
And don’t bother with tomato juice. “The reason people use (tomato juice) is because the nose is suffering from olfactory fatigue,” Jerry Dragoo, as a mephitologist at the University of New Mexico, explained, citing research by Wood. “Tomato juice will temporarily overwhelm the skunk smell. However, when you go outside to get a breath of fresh air and then come back in, all you smell is skunk.”
What skunks do
“Skunks are nocturnal, but more likely to be out in the evening and early morning,” said Dragoo.
They like “edge habitat,” with brush, vegetation and burrows next to open space, said Stankowich.
Skunks also are omnivores. They’ll dig for beetles, worms and grubs, but also love human trash — including dog and cat food in bowls left outside, Stankowich said.
Leashing your dog in places and at times of day when skunks are active — dawn, dusk, after dark — can reduce the risk of encounters.
What dogs do
Stankowich says many predator mammals avoid skunks. Coyotes, wolves and mountain lions have been known to retreat if they encounter one.
Skunks typically issue warnings before spraying. “They will charge you, hiss at you, stick their tail in the air — a whole suite of behaviors warning you not to come near,” Stankowich said.
But dogs — smart as they can sometimes be — just “aren’t receptive” to skunk signals, he said. Whatever instinct their wolf ancestors may have had to avoid skunks has been lost over generations of domestication.
Stankowich’s lab is researching whether different dog breeds respond differently to skunks. “Some dogs get sprayed once,” he said. “Some never learn.”
Skunk Spray” site: http://users.humboldt.edu/wfwood/deodorize.shtml
Rabies in skunks in colorado
Confirmed cases of rabies in skunks this spring in five Front Range counties — Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert, Larimer and Weld — have officials cautioning pet owners to keep animals on leash and under watch, especially from dusk to dawn when skunks are active.
Do not feed, touch or handle wild animals and be cautious of stray dogs and cats.
Have dogs, cats, horses, and livestock vaccinated regularly by a licensed veterinarian.
Keep wild animals away from your home by keeping trash bins tightly closed and do not leave pet food outdoors.
so they may inhabit areas under sheds, woodpiles and brush piles. They are also known disturbers of beehives.
