So, OK, after two long posts about something that makes me angry, here’s a quick and not-at-all anger-inducing topic to cleanse the palate.
The Yorkshire terrier-poodle mix in our family tends to be friendly and curious. Her response to other dogs, other people, deer, chipmunks, mice and groundhogs tends to involve lots of tail-wagging and intent, up-close sniffing. For Willow, regardless of size or species, a stranger is just a friend she hasn’t met.
The only exceptions to this so far are the clichéd animosities of her kind: cats and squirrels.
But not, apparently, skunks. I had hoped that she would bark at skunks and keep her distance, since after all they look kind of like some cross between cats and squirrels. But alas, no. Willow’s first encounter with a skunk was marked by her enthusiastic, tail-wagging greeting and some friendly, nose-to-nose sniffing through the fence of our yard.
This is when I arrived, a bit too late. Before I could yell, the skunk gave a look that seemed half frightened and half amused to be encountering an animal that didn’t realize what she was. And then she started to turn around and she let ‘er rip before waddling off.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a direct hit. But even an indirect hit is pretty stinky.
Anyway, here’s the recipe:
- 2 tablespoons Dawn dish detergent
- 1 box baking soda
- 1 bottle hydrogen peroxide
Mix all ingredients and apply to dog. Let it soak for 10 minutes or for as long as the dog will tolerate (whichever comes first). Rinse thoroughly.
We got that formula from a friend who’d used it on a yellow lab, so we scaled back a bit on the amounts accordingly.
It worked. Willow smells lovely once again. (Well, OK, maybe not lovely, but she smells like herself and not like skunk.)
Here’s hoping that you won’t ever need this recipe, but if you do, there it is.
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