First check yourself and your dog for bites and scratches.  Contact your vet immediately if your dog has been injured or appears very distressed.  Skunks can carry rabies, distemper and parasites.  Skunks bite and scratch and injuries can become infected.  Check your dog carefully including the inside of his mouth, around his snout, under his chin and around his chest and front legs. 

Contact your doctor immediately if you have injuries. 

If no one is injured, your biggest problem will be to remove the oily skunk spray from your dog and from anything he has rubbed up against.  Your dog will try and rub his skunk-oiled parts on anything handy.  This includes you, your clothes, your furniture, the carpet, the walls, bushes and whatever else looks sturdy. Try and control your dog either with a leash or by placing him in the bathroom. If you keep a running list of what he has touched you can return to clean or discard each item.

Treat your dog as soon as possible.  The longer you wait the longer the skunk oil can work its way into your dog's coat and onto his skin.  This will make the cleaning process just that much more difficult.   

Remove obvious skunk oil with paper towels.  The spray causes irritation especially in the eyes and mouth.  Running warm water over them can help clear up the irritation or use a sterile eyewash solution from your local supermarket or drug store.   Do not use the peroxide/soda/soap mixture in your dog's eyes, mouth or ears.

 Tomato juice does not work.  This is what you will need from your local grocery or drug store:

1. 1 quart (32 fluid oz.) of 3% hydrogen peroxide.  This is often found in a plastic bottle in the aisle with Epsom salts and band-aids.  Check the expiration date for freshness. Do not use the peroxide in the hair care section as this is usually too concentrated.  You may want to pick up two bottles if the skunk smell is very strong and you may need a second rinsing.

If you do not have enough peroxide, you can dilute this with an equal amount of lukewarm water.  Once it is mixed, this solution begins to degrade and it cannot be stored.    

2. 1/4 cup of baking soda.  This usually comes in a yellow Arm and Hammer or generic box and is often found in the baking aisle next to the flour and sugar.  You may have some in the refrigerator since it is used to absorb smells.  Extra boxes will come in handy for continuing smell problems around your home. 

3. 2 tsp. of mild liquid soap.  A mild, liquid hand soap will work.  These are usually found in small pump bottles in the bath soap aisle.

4. Large plastic container for mixing.  Metal degrades the peroxide so a clean plastic mixing bowl or plastic bucket will work best. 

5. Rubber gloves and washcloth or sponge.  This mixture can sting if you have any cuts or scrapes on your hands.  A small cloth or sponge can help to keep the mixture out of your dog's eyes.  Dogs are often sprayed in the face, chest and front legs so you will need to apply this solution carefully to his face and head.  A small sponge is easiest to manipulate around sensitive areas. 

6. Sterile eyewash solution.  This product can be found in the eye care section.  If your dog has been sprayed directly in the face as is very common, you will want to wash out his eyes out with a liberal application of a sterile solution.  . 

If your skunked dog is, unfortunately, inside the house already you can place him inside a shower or tub.  Mix the peroxide, baking soda, soap and optional water inside the plastic container and use it immediately.  Sponge it generously everywhere he has been sprayed and leave it on for at least 5 minutes. 

Rinse your dog thoroughly with warm water and give him the sniff test.  Repeat as required.  Discard any remaining mixture or use it to clean clothes or items your dog came into contact with.  This mixture has a mild bleaching effect so test on an inconspicuous area first. 

Your dog's fur may appear a little lighter after this procedure but most dogs will appear perfectly normal if a little extra squeaky clean.

Do not store this mixture in a closed container as it will cause the container to burst!

How to remove skunk smell from clothes, towels and washable rugs.   Thoroughly wash clothes, leashes, collars, tags, towels and rugs.  Some items may be a lost cause and it is better to place them in a plastic bag and discard them.  Detergent along with a bleaching agent such as Clorox or OxiClean can work on smelly clothing and household fabrics although you will need to test on an inconspicuous area. 

How to remove skunk smells from your house.  
Open all of the windows in the house.  Open windows in the front and back of the house or on each side to create a breeze.  Window fans can help speed up this process as can running any vent that removes air to the outside.  Even a small stove top vent in the kitchen can remove large amounts of air from a house quickly. 

Commercial odor removers such as Febreze and baking soda based carpet cleaners (or straight baking soda) also work.  Spray Febreze into air vents and sprinkle baking soda into carpets working it into the pile with a broom.  Vacuum thoroughly when the skunk smell is gone. 

Strongly scented room fresheners, some people swear by vanilla, can help mask the skunk scent.  A simmering pot of water with an equal part of vinegar can help remove or at least mask the skunk scent although your house will smell strongly of vinegar. 

It is best to step outside of your house for several minutes and renew your sense of smell.  If you walk back into the house and do not smell skunk or skunked dog any longer then you are done!  If your home still smells of skunk, continuing to vent your home to the outside will definitely help.  If this is not practical due to the weather, placing boxes of baking soda everywhere and treating the air with commercial odor neutralizers are helpful.  If your house still smells strongly of skunk even though your dog no longer does, you have likely missed something that he rubbed against.  

Hopefully your dog will have learned his lesson and will avoid harassing skunks.  Unfortunately many dogs will forget this lesson and will be skunked time and time again. 

Although it can help to remove food from around your house to discourage skunks from visiting, skunks are wanderers and eat a wide variety of what they find as they go.  They are in your neighborhood to stay so the best avoidance is a strong collar and leash. 

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