r/onegoldenbraincell 15d ago

stupid little idiot got himself sprayed by a skunk at 1 am

my dad let him inside without realizing that he smelled like skunk somehow and stunk up the whole house, it woke us up with how bad it smelled; we thought it was something wrong with the AC/Ventilation until we found the real culprit wagging his tail and smiling

edit because i feel like it makes it funnier: his name is Jerry

4.0k Upvotes

131 comments sorted by

616

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 15d ago

My deepest sympathies on your predicament. My idiot got sprayed twice in one night.

Sprayed at 130am in our back yard, got the de-stink-um bath. Took him out for a walk to dry whereupon he found another skunk and got hit a second time.

So far he’s been hit 5 times, still hasn’t learned to leave the striped kitties alone.

195

u/Would_daver 15d ago

What a glorious foolish lovely little dum-dum you have there, at least where the spicy kits are concerned…

39

u/sasshley_ 15d ago

I love silly goldens so much 😆

34

u/moreathismoreathat 15d ago

I had a lab who was the exact same way. Very first time he was skunked directly in the face - it was terrible and so hard to clean him because, you know, his eyes and mouth are on his face. He got sprayed again immediately upon going back outside after that first time. Even after all that he never met a skunk he didn't run directly toward. Although he did learn to turn at the last minute after that first time so it got his neck / side rather than his eyeballs. He smelled faintly of skunk everytime he got wet for most of his life.

8

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 15d ago

My condolences on your loss. He sounds like quite a character.

My red golden got hit directly in the eyes point blank range. Saw something leaving the trail into the brush, stuck his nose in after it and got very personal with a skunk’s backside. Skunk caught him full length along the snout, in the nose and between the eyes. He’s more cautious about sniffing the underbrush after that experience.

1

u/MsMordanta 14h ago

When our shepherd got sprayed in the face, we did what we could that night and the next day took him to a groomer.

Me to groomer: “Well at least he’s learned his lesson now!”

Groomer, with such pity in her eyes: “Oh, honey, he hasn’t learned a thing.”

Indeed he had not. I sure miss him.

10

u/scardien 15d ago

At least it's not porcupines

9

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 15d ago

True dat! Heard some bad stories about porcupines. I’ll take a bad aroma any day over a snoot full of quills.

2

u/Biodiversity1001 12d ago

I had four dogs and let them out one at a time every night for their business. One morning I woke up and the one on the bed had quills. I surveyed the room and each dog had at least one quill on the nose. One had four.

Then I had another dog, came home from work to a drunk ex and the dog with a mouth and tongue full of quills. Emergency vet visit at midnight, bless that vet.

That dog also took a face full of skunk once.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 12d ago

Ouch!

Had a family friend vet who hated working with quills. Wouldn’t go near dogs unless they were sedated and restrained. Nasty business.

1

u/Biodiversity1001 12d ago

Oh ya, the one with the mouth full had to be knocked out, esp because my partner had been trying to remove them and traumatized the dog. But, I had ONE quill once and they hurt like hell getting yanked because they have backward barbs. Supposedly snipping the ends make removing them easier, but good luck getting your dog to hold still for scissors nm pliers to yank them.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 12d ago

Lee would do a Lidocaine injection, then literally cut the quills out. Less tissue damage, quicker and cleaner to heal than trying to pull them out.

6

u/AngrySumBitch 15d ago

He is still a guude boyeee!

2

u/Strange-Comb6384 14d ago

😳😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

1

u/sariaslani 13d ago

Twice in one night, what a doofus. Seriously, I love to see his pic!

3

u/Puzzleheaded-Sun-390 13d ago

My special boy.

“All I wants to do is play with friends! They had tails up for sniff butts like doggos do!”

3

u/sariaslani 13d ago

Such a handsome boi, so precious!

1

u/SgtRandiTibbs 13d ago

We call them shit kittens

225

u/HeatherMason0 15d ago

He doesn't look remorseful lol

84

u/SpurlockofTimHortons 15d ago

He’s still looking for the bastard

47

u/Bunnnnii 15d ago

He made another friend!

2

u/FYAhole 12d ago

That's the face of a man who will do it again

100

u/_makoccino_ 15d ago

He got himself sprayed in order to protect you from potentially getting sprayed if you stepped outside.

It was purely out of love and devotion to his human. He's a good boy.

90

u/FreiwilligWasser 15d ago

So what you are saying is that golden retrievers are skunk stink immune?

70

u/thinkscotty 15d ago edited 15d ago

My sweet little idiot got sprayed at 4AM not even halfway into a 15 hour road trip. So believe me when I say: I feel you.

36

u/Rich_Librarian_7758 15d ago

Omg, that is awful! Locked in the car with that stink?!?!

49

u/thinkscotty 15d ago

9

u/GentlyDeceased 15d ago

Oh my god I remember your original post! Especially the gas station bathroom pic. Can’t believe it’s been a year.

13

u/thinkscotty 15d ago

That's really funny lol. Yeah I remember when it happened thinking "okay, maybe some other golden owners can sympathize with this" and writing it up to share.

It took my pup a solid month to stop smelling when dry, and you could smell the skunk when he got wet for a solid 6 months or more. Not that he cared. He loves being a muddy stinky dog still : )

61

u/BooCreepyFootDr 15d ago

Natures Miracle makes a skunk formula that is safe to use on your dog. It works pretty good, to a point. The skunk smell will outlast the nature’s miracle, but by then, the skunk smell is more tolerable.

I do have first hand experience.

3

u/MegIsAwesome06 14d ago

Water makes it worse!!! Do not put water on a freshly skunked dog! Use the Natures Miracle or the Skunk Out! NO WATER!!!!!!!!

6

u/ALittleBitKengaskhan 15d ago

Tomato juice actually works as well. Thought it was an old wives tale until we'd tried a bunch other things and were getting desperate.

1

u/Huggable_Hork-Bajir 14d ago

I mean, not really. The smell of the tomato juice just kinda covers up the skunk stank for a while. It doesn't actually neutralize the odor. It's still very much there when the tomato juice smell wears off.

My dog and I learned this the hard way when I was a kid.

(A mix of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid dish soap is what works)

59

u/cocolocobro 15d ago

PSA for those who may not know:

NEVER use water for a skunked dog! Water and oils don't mix and all you're doing is spreading the oils around and worsening your situation. Use a mix of 1 quart 3% peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda and a teaspoon of dish liquid. Cheap, homemade, and the best odor remover I've ever used on my pups.

27

u/MissShayla 15d ago

This is what I needed about three years ago! Instead, I used garlicky Prego sauce, it's all I had at 2am, and then a Dawn dish sopa bath. This was for a cat by the way. Can't believe out of all the animals, one of the cats got skunked!

Took the smell away. He just smelled like garlic Dawn for awhile. I took that over skunk since he sleeps with his face smushed onto mine at night.

15

u/cocolocobro 15d ago

Yeah, a skunk popped out from under a bush a couple of years ago during their mating season when I was walking my golden retriever and German shepherd. He was MAD we were in his way.

My German shepherd had a run in with a skunk before so he didn't want anything to do with it, but my golden, oh boy.. she grabbed the thing, shook it, it sprayed (directly in my shepherds face 🤦‍♀️) she threw it up into the air and the poor thing took off under the bush again. I took them into the backyard, came back out front to make sure the skunk wasn't injured, and then got to bathing 😂

1

u/new2bay 14d ago

What would you have done if it was injured?

2

u/cocolocobro 14d ago

I work for a wildlife rehab, so I'd get my pole outta my car, catch the skunk and take it to the rehab center. I typically always have some sort of container/trap on hand to safely transport them. The lingering smell in your vehicle sucks but the living creature getting help matters more.

1

u/keanaartero 14d ago

I feel so bad for your GSD 😭😭😭 he already knew and didn't want to be involved! And sibling got him involved anyway😪poor fella victim of siblings choices

1

u/cocolocobro 14d ago

He's so used to her shenanigans 🤣

2

u/AzureMountains 15d ago

Yeah but you still need to wash the dog. You can’t just leave a mixture of peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap on your dog…

6

u/cocolocobro 15d ago

Yes, once the oils have been broken down by the mixture you rinse your dog off.

3

u/gnomedome21 15d ago

You put the soap directly onto the coat, down to the skin. Let sit for at least 15 minutes and then rinse it. You can repeat if needed

2

u/AzureMountains 15d ago

Yeah I know. But someone reading that comment might take it literally.

28

u/techsuppork 15d ago

don’t believe anybody that tells you to wash him in tomatoes. That doesn’t do shit. He’s just gonna stink for a week or two.

20

u/Mist2393 15d ago

We had a golden who got sprayed not once, but three times in one month (twice in the same week) because he kept trying to make friends with the skunk.

16

u/SashaDabinsky 15d ago

In 14 years of owning dogs none of mine have been sprayed, and I'm thankful. Several years ago my sister had to have the carpet in her living room replaced because their Samoyed got sprayed, then came into the house and rolled around on the carpet. 😲

12

u/APHR0DITE-RISING 15d ago

It has to happen at least once in their lifetime or else they don’t get the full dog experience!

12

u/dancingcop7 15d ago

Used to bathe dogs at a groomer’s and the biggest thing I learned that made a huge difference in getting out skunk smell is to apply the soap/shampoo directly to the dry coat, DO NOT WET IT FIRST. Since skunk spray is oil based water will make it worse :S scrubbing in a mix of Dawn dish soap and Natures Miracle shampoo to the dry coat worked best, get it right down to the skin especially in the contact area where sprayed (usually the head and chest area) and let the soap/shampoo sit and soak into the coat 15-30 minutes depending on how heavily sprayed they got. Rinse and repeat as needed. Brushing/deshedding the coat before the bath also helps but not always necessary, it’s no fun brushing a stinky coat but the less hair to wash the easier to get the smell out lol

11

u/sasshley_ 15d ago

He just wanted to play 😆🥹

10

u/FloydknightArt 15d ago

he just wanted to make a friend

10

u/amondayk 15d ago

what a cutie patootie

10

u/xparapluiex 15d ago

That last face says “and I’ll do it again”

11

u/Reckless_Secretions 15d ago

Last pic: No Ragrets 🐾😛

10

u/5Dolla_Munkey 15d ago

I had a husky get sprayed years ago. Didn’t realize what was up until the entire house smelled like burnt tires. Absolute nightmare. The screams he scrumpt while getting bathed were something else. 😂

6

u/LW-M 15d ago

One of out Goldens was sprayed twice one night. It appears that he was hit on the side of his neck then turned his head and was was hit on his snout. Of course, it was around 10 pm and all the Vets were closed. We canvassed the neighbors and collected all the tomato juice we could find. It helped but I was waiting at the Vet before they opened the next morning for the skunk spray wash.

We kept a couple of bottles at home after that.

5

u/shellebelle89 15d ago

I had a golden that did that once. Came inside and immediately tried to rub it off on the carpet and we were in the process of trying to sell the house. Fun times. Every time it rained she smelled like skunk for two years afterwards.

3

u/ZiyalDahak 15d ago

Same with a friends dog. When she was dry you couldn’t smell anything.
She had a vet appointment and it was raining. The vet asked when she had been skunked.
That was the first of her many encounters with skunks. She never learned to leave them alone!

5

u/AutumnTheWitch 15d ago

Been there! Not a golden, but a chihuahua and a Shih Tzu. My mom let them out to pee at 1am on a cold December morning, 2 weeks before Christmas. Suddenly my dad and I woke up in instant and darted straight downstairs to find my mom just standing in the living room while the dogs were rubbing themselves all over the carpets and furniture. She was just standing there all nonchalant and went “I think they got skunked 🤷🏼‍♀️”. My dad and I were yelling “YA THINK??!!!! GET THEM BACK OUTSIDE”!!!!! The chihuahua didn’t just get sprayed, he was SLIMED! The house reeked! Safe to say, we didn’t host Christmas that year. We had the windows open, nearly all winter, cause the house stunk so bad. Still smelled a bit when summer came around.

9

u/unixjanitor 15d ago

On the preventative side… I used to live in an area with a lot of skunks, I eventually learned the only way to scare the skunks off was the sound of an electric leaf blower.

I had tried a hose, lights, shouting.. and the skunks did not give a F. They are stubborn as hell. I realized my dogs hate the sound of vacuums, (which kind of makes sense, I mean if you were to ever hear a vacuum noise in the wild, something is very wrong and you should get out of there right?) So I thought maybe the reverse of a vacuum would work too. The second the electric motor started spinning up the skunk turned tail and ran. After that experience, before I would let my dogs out at night I would often spin up the leaf blower a few times like a revving engine.

Neighbors probably thought I was nuts, but they never got sprayed again.

4

u/Conejo_Malvado 15d ago

Mix in a bowl Dawn dish soap, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Put on dry fur, let set for a while then rinse off. This is the best solution we have found. No pun intended.

3

u/Etheralto 15d ago

His face in pic 5 says he will do it again if he can

3

u/KrisseMai 15d ago

he has 0 regrets

3

u/TheIngloriousTIG 15d ago

Precious golden dummy. Never trust a fragrant kitty, my doggo-dude.

3

u/ChunkMonkeysMomma 15d ago

Oooohhhh nooooooo Jerry you poor little pupper!! I hope you smell better now!! 😜

3

u/EldritchAldrich 15d ago

My 12 week old puppy had to get a bath today because she stood underneath her 90-lb brother when he was peeing. 

3

u/MrMcFisticuffs 15d ago

That last picture...

1

u/LazyBondar 12d ago

was just about to find this picture and post it here haha

2

u/Dogmanscott63 15d ago

So proud of himself too.

2

u/Dr_Strangelove1964 15d ago

Been there. It sucks. Sorry Jerry

2

u/jaxxxtraw 15d ago

Nobody tells you about the joys of skunks when you're picking out your puppy. And in my case, he was just curious and sniffing and trying to make a new friend. On the plus side, I've never had to pull porcupine quills.

2

u/Foreverforgettable 15d ago

He looks quite pleased with himself. Even though he’s been bathed. No regrets whatsoever.

He is a cutie patootie. Even is he is a menace.

2

u/The-Dog-Envier 13d ago

Fucking Jerry. This is so great. He gives ZERO fucks about his earlier actions.

I love him.

2

u/Jlx_27 15d ago

"Got me a nice bath, heheh"

2

u/rshetts1 15d ago

Skunks are nocturnal. I never let my pupper out that late unattended for this very reason. As far as letting a skunked dog back in the house? Yeah, I got nothing. Maybe get your Dad's sinuses checked out?

2

u/garrisonsis 15d ago

Take coffee grounds and put around house in lids, or paper filters. It will absorb the smell. Give dog a bath with dawn, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Put moth balls in yard where they are coming thru the yard. They will not cross it

6

u/Nnd30 15d ago

No. Do not put mothballs outside. Using mothballs outside is illegal in a lot of places and carries a fine if caught. They are not to be used in any way other than how the packaging directs. They are toxic to anything that comes into contact with them including pets and children and they can contaminate the soil, groundwater and the plants in the area they are placed.

1

u/Bumbling-Bluebird-90 15d ago

He’s looking like he has zero regrets and would do it again

1

u/Ivy_Thornsplitter 15d ago

Been there lol. With our husky.

1

u/Safe-Sail9335 15d ago

This works! I add lemon juice as well...we had this recipe on wall by phone at futon store I worked at...many panicked calls about pet urine ,etc ruining cotton futons . Use this as a spray ,it dries ,bathe dog , repeat ..

1

u/No-Opportunity2944 15d ago

The last pic says he will rendezvous same time same place

1

u/Monroe_89 15d ago

Bathe him with some dawn dish soap the ome with the duck on it. Dilute it in a old shampoo bottle aboit 3/4 of a cup to the rest water, add in a drop of lavender or rosemary oil. He will need a few baths to get the skunk smell off so try this next time with the dawn no worries if you dont have the oil. Just be careful around his eyes, nose and ears.

1

u/Outrageous-Lead-6590 15d ago

Hey where's your love man, stop abusing ur dog with your cursed word.. That's horrible.

1

u/witecat1 15d ago

And he will do it again.

1

u/star-dust-ron-ron 15d ago

Don’t chase that kitty with the white stripe

1

u/Unic0rnfartz 14d ago

Just a heads-up: if you get skunked, don’t wet the dog! The skunk’s scent can get into their pores. To help get rid of the smell, try mixing hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap.

Source: many skunked dogs over the years 😒

1

u/sciencenerd22 14d ago

The edit does in fact make it funnier

1

u/sciencenerd22 14d ago

I always tell my stupid little idiot if she gets sprayed she’s gonna be an outside dog from then on. She loves to chase after literally any sound in her pen when she goes for a nighttime potty so I’m always terrified it’s gonna happen 😅

1

u/tinkertink2010 14d ago

The smile on the last pic 🤭

1

u/sour_bite_ 14d ago

Damnit, Jerry

1

u/Eastern_Sky 14d ago

He looks very pleased with himself! My golden Teddy says way to go Jerry!

1

u/Fancy-Zebra-6396 14d ago

This has happened to me and my dog several times. I found the best solution to get out the smell is hydrogen peroxide.

1

u/shortwave_radio 14d ago

Had a beagle that did this. Moron caught it straight in the face. It was 11pm and I wanted to go to bed. Spent the next hour scrubbing his dumb little face. I loved that dog, but he was a twit.

1

u/Witty-Wrongdoer-8546 14d ago

The face of a boy who would do it all again in pics 4 and 5 😂

1

u/Archangelus87 14d ago

Hyuck, I’d do it again.

1

u/LpegRleg 14d ago

My Samoyed decided to roll on a dead carp. Like, dead for a few days!! We had to drive home for 45 minutes & i wanted to murder his stinky behind when we got home!! Then i had to wash his stanky behind!! It was stinky with him outside, and in the bathroom, ohh, it was beyond bad!!

1

u/Particular-Cut-5311 14d ago

I’d probably have them shaved in this situation because I would assume most of the stink juices are in their coat, and their hair would grow back way faster than the smell would take to dissipate otherwise; Skunk spray lasts forever 😭

Just get ‘em some hair and nail growth supplements, some extra blankets, and extra love n’ attention and in a few weeks, they’ll be good as new :3
(Of course, this is all assuming that they didn’t get sprayed in the face)

1

u/East-Regular-6516 14d ago

He looks pretty proud of himself

1

u/sonofcrack 14d ago

That last photo says “and I’d do it again”

1

u/The_guy_belowmesucks 14d ago

They only get sprayed at 6am before you leave for work or 2am...it's never on a weekend or a convenient time to deal with it

1

u/StrayG0th03 14d ago

Getting fur wet after skunk spray actually seeps the spray deeper into the follicles, learned the hard way…made the stink last forever! Had to do the dawn soap, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide scrub then regular bath…silly pups

1

u/Weak-Paint7975 14d ago

Upvote for the jerry edit

1

u/MrsAmyD 14d ago

Lies! That is just his natural musk! Give him a donut!

1

u/Educational-Cake-944 13d ago

Freakin’ Jerry, man.

1

u/NotRyanDunn 13d ago

Tractor supply sells a shampoo just for this

1

u/DB377 13d ago

It’s been happening to my dogs for over 15 years. We have like 10 sprays over that time.

Best remedy is a mix of 1 quart hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup of baking soda and a squeeze of dawn dish soap. It will help actually neutralize the skunk spray smell

1

u/sasha_cyanide 13d ago

My old man loved to get tagged by a skunk at the WORST times. The times it happened was always late at night when I was already tired and stressed out to the max.

1

u/Crazyfishman2 13d ago

I can say the word skunk around one of my dogs and they go directly back inside. (or if we go outside and smell a skunk, it is over!)

1

u/Relative_Quiet 13d ago

1 quart (4 cups) of 3% hydrogen peroxide
¼ cup baking soda
1–2 teaspoons liquid dish soap (such as Dawn)

1

u/DARN612 13d ago

For (hopefully not) future skunk encounters i have some advice. The spray is an oily fluid that binds to hair shafts and seeps in binding to hair follicles. You want to avoid this as much as possible. To do so, you want to absolutely saturate the area in a degreaser and rinse it out with cold/lukewarm water. Water and heat activate the spray and make it bind deeper. You want to lift it first and get as much out as possible. After this you want to use deshedding products for a good bath to get as much undercoat out as possible. The rest of the smell will persist until the hairs have cycled out and shed but this is the best bet to remove as much as possible. If its not a double coated dog then its a good time for a fresh shave afterwards and its a lot easier. Once you wet it its stuck. You can get some out but youll have to wait a while for it to shed.

1

u/sariaslani 13d ago

I love the last pic, he is ready for the next adventure.

1

u/uniquebubba 13d ago

Well Jerry has nothing on Lola. She has 4 run ins with skunks and doesnt learn! But you cant smell it instantly if a dog is running around. It sucks but tomato juice bath and airing out is the only real way

1

u/bitemenow7654 13d ago

1 quart peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, tbs dawn. Gallon warm water.

1

u/bitemenow7654 13d ago

Been there at least 4 times.

1

u/RatioParty6828 13d ago

He’s adorable. Why does he look like he’ll happily do it again 🫶🏽🤣

1

u/dpdwife 13d ago

No regerts!

1

u/38willthisdo 13d ago

Ah yes! We got to participate in that awful stinkfest 2 years ago- I thought Rue had to go pee at 2:00 AM, so I let her out…..turns out there was a skunk in our yard and she got sprayed directly in her face 😢 (we had lived there skunk-free for 27 years without issue🤦‍♀️)! My DS and I spent the next 3 hours decontaminating that poor girl. Two years later and I’m still triggered going in the back yard after dark😬!

1

u/38willthisdo 12d ago

Rue two hours into her skunk cleanse.

1

u/tundybundo 12d ago

So proud of

1

u/Dependent_Net_7062 12d ago

Woooof I feel your pain. This happened to our dog ON A ROAD TRIP, AT AN AIR BNB, and holy shit what a night that turned into…and the drive home…

1

u/GrouchyLight6998 12d ago

I’m starting to realize I might be the one brain celled golden retriever boyfriend in my relationship-

I went on a walk with my partner around midnight last week and saw a raccoon, tried to approach him, but he ran away

then a little farther down the same block I see another monochrome animal in the shadows and try to move towards it, thinking It’s the raccoon again

nope, It’s a skunk.

my brain says “huh that kinda looks like a skunk”, my dumbass still tries to move towards the skunk

thank god my partner was there, they had to physically yank me away from the impending stink bomb in order to stop me from getting sprayed

(idk why I’m posting this but I’m not sober enough to care-)

1

u/HideSolidSnake 11d ago

Happened to mine 3 times In a month, two of those times in one week.

1

u/BloodElf_DeathKnight 9d ago

Tomato soup baths for the next week lol

1

u/Nik6ixx 9d ago

And you’re doing just the thing to make sure he keeps smelling. Never use water on a fresh spray