Expert Suggests De-Skunking Home Remedy
Crossing the
path of a skunk can leave your pet smelling like the cartoon character
Pepe Le Pew. To help alleviate the irritating, powerful odor, a Kansas
State University veterinary technician offers a homemade recipe to have
your dog or cat smell less like a skunk.
Karyl Brandon,
animal science technician at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine,
has tried several experiments to remove the skunk smell from sprayed animals.
As a grooming expert, she says many of the common antidotes that people
try, but fail to do the job, are tomato juice, vinegar and different types
of shampoos.
Brandon recommends
an easy home recipe using ingredients that can be found in most drugstores.
* One quart
3 percent hydrogen peroxide
* One-fourth
cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
* One teaspoon
liquid soap
She says to
begin by wetting the animal down, then apply the mixture and work it through
the animal's hair. Leave the solution on three to four minutes, and finish
with a tap water rinse.
Caution: Make
up only as much of the de-skunking remedy as you can use at one time. It
is unsafe to bottle and store this chemical combination.
--
Information Provided By
Kansas State University
--
|