Eyes come before the bath. Spray directed at the face can leave eyes red, sore and watering, so look for squinting or pawing, rinse gently with saline or plain warm water, and seek veterinary advice before shampooing anything. Keep him outside or somewhere easy to clean if possible — the oily spray transfers to carpets and furniture on contact — and put on gloves and old clothes yourself. Then wash thoroughly: work a dog shampoo well through the coat to break down the oily spray, rinse, and repeat; the face should be washed carefully with a cloth, keeping shampoo out of the eyes, ears, and mouth.
About the Famous Recipes
Tomato juice mostly masks the smell rather than removing it. There is a well-known homemade mix (hydrogen peroxide, bicarbonate of soda, and a little washing-up liquid) that genuinely neutralises the odour — but peroxide can irritate skin and eyes and must never be left to soak or used near the eyes, so many owners are better served by the commercial deskunking shampoos sold for exactly this job, used as directed. Whichever route you take: ventilate the room, expect the smell to linger faintly on wet fur for a while, and wash collars, leads, and bedding too — they hold the oil. Note that skunks in some regions can carry rabies, so any bite or scratch alongside the spray changes the picture.
Working With Your Vet
For a skunk encounter, the record a vet wants is short and specific: whether spray reached the eyes, how long they stayed red after flushing, whether your dog drooled, vomited or seemed unwell, and whether there was any bite or scratch under the smell. Write those points down while the evening is fresh, because the odour will dominate your memory of it and the clinical details are the part that fades. This article is general information, and no description over the phone or in notes replaces an examination if the signs below are present.
Contact your vet if the eyes stay red or painful after flushing, your dog drools heavily, vomits, or seems unwell, or if there is any chance of a bite wound under the smell. Otherwise this is a laundry problem, not a medical one — an unpleasant evening rather than an emergency.
If the smell earns a clinic visit days later, a Pet Passport in KinsLe gives that vet his past visit history and vaccination dates without hunting through messages at home.