ding those of the skunk species. That's probably how she got sprayed on November 3, harassing the neighborhood skunk. But this whole situation has gotten me thinking, what is it that makes the skunk smell so nasty? Why is it such a dreaded odor to creep into one's house? As we all know, the skunk's most notorious defense mechanism is its putrid spray, which they use only if they are in mortal danger. Their two glands, on either side of the anus, produce a mixture of chemicals that contain sulfur, specifically methyl and butyl thiols (mercaptans). This substance creates an incredibly unpleasant smell, which can be described as a mixture of rotten eggs, sulfur, garlic, and burnt rubber. Muscles near the glands allow the skunks to spray up to 15 (!) feet of this liquid. Aside from the smell itself, the spray can cause irritation and even temporary blindness. They don't use it too often, only when they feel threatened, in this case, by my dog... Yes, my dog has a very threatening disposition. Uh, yeah, not really. So yeah. This has been recent in my life, so it's something to blog about. Maybe this will be beneficial to not having your house smell like years-old eggs, which is a plus. And to get the smell of your dog, good luck. We used water, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, which doesn't harm the dog surprisingly. A friend of mine, after I told her how we got the smell somewhat off our dog, asked, "Was she like, sizzling?" Surprisingly, no. The combination reacts witht the chemicals in the spray, that deodorizes it. It doesn't go away completely however; stale skunk smell mixed with wet dog smell (it rained a couple days later)? Not a good combination. The smell is uncomfortable, of course. But it will go away. Eventually...Saturday, November 8, 2008
For Future Reference
For future reference, never let any pet you have get sprayed by a skunk. Heck, never let anything you have ever get sprayed by a skunk. It will ruin your week, not to mention your sofa. In fact, our sofa cover has been sitting in the porch since Monday night, when my dog got sprayed at 10:30 PM, the night (of course) before my AP European History test. She is a West Highland White Terrier, which means she likes to hunt small rodents, inclu
ding those of the skunk species. That's probably how she got sprayed on November 3, harassing the neighborhood skunk. But this whole situation has gotten me thinking, what is it that makes the skunk smell so nasty? Why is it such a dreaded odor to creep into one's house? As we all know, the skunk's most notorious defense mechanism is its putrid spray, which they use only if they are in mortal danger. Their two glands, on either side of the anus, produce a mixture of chemicals that contain sulfur, specifically methyl and butyl thiols (mercaptans). This substance creates an incredibly unpleasant smell, which can be described as a mixture of rotten eggs, sulfur, garlic, and burnt rubber. Muscles near the glands allow the skunks to spray up to 15 (!) feet of this liquid. Aside from the smell itself, the spray can cause irritation and even temporary blindness. They don't use it too often, only when they feel threatened, in this case, by my dog... Yes, my dog has a very threatening disposition. Uh, yeah, not really. So yeah. This has been recent in my life, so it's something to blog about. Maybe this will be beneficial to not having your house smell like years-old eggs, which is a plus. And to get the smell of your dog, good luck. We used water, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, which doesn't harm the dog surprisingly. A friend of mine, after I told her how we got the smell somewhat off our dog, asked, "Was she like, sizzling?" Surprisingly, no. The combination reacts witht the chemicals in the spray, that deodorizes it. It doesn't go away completely however; stale skunk smell mixed with wet dog smell (it rained a couple days later)? Not a good combination. The smell is uncomfortable, of course. But it will go away. Eventually...
ding those of the skunk species. That's probably how she got sprayed on November 3, harassing the neighborhood skunk. But this whole situation has gotten me thinking, what is it that makes the skunk smell so nasty? Why is it such a dreaded odor to creep into one's house? As we all know, the skunk's most notorious defense mechanism is its putrid spray, which they use only if they are in mortal danger. Their two glands, on either side of the anus, produce a mixture of chemicals that contain sulfur, specifically methyl and butyl thiols (mercaptans). This substance creates an incredibly unpleasant smell, which can be described as a mixture of rotten eggs, sulfur, garlic, and burnt rubber. Muscles near the glands allow the skunks to spray up to 15 (!) feet of this liquid. Aside from the smell itself, the spray can cause irritation and even temporary blindness. They don't use it too often, only when they feel threatened, in this case, by my dog... Yes, my dog has a very threatening disposition. Uh, yeah, not really. So yeah. This has been recent in my life, so it's something to blog about. Maybe this will be beneficial to not having your house smell like years-old eggs, which is a plus. And to get the smell of your dog, good luck. We used water, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, which doesn't harm the dog surprisingly. A friend of mine, after I told her how we got the smell somewhat off our dog, asked, "Was she like, sizzling?" Surprisingly, no. The combination reacts witht the chemicals in the spray, that deodorizes it. It doesn't go away completely however; stale skunk smell mixed with wet dog smell (it rained a couple days later)? Not a good combination. The smell is uncomfortable, of course. But it will go away. Eventually...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I was at my friends house the other night and we were about to let their dog out, but there was a skunk in the back yard. It must be terrible haveing to smell your dog everyday.
My dog got sprayed by a skunk numerous times. We had to take him to the groomer right away to get a bath. He still smelled for days.
I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. Hopefully you got enough studying in for the AP Euro test! We were trying to catch the rabbits that were eating our trees in the backyard and instead we caught a raccoon. From a distance it looked like a skunk and we made sure to appoach very carefully!
I cannot even imagine how gross you dog must have smelled. When driving by the road when a skunk gets hit and releases their odder is stinks. For your dog to smell like that must have been unappetizing.
I'm very sorry you had to suffer through such a trauma, and I'm not being sarcastic. I despise the skunk smell and I really hope it's gone by now. I didn't know much about skunks before reading this so I'm quite appreciative that my horizon has been widened! :)
Awwww I'm sorry about your dog! I'm assuming though that everything is fine now, considering I'm commenting like, three months later. But anywho, interesting blog post, and that was really interesting to hear about the smell and the chemicals (?) inside of it.
I've always known that skunks spray their putrid smell but up to 15 feet?! That's crazy! I'm sorry for your dog however.
Post a Comment