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Pat Monahan
07-11-2005, 12:43 AM
Last night I took our not-too-bright dog outside and it happened again. She trotted to the deck next to the pond, gave the deck a sniff or two, then charged around the pond to my shed and continued between the shed and the fence in the back corner of my yard. About the same time that the dummy...er...dog came out from beside my shed, I could smell the result. You would think that an 11 or 12 year old german shepherd/lab mix that has had the distinct pleasure of meeting a skunk would learn her lesson:p . Thankfully, we had some deodorizer left over from when she was sprayed last year (yes, the expensive stuff from the vet). Wonderpup seemed to be thankful that we had the deodorizer, but she did object to being sprayed with the garden hose - ok, she really is a big baby at heart, I'll admit it.
Does anyone have any ideas for keeping skunks out of my yard? There are no signs of them, apart from this incident, and there really are no places for them to nest. The back yard has a wood privacy type fence. Will skunks slip through the gaps or squeeze under the fence? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Pat

Lee Schierer
07-11-2005, 10:44 AM
Skunks generally are looking for one of two things. Other skunks to make more skunks and not much will deter them in that pursuit. Or more often than not, food. They love grubs and will go where they find grubs, our lawns are prime territory for grubs and therefore a prime attractant for skunks. If you get rid fo the grubs you will get rid of the skunks.

The down side is that dogs, no matter how smart they are, don't seem to ever learn that skunks are bad news.

Dave Anderson NH
07-11-2005, 11:20 AM
My son knows how you feel Pat. I had a call last nite about 10:15PM from my panicky offspring. Lots of background noise on the phone-- yelling DIL and 2 grandchildren with 3 barking dogs thrown in for good measure. My son wanted to know how to deal with the smell from 3 Pugs being sprayed by a skunk after being let out to do their business. I went for the old standby of Dawn dish detergent alternated with tomato juice baths..... and a warning it would still take a couple of 3 days.

Bill Lewis
07-11-2005, 1:08 PM
My German Shepard, Harley, took a direct hit about 3 weeks ago. 6 am on a Sunday morning no less. My wife brought him back in to the house :eek: , came to the bedroom, where I wasn't quite up, and said "I think he got sprayed, what should I do?" Of course the forum rules won't let me post my exact response, but I replied with something about getting him back out of the house, and use tomato anything on him. Well I knew full well that "tomato anything" does nothing, or at least not nearly enough but without anything it was still better than nothing. After a quick bath in home-canned tomatos, she found out it did nothing, so she hit the internet looking for a better solution. She found one that calls for hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and a bit of liquid soap. Needless to say Harley got several baths that day, with plenty of soak time to boot. This was even more fun for Harley, (NOT!) as he isn't really what you'd call a "water dog". To him, spinklers might as well be spewing acid.

So after three weeks he still smells a tiny bit if he gets wet/damp.

I'd like to know the name of the Vet approved magic deodorizer? For right now, we have a good supply of H2O2 and baking soda. We also have some pet-store deodorizer enzyme (dry) on the shelf for the next time. Oh, and I have no doubt that there will be a next time. Although he is the nicest dog in the world to all humans, he just can't stand any other beasties (rabbits, squirrels, birds, groundhogs, deer, turtles, fox, AND skunks...) in HIS yard.

Mike Ramsey
07-11-2005, 1:11 PM
Our Basset Hound has been hit at least 4 times by skunks and then scrubbed with tomato juice and tied to the garage post, so now everytime she smells a skunk she runs for the house! I guess that she hates the tomato scrub worse
than the skunk! So maybe after a few scrubbins your dog will learn....or maybe not..

Michael Perata
07-11-2005, 2:32 PM
Does anyone have any ideas for keeping skunks out of my yard? The back yard has a wood privacy type fence. Will skunks slip through the gaps or squeeze under the fence? Pat

Yes, skunks can go through anything more than a couple of inches wide. We live in a very suburban area of San Jose, but have a creek behind us. Our fencing is in suberb condition with no holes, and yet we have skunks, two of the critters last week. Fortunately, we no longer have a dog. ;)

Ernie Nyvall
07-11-2005, 5:57 PM
I had a german shepherd that went after them all the time. She would take the spray and keep going until she killed them. Chased one into the neighbors open car window. That cost me.

I finally put up a sign that said "no skunks allowed". :rolleyes:

Ernie

Bill Lewis
07-11-2005, 6:30 PM
I finally put up a sign that said "no skunks allowed". :rolleyes:
ErnieDid it work!? :D

Harley is a notorious "killer dog". Groundhogs, mice, rabbits, squirrels and the attempt on a skunk. We got him when he was 5 months old. He had never seen a cat before either. We have 3 and they were never really socialized with dogs, and aren't all that thrilled with the idea either. He's learned to respect the cats, indoors. Good luck to any stray that decides to jump the fence in to his yard, it better be fast. He just has this really strong prey drive. I guess it could be because we have so much of it around us, there's just too much.

On the flip side, he is extremely well socialized with people and other dogs. People are treat machines :) . He has been through extensive obediance training and has earned his K9 good citizen certification. My wife plans to take him to more obediance events this fall.
He is not barky, in fact he's the quietest GS I've ever run accross. It could be because he was "abused" by a previous owner. The breeder, a friend, gave him to us, after taking him back from the original "family". I honestly don't know how anyone could have abused this dog, he really has a great personality (see avitar).

Bob Weisner
07-11-2005, 6:48 PM
a 220 Conibear works real good at getting rid of Skunks. Don't want to use it if you have a dog in the backyard.

Pat Monahan
07-12-2005, 2:18 AM
Lee
Thanks for the tip. I don't know if getting rid of grubs will work too well. I have a regular sized yard, about 60 x 120'. The neighbours behind me have lots around 350' deep with lots of trees and shrubs. They don't spray, fertilize or water the grass, so there may be the proverbial smorgasbord for critters. I guess I'll do my duty and spray and hope for the best;) .

Bill
The name of the stuff from the vet is Skunk-Off. It comes in a 3.75 ounce bottle. Spray it on, work it in and rinse. If you still smell skunk after using, you missed a spot. It kills the odour on contact - and it should for $30-40 per bottle:eek: .
I prefer to think of it this way
Cost of deodorizer $40
Not having to listen to LOML complaining the dog smells...priceless:D

Ernie
Did that really happen, or are you just trying to make me feel better? The mental picture of that had me ROTFLOL!

Bob
Pardon my stupidity, but what is a 220 conibear?

Thanks
Pat

Harry Goodwin
07-12-2005, 9:22 AM
Move to Eastern Carolina. No skunks or ground hogs but snakes and spiders. Ha, HA. Harry

Jim O'Dell
07-12-2005, 12:55 PM
Last night I took our not-too-bright dog outside and it happened again. ... Thankfully, we had some deodorizer left over from when she was sprayed last year (yes, the expensive stuff from the vet). ...
Thanks
Pat


Pat, I don't have any ideas on keeping the skunks out. But here's an idea to use instead of the expensive stuff from the vet. I have not used this before, but several people on an all Setter list I'm on swear by it. Go to the drug store, probably an old fashioned one is best to find this stuff, and buy women's powdered douche, not the liquid. I think the story was to mix it up to a thin paste and apply it to the fur, and work it in. They said it worked better than anything else they had ever tried on their hunting dogs. Now imagine a couple men going into a drugstore and buying all the powdered douche on the racks, with a slight off smell to them!!
Good to see you have worked the dog in obedience. It really creates a good bond between you and the dog. My wife used to do obedience with all of our dogs, but has since changed over to Agility, and says she'll never step foot into the obedience ring again. I bet your GS would love the agility work. Our 4 year old IS lives for it,.....and food. Jim.

Bob Weisner
07-12-2005, 2:28 PM
Lee
Thanks for the tip. I don't know if getting rid of grubs will work too well. I have a regular sized yard, about 60 x 120'. The neighbours behind me have lots around 350' deep with lots of trees and shrubs. They don't spray, fertilize or water the grass, so there may be the proverbial smorgasbord for critters. I guess I'll do my duty and spray and hope for the best;) .

Bill
The name of the stuff from the vet is Skunk-Off. It comes in a 3.75 ounce bottle. Spray it on, work it in and rinse. If you still smell skunk after using, you missed a spot. It kills the odour on contact - and it should for $30-40 per bottle:eek: .
I prefer to think of it this way
Cost of deodorizer $40
Not having to listen to LOML complaining the dog smells...priceless:D

Ernie
Did that really happen, or are you just trying to make me feel better? The mental picture of that had me ROTFLOL!

Bob
Pardon my stupidity, but what is a 220 conibear?

Thanks
Pat


It is a quick kill trap. Used for trapping Raccoons, Skunks , ect.

Bill Lewis
07-12-2005, 4:27 PM
Oh you mean that 220 conibear. I thought that sounded familiar. I've got one of those, You can get them at "Southern States" for less than $20, but be sure to "spring" for the setting tool too. ;) . Nasty sucker for sure, not life friendly, and you really have to be careful on where you set it. Especially if any children or pets could come in contact with it. I've got a monster groundhog hole just outside our fence/property line. I can't set it there without assuming the responsibility (morally if not legaly) for the liability, which I am unwilling to undertake.

Jim,
We do some light agility with our GS, no competing though. My wife was going to do agility with our Austrailian Shepherd, but that was before the epilipsy thing. We've PM'd on that in the past, and I'm sorry to say that don't have any good news for an update. We're doing everything we can, but the outlook is grim. Right now we're just spoiling her while we can.

Ernie Nyvall
07-12-2005, 9:12 PM
Ernie
Did that really happen, or are you just trying to make me feel better? The mental picture of that had me ROTFLOL!

Pat, yes, it did happen. I did fail to mention though that my dog's 6 month old pup followed her through the window. Bear was what I named her because on the day we brought her home, she somehow climbed a pallet I had leaning on the well house and had her whole head in a quart jar of honey. It's funny that as she grew up she would eat crawfish in the yard and actually picked blackberries off the vine with her lips.
Anyway she played with all the animals around until she had her first litter of pups and then her whole attitude changed... hmmm... I won't expand on that thought.
I ended up installing a three wire electric fence inside my horse wire fence to keep them in. The pet electric didn't work at all. Bear used that as some sort of muscle therapy. I would find her rubbing her back against it, eyes half closed. I got the next size up and that did the trick for keeping small animals out as well. It got my attention several times in the rain. :eek:

Good luck with yours

Ernie

Bob Weisner
07-12-2005, 10:57 PM
:( The Skunk problem has JUST HIT MY BACKYARD AS I TYPE!!! :(

Why me!!?? :rolleyes: Well, at least it was not like last time when the skunk sprayed against the house and hit the open window next to the computer :eek: I am so glad trapping season is only 3 months away :)

Pat Monahan
07-14-2005, 12:37 AM
Bob
hopefully that is just passing through and not a direct hit on your house!

Thanks for the tips, gents. I'll keep 'em in mind for the next time, which there probably will be:rolleyes: .
Pat