To shave him or not to shave him

[AdoreMyDogs]

In case you missed my previous thread last week http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=145737 Boone, our GSD, was sprayed badly by a skunk in our backyard. After multiple baths in all sorts of home-made concoctions, as well as expensive products made specifically for skunk spray removal, Boone still smells unbearable. He's SUCH a baby and is underfoot 100% of the time, but he's been confined to either the back yard or his kennel every day since being sprayed. The room that his kennel resides in smells terrible even.

It's obvious to me that any of the stuff I've bathed him in or doused him with is not removing his stench and I am toying with the idea of shaving him. I'm not sure if it'll even make the smell go away, but I think it'll probablly help. What do you think? He will look like a complete fool, but at this point, I don't care what he looks like, I just want my loyal friend back. I miss him constantally being underfoot (even though it gets annoying sometimes) and I want him to be free to roam the house again.

He's SO handsome. He will look absolutely terrible and I hate to do that to him. If I do shave him, I'm doing it myself with dog clippers to save money. Petsmart charges $75 to give haircuts to my mother in law's standard poodles, so I imagine it would be the same price to shave Boone.

So.....to shave him or not to shave him. What do you all think?

[Taz_Zoee]

I voted not to shave.

Where did he get sprayed? What part of his body? Could there be areas you have not cleaned that have skunkness in them? Like we had with Zoee's ear.
I'm baffled that none of the things you've bathed him with have worked. Zoee has a double coat and I was able to minimize the smell to make her bearable to be around at least. Either that or I just got used to the smell. You are probably super sensitive right now with smells, being pregnant, huh?
I just went back and looked at the other thread. When you bathe him are you letting it set on him for a while? I believe someone else suggested that as well.
Have you taken him to the groomers for them to try? We did that with Zoee too and they used Skunk Off. And they even told me it will not remove the odor completely. I wonder if a hair cut would help. Not shaved, just cut?
Gosh, I don't know!! I just would be heartbroken if I had to shave Zoee. Then again, I'm not living with Boone. And remember - it's hair, it will grow back.
I wish you the best of luck in finding a cure for the stinky dog.

[buttercup132]

Don't shave him especially if you love his coat, it will ruin the look and feeling and it probly won't come back as long.
You'll just have to wait till the smell is gone.
Was he wearing a collar and is he still wearing it? They hold alot of smell.
Especially don't go to pet smart if you were going to go anywhere to get him groomed.

[Catlady711]

I've never personally tried this one myself, thankfully never needed to, however we recommend this one at the hospital and many of our clients have been fairly pleased with how much smell it cut down. Have you tried it yet?



http://dan.drydog.com/patsyann/skunk.html

http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/sk00001.htm


Either way, if shaving is what you need to do, then do it. Fur will grow back. I'm just not sure how much smell it will actually cut down though.

[molucass]

I've heard you can use listerine mouth wash, or toothpaste with baking soda in it on your dog if it gets skunked. I don't know it works or not, but thats what I have heard. Soak the coat with mouthwash, making sure to get down to the skin with it, and then wash the dog with doggy shampoo.

Dogs with double coats take much longer to get the smell off of than normal haired dogs.

[AdoreMyDogs]

When I say 'shave' i don't mean with a razor, I'm talking a close buzz cut with pet grooming clippers. If I do "shave" him, it'll be a very, very short buzz cut. Like how Poodles are cut in the non fluffy parts. When I've bathed him, I've always let the soap or concoction sit on his coat for upwards of 20 minutes before I rinse it off. When I put the skunk remover on him, I left it on and never rinsed it off (per bottle instructions)
http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/96/f5/e7/23712872-177x150-0-0.jpg

[buttercup132]

lol I know what you mean I'm a groomer.
It still doesn't grow back the same and ruins the coat and it's feel, any groomer on here will tell you that.
GSD's don't have the same type of coat as a shihtzu,poodle,bichon etc. whos coats come back looking the same.
Plus he will be even hotter, the summer isn't over yet.
Shaving him won't get rid of the smell, it's imbedded in his coat and skin.
If a human gets sprayed on lets say their arm, the smell is in their skin it's not going to come out for awhile.
And shaving with a blade that short you could seriously hurt your dog, there are alot of areas where if you even nick them they will bleed and bleed and can die from blood loss. Or you could nick a tendon.

[jenluckenbach]

Shaving would probably not help. The smell is in his pores. :( And the majority of dogs get the spray in the face (not much hair to shave off of a GSD face).

As you are finding out, nothing helps 100%. And when he gets wet, the smell will escalate again.

Our grooming shop uses a baking soda/hydrogen peroxide mix that works fairly well. But the hair must be totally saturated and must stay in contact for at least 15 minutes. Then rinsed.

The hard part is getting the face soaked without getting it into the eyes.

The best commercial product I ever used is called Skunk Off. EXPENSIVE, but good stuff usually is. http://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Off-32-oz-Spray/dp/B0002XJ10K

[Sirrahsim]

Poor baby! I don't know a thing about skunk odor, but I hope you find something that helps!!



And shaving with a blade that short you could seriously hurt your dog, there are alot of areas where if you even nick them they will bleed and bleed and can die from blood loss. Or you could nick a tendon.

She's not talking about going after him with a straight razor, silly :)


When I say 'shave' i don't mean with a razor, I'm talking a close buzz cut with pet grooming clippers. If I do "shave" him, it'll be a very, very short buzz cut. Like how Poodles are cut in the non fluffy parts.

[buttercup132]

Poor baby! I don't know a thing about skunk odor, but I hope you find something that helps!!



She's not talking about going after him with a straight razor, silly :)
I know but she said as short as when a Poodle is cut in between the poms which in a show Poodle (which I'm assuming she is reffering to with the big poms on the body) get shaved in a # 30 which is a surgical balde used for shaving off areas like when they are prepping for a spay or IV. It's soo easy to nick the dog with something that short.
lol I think it would be REALLY hard to do any dog in a razor other then my dog it would get hairy so fast.

[Karen]

Poor Boone! I agree - have you check his collar - time to ditch it, perhaps, or can you tell what part of him the scent is coming from?

[lizbud]

I don't think shaving him down will help at all, just make Boone look silly.

Like some others have already said, the smelly stuff has been absorbed into
his skin. Does your Vet have any suggestions? Seems like a lot of good things
to try has already been mentioned. Best of luck with this Leslie.

[pitc9]

I would take him to a groomer and see what they can do.

I would not shave him.

[k9krazee]

I definitely wouldn't shave him, not only would it not work but there's the chance that he wouldn't look the same afterward. I shaved half of my long haired white cat at the beginning of the summer and it didn't grow back looking or feeling the same, and it's probably not something I'd risk again. Plus, like the others it has been absorbed into his pores.

My Micki got skunked a few weeks ago. He has very short hair and smelt awful for the longest time as well, I couldn't imagine what it'd be like with a dog with a lot of fur. We did the peroxide/dish soap concoction and it seemed to work well. But the majority was on his face and this mixture CAN cause blindness so we pretty much stayed away from his face...and that's where most of the smell was. Only time will get rid of it, unfortunately. I'm sorry that it's that unbearable that he can't be in the house.

Here's another to try if you haven't..
Carbonated Soda Bath
Step1
Bathe your dog with two bottles of any brand of bottled carbonated soda.
Step2
Wear plastic gloves and work soda into the coat.
Step3
Rinse thoroughly with water.
Step4
Wash the dog with baby shampoo.
Step5
Rinse and repeat if necessary.

[shais_mom]

I definitely wouldn't shave him, not only would it not work but there's the chance that he wouldn't look the same afterward. I shaved half of my long haired white cat at the beginning of the summer and it didn't grow back looking or feeling the same, and it's probably not something I'd risk again. Plus, like the others it has been absorbed into his pores.

My Micki got skunked a few weeks ago. He has very short hair and smelt awful for the longest time as well, I couldn't imagine what it'd be like with a dog with a lot of fur. We did the peroxide/dish soap concoction and it seemed to work well. But the majority was on his face and this mixture CAN cause blindness so we pretty much stayed away from his face...and that's where most of the smell was. Only time will get rid of it, unfortunately. I'm sorry that it's that unbearable that he can't be in the house.

Here's another to try if you haven't..
Carbonated Soda Bath
Step1
Bathe your dog with two bottles of any brand of bottled carbonated soda.
Step2
Wear plastic gloves and work soda into the coat.
Step3
Rinse thoroughly with water.
Step4
Wash the dog with baby shampoo.
Step5
Rinse and repeat if necessary.

holy crap and we DRINK that stuff~ and it takes the skunk smell out!?!!
I have had Kylie shaved and I her hair always grows in nicely. And I just love the way she feels sheared. I can't keep my hands off her.

I wouldn't shave him - I'd ditch the collar and try the suggestions that others have given.

[AllAmericanPUP]

If you do decide to get him shaved it would probably actually be better to have him clipped by a Pro.

Not saying you can't do it but when i shaved Ozzy down a decent pair of clippers cost me almost $100.

you can buy cheaper clippers but they most likely will not get the job done, especially not cheap whaltz clippers from Wal-mart, i've tried them before and they suck!

Plus it's really not easy to shave a dog down unless you have the proper table that is at your height and a neck loop to keep them in place, otherwise your back is going to be killing you and the dog probably isn't going to cooperate very well

[Sighthounds4me]

When I worked as a bather for a groomer, here's what we did: use a Neem shampoo first. Soak the coat to the skin (and I mean SOAK the dog), thne use the shampoo in a very concentrated form. We used Nature's Specialties Neem shampoo: http://www.naturesspecialtiesmfg.com/cgi-bin/index.php5?section=products&department_id=1&category_id=1&&prodDets=1&product_id=12 . It's hard to find, but it works really well. The dilution ratio on the bottle says 8:1, but we'd used it even more concentrated (say, 4:1). Drench the dog, work it to the skin, then let it sit for at least 10 minutes.

Then we'd use a commercial skunk odor remover (I think it was Nature's Miracle), again, soaking the dog. As was said above, DO NOT rinse this off the dog! That will defeat the purpose. Odor Terminator http://www.naturesspecialtiesmfg.com/cgi-bin/index.php5?section=products&prodDets=1&product_id=58&probsrc=68 , is another one by Nature's Specialties, but I have never used it.

Then let the dog air dry.

I have heard other remedies, but this seems to work well.

I agree, though, if at all possible, don't shave him. The coat is there for protection against heat, as well as cold, and his coat texture will not be the same when it comes back. It will feel prickly, and won't be pleasant.

Best of luck!!

[*LabLoverKEB*]

How is handsome Boone doing today? Is the smell gone?