Eau de Skunk issue.

[Mark & Andrea Jones]

Yeah, I know that this is not the best forum to post a question about training a dog, but I just know that there are dog lovers/trainers around here somewhere. I'm hoping to get some creative suggestions along with the other ones.

I have a 3.5 year old Catahoula Leopard Dog. She is a great dog. She loves people. She loves most other dogs. She does not get super assertive (though she does have her moments with other dogs more submissive than she is). Very smart (smart enough to ignore me when she wants to. . . . .) and extremely intelligent. She goes with me everywhere - to work, home, to the store, to the bank (she is well-loved by the bank tellers), etc. She is a rescued dog and I've had her for almost exactly two years now.

Her one BIG issue is that she LOVES to chase rabbits and squirrels. I don't think she would know what to do with one if she caught it, though. This is usually fine as far as I am concerned - except when she mistakes (intentionally or not) a small, black/white critter for something that she just has to chase. She got "skunked" for the first time in Sept, then another time in October (when I started seeing several of them around the neighborhood), and the third time was this morning - at 6 am on the side of the road in our development. Go figure. Fortunately, I was upwind of the confrontation.

I can tell you very definitively that tomato paste/juice/etc does NOT work (other than turning her coat orange) and that the formula for skunk odor of 1 qt of hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 c of baking soda, and water works very well. I have now taken to keeping at least 1 qt hydrogen peroxide in the house at all times because I just don't know when I'll need it. However, it looks like I need to start keeping it beside the back door.

Does anyone have experience with a dog that just won't learn to leave polecats alone? She seems to act that she is threatened by them and whenever she sees them, she actively goes after them to get them to leave her "territory". This behavior is not unusual as she does the same thing to rabbits/squirrels/cats she doesn't know/etc. After she got sprayed this AM, she walked away from it, shook her head several times, and kept on trotting up the hill. It wasn't by design, but she ran right up to the skunk before I even realized it was there. At first, I even hoped that she hadn't been "skunked", but that notion was very quickly proven wrong. I am hoping that she finally learned her lesson, but there is no guarantee of that.

So here I am sitting here at work and being very glad that this is not a busy time of the year for me (no clients in my office). The downside is that I have to smell the remnants of this odor all day long - and we are traveling for Turkey Day this year. Any suggestions? I have considered asking Santa for a training collar for her for Xmas (when she is chasing rabbits / squirrels in the thickets, she is completely oblivious to outside commands), but I'm not sure that will help for something like this.

Here is a pic. Any thoughts?

AJ

[M B Hamilton]

AJ, can't tell if you're asking one question or two, but... once a dog has been "skunked" save your tomato juice for use as a mixer. Best solution I know of is any of the commercially manufactured "feminine hygiene" products.

As for avoiding the encounters, the most reliable solution is to prevent it from happening, i.e. dog on leash. With any animal off leash it becomes a case of "how good a trainer are you", and in that one at some point we all fail.

Training collar alone won't help with a dog off leash unless the dog has first learned the routine on leash.

Basically, you want your dog to recognize that you are the leader and see themselves as the follower (basic relationship). Once that is established you're just teaching them to do things on command (on a leash). Off leash is later, often much later.

Anyhow, a quick trip to the pharmacy for a bottle of Massengill should take care of any remaining skunk odor on your dog in time for Thanksgiving, and you won't turn her orange colored in the process.

[robertaw]

I have a 3.5 year old Catahoula Leopard Dog.

We have one of these dogs mixed with German Shepherd. She also loves to chase and it seems to be the main goal of her life.

She is not on a leash becasue we live on 4 wooded, fenced acres that she and the other dogs have the run of.

Thankfully we have not had any skunk encounters yet!

[planovet]

Prevention? As stated, keep the dog on a leash. Barring that, sounds like the dog keeps asking for it. Some dogs never learn.

Good recipe for skunk spray.

ONE SIXTEEN OUNCE BOTTLE OF H2O2
ONE REGULAR SIZE BOX OF BAKING SODA
THREE TBSPs OF DAWN DISH DETERGENT
DO NOT USE WATER!!!
MIX AND POUR OVER THE ANIMAL
LATHER AND LET SIT FOR TEN MINUTES
RINSE WITH WARM WATER
REPEAT.
(You can also add 1 tbsp of peppermint concentrate.)

As mentioned before, Massengil powdered formulation is also good at removing the smell.

[tonyj]

Been there, done that. Jake used to love tomato juice, and he thought those black and white kitties were just obliging him when they would stop to raise their tail so he could sniff their butt! He never learned.

It is hard to keep a country dog on a leash or in a fence. The only thing I can think of would be to do the same aversion training they do to "snake proof" a dog. It's done with a strong shock collar. You will have to let the dog get close to the skunk, then shock it. Maybe by the second or third time they will make the association that they should avoid that animal.

I know--I hate shocking an animal. But if it will train them so it will save their life (skunks can carry nasty diseases), I have no problem with that training. When I had Jake "snake-proofed", he squealed like a stuck pig when he got shocked, and on the second approach to the snake, he gave it a wide berth.

[Mark & Andrea Jones]

As for avoiding the encounters, the most reliable solution is to prevent it from happening, i.e. dog on leash. With any animal off leash it becomes a case of "how good a trainer are you", and in that one at some point we all fail.

That's just it, she IS on leash. I just don't keep her on a tight leash. This sounds like I have no control over her, but this ONLY happens when she sees the aforementioned varmits. Other than that, she is very good on a leash. <sigh> I guess I'll just have to keep working on managing this.

I haven't tried the Massengill, but that may be in the works. The peroxide and baking soda took care of almost all of it. I wouldn't have been able to bring her to work if it didn't. Its just that lingering odor I need to get rid of . . . . .

I have talked to a number of people about dogs and skunks and what I have "found out" is that there are usually two types of dogs (with some variation). One that gets skunked once, never forgets, and will never go near another skunk for the rest of its life. And there is the other type that seems to not mind the skunk odor much at all and keep going back for more. I seem to have found a dog that isn't incapacitated by the eau de skunk - and may even like it in small doses. I am hoping to hear from someone who has a similar type of dog and whether or not they have been able to "break" them of that habit. And, if so, what worked?

Robertaw: All I can say is that it is only a matter of time. Research the skunk remediation recipes ahead of time (ie. there are several of them online - print them out!) and keep some peroxide on hand. When it happens, you'll be glad that you have it.

AJ

[Aaron Coffee]

Sitting here reading this I could swear I smelled skunk. I live on a farm and have a whippet that spends most of its time outside, it likes to kill squirrels, cats, possums, and I think it did kill a woodchuck, but I don't think it has tangled with a skunk yet, actually haven't seen many around but I know they must be here, as we are surrounded by trees, unless the coyotes keep them away.

[Mark & Andrea Jones]

Been there, done that. Jake used to love tomato juice, and he thought those black and white kitties were just obliging him when they would stop to raise their tail so he could sniff their butt! He never learned.

It is hard to keep a country dog on a leash or in a fence. The only thing I can think of would be to do the same aversion training they do to "snake proof" a dog. It's done with a strong shock collar. You will have to let the dog get close to the skunk, then shock it. Maybe by the second or third time they will make the association that they should avoid that animal.

I know--I hate shocking an animal. But if it will train them so it will save their life (skunks can carry nasty diseases), I have no problem with that training. When I had Jake "snake-proofed", he squealed like a stuck pig when he got shocked, and on the second approach to the snake, he gave it a wide berth.

I agree. I hate the idea of using a shock collar, but I may have to do that at some point. It is a method to use, if nothing else works.

Thanks for the suggestion.

AJ

[M B Hamilton]

Where are you walking and at what time? What length leash and type of collar are you using? This sounds like those skunks are fairly close in, is that correct? Do you do anything to keep your dog's attention on you during your walks?

Sorry, just questions this time.

Mark[/quote]

[madjack]

...I have no suggestion beyond what has already been mentioned...but know this...these dogs come from my neck of the woods and are very strong willed. They are born and bred to HUNT and CATCH...it is in their blood to do so and breaking them of it is a tough thing to accomplish. Around here they were used to hunt and catch wild and free range hogs and are VERY GOOD at that job...it can be hard to make them strictly pets and house dogs because of this...they are an excellent breed and are very loyal(and sometimes overprotective) to their owners so patience, work and love may help(maybe).....
madjack

[swissarmygirl]

MJ is right. That behavior has been bred into those dogs and when the drive is strong like that it is next to impossible to change.
One thing we did with dogs at the shelter who would chase things like bunnies and cars was to "redirect" them and try to get them more interested in their leash walking and moving forward. Of course it was never easy, and some dogs were much more difficult than others.

[madjack]

...a little more info on the dog you have...like I stated, these dogs originated in my neck of the woods, when the Bull Mastiffs that the Spanish explorer DeSoto brought with him when he explored this area...the dog you have is a descendant of these dogs, crossbred with the Red Wolf which had been semi-domesticated by the local Indian tribes...here is a link with more info http://www.bulldoginformation.com/catah ... opard.html ...and http://www.catahoulaleopard.com/homepg.htm ...and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catahoula_Cur
madjack

[Mark & Andrea Jones]

Madjack: Thanks for the links. In my searches over the years for information on the dogs, I have also found this site http://www.abneycatahoulas.com/ which is very comprehensive in some of the genetic information on the dogs, too. There is even an interesting theory on how the breed was developed by "culling" the dogs. Not pretty, but interesting. Anyone who is interested in the breed would find Mr. Abney's website very informative.

You're right. She is very smart and VERY hardheaded. I guess I'm just going to have to be harder-of-the-head than SHE is. Persistance and Patience - and keeping her away from the black & white critters. . . . . That means no more being half awake when I walk her at 5:45 am. <sigh>

Swissarmygirl: I've tried the redirecting, but that seems to work TOO well. Food is the only thing that will redirect her and then she isn't interested in "doing her business" - just the treats.

M B Hamilton: The skunk on Monday AM was less than 15 feet from me and I didn't even see it until it was too late - Caitie did, though. As I said earlier, fortunately I was upwind of the varmit. I generally walk her around the neighborhood when I get up at 5:30 am and before bedtime between 8 and 10 pm. So, yes, its dark when I walk her around home. And I do carry a flashlight. Most times when I have seen the varmits over the last two months, it is during the evening walk. This was unusual to see one in the AM so I just wasn't expecting it.

I gave her another bath of peroxide and baking soda this AM and this time her collar got soaked well - and subsequently foamed up strongly, so I guess that's where most of the odor was coming from. It seems to be mostly gone today.

AJ

[Chris D]

Go to pet smart and buy a bottle of skunk-off. take said Dawg to a self service car wash fill bucket as label recomends and walla no mo skunky smell. Now do not spray dog with the pressure washer. My guy would gets skunked about 3 time a year. Big dummy

Chris D

[M B Hamilton]

Hello again, AJ - when I read madjack's first post I was struck with how familiar the behavior/temperament he described sounded. I have a kennel full of a primitive breed (Inuit Sled Dog) that I live and work with daily. So, maybe I understand a something about what you're going through.

Establishing the leader/follower relationship with the ISD is essential. But it's a large, powerful dog with an seemingly unnatural ability to focus on something. You cannot establish yourself as leader by force, what you really need is to get into their heads. One tool I use is a training leash and collar and the "crazy walk."

I start out and suddenly turn 90º to the left (crashing right into them if they aren't paying attention. And if you do, don't stop walking and wait for them to figure it all out. Just keep going, and keep talking to the dog to encourage them). Then maybe a quick 180º to the right. Then slow down to just slightly faster than stopped. Then, up to speed and a quick 90º to the right. It just goes on like that for a while. What it does is (a) compel the dog to pay attention to where you are going and (b) helps establish you as the leader and the dog as the follower. It also comes to be recognized by the dog as work, work that they will come to enjoy and benefit from.

Sue and I are consistent. The dogs know that the rules are the rules, no matter which one of us is with them.

We give the dogs work they can do with us (well, that one's easy for about half the year, we're dog sledders. But the rest of the year we find tasks for them to do as well, even if it's just some obedience work or standing still for 5 minutes while we groom them). I'll bet your girl would love having some work element added to your walks. Maybe something as simple as having to carry something in her mouth while you walk (a toy or the morning paper for instance).

I can't speak as to your breed, but I can say that with the ISD this kind of behavior is a lifetime proposition. The training ends up affecting you as much as the dog.

Mark