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Chances are that sometime in your lifetime, you will have a dog that gets skunked. How will you be able to tell? Take my word for it, if it happens, you'll know!

How hard it will be to deskunk your dog will depend upon a number of variables:

• The type of fur your dog has
• If they took a direct hit, or just a passing blow
• How potent the skunk oil is
• The products you happen to have handy

If you can smell, this is not an option, especially if the dog got a good dose. Even in the middle of winter, with all your windows and doors tightly sealed, your entire house will quickly begin to stink of skunk.

• Whoa to the kind hearted fool who lets a skunked dog into a house before it has been deskunked. Any rug, fabric, plastic, or other creatures that they come into contact with will be infected with the odor.
• Take care not to get any of the skunk oil on your skin or you'll need to be deskunked as well! The use of disposal rubber gloves is recommended.

Everyone who has ever had to deskunk a dog has their own theory as to what works best, and there are a variety of cures bandied about.

• If the dog has been heavily soaked with the skunk oil, you may need to repeat the treatment several times. In addition, your dog may still have a distinctive skunk odor every time it gets wet, for about a year.

Strange as it may be, what works for one dog, does not always work for another, even within the same 'family'. This may have something to do with variations in their coats, or merely that one got it worse than another did.

Several companies market deskunking products, such as Skunk Kleen, Odor Mute, and Skunk Off. Their effectiveness varies, as does their availability. Their biggest draw back is availability. If your dog gets skunked, you do not have the time to go to the store to buy something.

• The quicker you get your dog's odor neutralized, the shorter the time he has to rub up against things, spreading the stench.

Wash your dog with dish soap. Next rub your dog all over with vinegar or lemon juice mixed equally with water, being careful not to get any in your dog's eyes. Be forewarned lemon juice can act like bleach and may lighten the color of your dog's coat. Let stand for ten minutes, then rinse. Re-wash your dog with the dish soap. Repeat until the odor is tolerable.

If you happen to have deep pockets, soak your dog in buttermilk, then shampoo.

Soak your dog in tomato soup or tomato juice. If the dog will not cooperate to being soaked, pour tomato juice over it, making sure that it is soaked to the skin. Alternatively, you can rub all over with raw tomatoes. Keep the dog covered for at least fifteen minutes and then rinse and bathe as normal. Be careful if you are doing this in the house, one shake and you'll be cleaning tomatoes off your ceiling for years.

• Much like lemon juice, this cure can lighten the color of your dog's coat, or possibly even turn it orange. No matter how you look at it, it has to be better than the dog smelling like a skunk!

Mix one quart of Hydrogen Peroxide (3% solution) with a ¼ cup of baking soda and a squirt of dish soap. This treatment will lighten your dog's coat. Make sure that you wear gloves while applying this cure or your skin may be burned or lightened. Slather your dog with this mixture and let stand for ten minutes and rinse. Don't let the mixture get into your dog's eyes.

• If their collar or leash got skunked, soak them in this mixture.

Soak the dog with mouthwash.

Use a douche, such as Massengill. Dilute the product with water and bathe your dog with it.