You'd Think They'd Learn!

It's been coming for some time now.

Yes, Sammy is back in his "bad boy" collar again.

On occasion, Sammy turns a deaf ear on us and stops listening.

He stays out late...goodness knows where he goes,

and usually he comes home wreaking.

Friday night (before Saturday's early departure for the Penn State game)

Sammy came home after an hour of us calling, calling, calling...

at midnight.

"Tap-tap-tap" we heard at the back door.

As the door opened, our senses were assaulted by the intensely acrid

stench of skunk.

Apparently, Sam had tangled with a skunk.

I have no idea what shape the skunk was in at the end of this,

but I am pretty sure he unloaded all of his stink glands right onto Sammy...

direct hit in the face and chest and shoulders.

Hubbs grabbed our skunk kit and headed for the shower with Sammy in tow.

Hence....Sammy is wearing his "pager", so I can call him when he needs to come home.

These lovely autumn days we have been hiking our woods

checking our "No Trespassing" signs.

It's something we do each autumn right before hunting season

to keep hunters out of our woods.

Hiking the woods is one of the dog's favorite activities.

Sadly, Maddie is too arthritic to come along, so we take a short walk with her first...

and then head out with just the boy dogs.

They love to run through the woods with their noses to the ground,

following the scents of critters.

Having Sammy's "pager" on him helps to get them back to us without hassle.

You will be happy to know that I only "beep" him and he comes...

no need for a shock.

He's a smart boy...

just having the collar on automatically makes him behave.

In case you are interested in the contents of our skunk kit...

Tecnu

hydrogen peroxide

baking soda

dish detergent

baby shampoo

First we spread a handful of Tecnu on the dog (dry) in the area he was sprayed.

Then we mix a quarter cup of baking soda with a liter of peroxide and a tsp. of dish detergent.

We use this to bathe the dog...covering him with the entire amount.

Lather all of that into his fur.

Rinse.

Repeat the bathing if necessary.

Then wash entire dog with baby shampoo and rinse.

This routine always works for us...

and believe me this is a 2 - 4 times per spring and fall routine!

*Tecnu is a skin cleaner made to use after poison ivy exposure, or radiation exposure, etc.

We have found that it helps to break down the skunk spray.

Even without the Tecnu, the above concoction works quite well.