dog ate something that stinks!!!

Question
Hi, this is about the 3rd time this year this has happened and we are at a complete loss to it's cause.

Our dog has eaten/bitten into something that has caused her to salivate profusely and that smells incredibly bitter and overpowering...she came in through her doggy door and the smell was so powerful it woke us up out of our sleep.  The back yard also reeks from the smell.  
It's difficult to describe the smell but very bitter and ????, so bad that I could still smell it on me when I went to work and it made me feel ill.  Not so much because it may be toxic but more so because the smell was so strong I could taste it all day.
I told her to go outside and she dug in the dirt trying to rub the smell/taste from her mouth.  The saliva would just drip from her mouth.  She doesn't show any other physical signs of being sick.  
The last two times this occured, the smell stuck around even after washing her.
It sure doesn't smell like a skunk got her because I would describe the skunk smell as 'sweeter'.  Also, the smell was coming just from her mouth like she had eaten/bit something.
I can't find any signs of other animals or insects so we have no idea what has caused this to happen again.
Any ideas?
I read someone who asked you the same question and you suggested it could be a skunk, but if so, would it be rare to have 3 direct hits to our dogs mouth and not to any other part of her?  This has happened to her at least 3 times now.

Answer
Freshly sprayed skunk smell is not sweeter. It is bitterly acrid and will make anyone salivate. The smell is coming from her mouth because she gets hit in the face full force with the spray. Skunks aim for the face and usually hit the mark.

It is not 'rare' at all for this to happen over and over. It is also very dangerous. Skunks carry rabies, period. So a dog that is always attacking skunks is going to get bit sooner or later. That puts you and them at risk-risk of death. So make sure your dog is up-to-date on all if her vaccinations.

There are no other animals that spray like a skunk. Skunks only spray when they feel threatened- so your dog is having a lot of fun corning them or chasing them. Another thing you should know is that once a dog gets skunked or hit with porcupine quills, they go after that animal every time they see one again.
I call it the revenge syndrome. They must be thinking, 'Ah HA! You are the (skunk, porcupine) that got me the last time, so I will GET YOU NOW!!"
which of course results in another bought of being sprayed or a trip to the vet for quill removal.
This is why we have repeat offenders. Your dog is becoming one of them.
So here is a recipe for a skunk removal mix. A chemist at Dow chemical created it and decided to give it away to the world. I have used it once on my dogs at 11pm at night, and it got rid of the spray so well I could stick my nose in their fur and not smell it. They both got hit in the face too, so I know what the smell is like fresh and point blank. It was all over them, sort of yellowish. Gross!

1 cup liquid dish soap.
1/ 4 cup baking soda
1 quart of hydrogen peroxide.

Put on gloves as this burns a little to our skin. Put ointment or vaseline in the dogs eyes to protect them. Wash the dog first with any kind of shampoo you can grab, but dog shampoo is preferable.

Mix the ingredients together and pour slowly over the dog, covering the eyes with one hand as you go. I used my hand to pat it on the dog's heads. Let sit on the hair coat for about 7 minutes. (this is the hardest part of all).

Then rinse very thoroughly and then rinse again. Make sure NONE of this is left on the skin.
Dry the dog with towels.

You might want to start leaving your dog in at night. That helps with the repeating offenses.
Good luck!