Dog Rolling In Poo

[sandyRoe]

any ideas why it would do this? That was the first time today.

[grasscarp]

quite natural apparently
http://www.pedigree.com/all-things-dog/article-library/why-do-dogs-roll-in-smelly-things.aspx
thank you for sharing this with us sandy!

[Old_Geezer]

I expect their nose/brain interface has evolved to be faulty.
Try keeping a nose peg on its snout ;-)

[sandyRoe]

Or on my own snout then it wouldn't matter how it smelt ☺

[Peter Pedant]

.

isnt it instinct ? ( complex voluntary behaviour which is inherited )
Tinbergen was big in this and you can even read a book on something called behavioural ecology

The dog is rolling in poo so as the smell will put off prey when it stalks it
( even tho dogs are mainly carrion feeders )

anyway this was the explanation given by my father in the fifties
and HE had been taught social anthropology by a fellow called Raymond Dart ( not that humans roll in poo that often )

That reminds me - my dog rolled in a rotten fish once
and even people in the street were saying - blimey mate your dog is honking something awful ....

[Peter Pedant]

yeah Old Geezer

My dog 's got no nose !
Oh how does it smell ?
awful !

the old ones are the best

[AlwaysConfused]

My dog used to love rolling in cat poo. I found many theories why. I believe that by smelling like one of them, she was less of a threat to cats, and therefore more likely to catch one should she wish.

[B00]

Sadly it's very normal for them to do it.

You aint smelt nothing like your dog when it's found an old rotting sheep carcass and blissfully rolled in that- it's delightful!

[sandyRoe]

I say, I say, I say. My dog's got no nose.
How does he smell?
Awful

It's the way I tell'em

[wolf63]

Just wait until she decides to see how it tastes :-)

[Peter Pedant]

Nice to see you are leading an intellectual thread as eva Sandy !

[sandyRoe]

AB is a broad church, PP. Room for a bit of fun amongst the weighty matters discussed in News and R&S.

[jourdain2]

Even the nicest dogs do it, unfortunately. My dear old lab. once found a dead sheep on the moor, it had been dead quite some time, guess what she did....? It was a fun journey home in the car - a hosepipe awaited!

[Peaspeculiars]

Sandy, I've no idea why, but when mine rolled in Fox poo a while ago a fellow Ab'er gave me a brilliant tip to get the smell out (and yes, it worked) - rub in tomato ketchup or passata into the fur, let it sit in the fur for about 20 mins (dog will need to stay in the garden for a bit), then rinse out.
Worked a treat

[sandyRoe]

The wee dog's already washed but that's a good tip for the future.^

[jennyjoan]

Sandy - Mr Harv done this on a regular basis and I coulda strangled him - particularly I would have said NO NO. No, he done his own thing.

Am baffled tho why he/she is only doing it for the first time.

It is a doggie thing. It comes from the fact dog wants to get rid of its own smell.

[ladybirder]

I don't understand peaspeculiars' answer. Why would you have your dog waiting around for 20 mins stinking of fox poo and covered in tomato sauce and stuck in the garden? The neighbours would be calling the police. Could you imagine what it would look like? Why wouldn't you just take it straight into the bath or shower and wash it out?

[jennyjoan]

I agree with Ladybirder - I wouldn't hang about. Mr Harv was showered right away. By the way he loved rolling around the beach in Holywood - maybe it was a dead seagull or fish. Oh Yuck.

[Peaspeculiars]

It's something in the tomato juice enzymes which react with the fox poo smell apparently ladybirder - and don't worry, the dog wasn't stuck in the back yard on his own, we spent the 20 minutes playing with a tugger toy and doing some training, it wasn't like the scene from a horror movie with ketchup flying everywhere and the neighbours screaming for the police ;-)

[ladybirder]

Ah OK, I'll take your word for it Peas:-))

[Tilly2]

Tilly does it all the time. She is forever flinging herself onto the grass and rolling in some 'delightful' scent.

I use deoderising wipes on her when we get home. They work a treat.