rolling in fish guts.. yum

[IliamnasQuest]

Well, I'm not sure why the dogs do this, but my Trick LOVES smelly things and will roll in dead fish any chance she gets.

I'm not sure if I go along with the second theory (the pack hierarchy one). My little pack has a very strong leader (me) and they never challenge me. Trick is extremely responsive to me and I never have any problems with her. She's a very confident, happy, outgoing dog that listens to me without any argument. She is also dominant over the other four girls for the most part, so I doubt she's rolling in smelly stuff because she's trying to raise her pack status.

But I DO think she LOVES to do it! *LOL* I stopped downriver a ways and went for a walk with her one day, she ran ahead and I looked up just in time to see her drop her shoulder into a pile of dead, spawned-out salmon. I hollered and she jumped up, but the rotted salmon was sticking all over her. I put her in the very back of the van (tied her so she could come forward), opened all the windows and drove home with my head hanging out .. *L*

She's learned to stand still to be washed with the hose and she doesn't even mind the cold water!

I don't have any tips on how to keep them out of stuff like that except to keep them on-leash. They can drop and roll SO darn fast!

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

 

[Snark]

Hmmmm, haven't heard that theory about hierarchy...

I read somewhere (and I'm sure it's outdated) was that dogs rolled in smelly things (around here, it's deer poo and the occasional cow pie) to cover their scent while hunting. No ulterior motives, no plotting to take over the pack - just didn't want their prey to get wind of them approaching.

 

[laneyandme]

okay my puppy loves to roll in any dead smelly animal she can find. we go out by a lake and today she found a dead fish! it smelled so bad and she got very angry when i took her away from it. any suggestions on how to keep her away.. and i know the obvious one.. keep her on leash. any tricks?
thanks

 

[Barley'sMom]

I share your pain. Barley befriended a dead duck the other day, loves to roll in dog poop (weird, and gross), and also has a penchant for dead fish. When we take him to my father's house on a river, he makes a beeline for the shore to scope it out for whatever may have washed up. It's irresistible to him, the smelly stuff. I don't have any solutions, but will certainly be watching the post! Hey, maybe they'll grow out of it! How old is your pup? (barley is almost 6 mths.)

 

[Crotalus]

I've heard a couple of theories as to why dogs "scent roll". The simplest is that the dog found something cool and smelly, so they are rolling in it in order to bring to cool smell back to the rest of the pack. Possibly so their pack members can find or recognize whatever smelly cool things are out there?

The other theory I have heard is that a dog's scent (or wolf's scent for that matter) has something to do with their heirarchy in the pack. The other members of the pack associate each individual's smell with whatever piece of the pecking order they are in. The theory is that a dog who is trying to move up a rung or two in the pack heirarchy will also try to change his or her scent by rolling in smelly things as part of that process. Kind of like, "Hey look I'm stronger now and worthy to be beta (or alpha etc.), I even smell different!" It has been suggested that dogs who are scent rolling may be signaling to their owners that they are trying to move up the social ladder in the pack. The article I read this in was basing their thoughts heavily on wolf behavior, and mentioned something about a dog trying to move up the ladder and take the place of alpha when he felt insecure about the job his human master was doing. So according to the author of the article, a dog that is rolling in stanky stuff is essentially trying to challenge your authority, or testing your ability to be alpha. He was saying that the way to stop the behavior is not to be all dominant with alpha rolls and things that scare the dog into submission. Instead, he suggested that the role of alpha is protector of the pack, and the dog needs to have confidence in your ability to protect him from harm otherwise he will go into self preservation mode and try to do the job himself. From his point of view, he has a better sense of smell and hearing than you and can detect threats much better. The author suggested games and fun training that build the dog's confidence in your leadership ability as well as building your friendship and trust, in addition to setting firm boundaries, that are gently, but very firmly, enforced when tested.

Then again, maybe both of these theories are way off base. I'm interested in what others have to contribute to this discussion. To me the second one makes a lot of sense, and even if it doesn't stop scent rolling the author made a lot of nice recommendations. I wish I could find that article, it was very fascinating.

 

[laneyandme]

Laney b. is almost 6mths too... but i have a friend who has a dog that's 7 years old and he still does it, but maybe.... i sure hope they grow out of it. i guess there's no real solution, just buy a lot of shampooo .
take care!

 

[laneyandme]

if you could find that article, i'd love to read it. i like what it says though. i love looking at dogs behavior from that perspective. thanks

 

[laneyandme]

Ahhhhh! those DOGS! what you say makes a lot of sense too. i work a lot with laney b. playing connecting games with her and i'm pretty firm, but when she finds out where the goods are, man, she's off. it's pure heaven for her... what to do? i know my car smelled sooooo bad when i got home with her. unfortunetly i don't have a truck.....

 

[brock23]

Anyone see this weeks episode of "Family Guy"? Where they went to the local dump to look for something and Brian the dog couldn't help himself and just started rolling around in the garbage. Then he talked about how disgusted he was at himself than started gleefully rolling in it again.

 

[sparks19]

Teddy enjoys rolling on dead worms and bird poop. He rolled in a fresh bird dropping this morning GROSS

 

[Adrienne]

Anyone see this weeks episode of "Family Guy"? Where they went to the local dump to look for something and Brian the dog couldn't help himself and just started rolling around in the garbage. Then he talked about how disgusted he was at himself than started gleefully rolling in it again.

That was straight hilarious! Gotta love Brian!

I think dogs roll in stinky stuff because it smells wonderful to them, same reason we use smelly shampoo's, bodywashes, lotions, etc. We like it!

 

[Renee750il]

Hmmmm, haven't heard that theory about hierarchy...

I read somewhere (and I'm sure it's outdated) was that dogs rolled in smelly things (around here, it's deer poo and the occasional cow pie) to cover their scent while hunting. No ulterior motives, no plotting to take over the pack - just didn't want their prey to get wind of them approaching.

Bimmer does that before hunting. If there's nothing to roll in, he'll find a mud puddle (around here they generally are cow-scented ) and lay down and soak his belly before he goes.

You want to talk gross? How about walking up on the dogs when they're eating a nice, fresh pile of afterbirth?