It’s a weird sight for humans to see a dog rolling in poo, so it is important to try and keep it on a leash when going for a walk.Ever pondered over this stinky behavior seen among dogs? It’s fine when wild dogs behave in this way, but it seems to become much harder for humans as soon as your pet dog starts to roll in smelly poo.It’s annoying when your neat and clean dog starts rolling in poop or other gross things. Do they have different ideas of what smells bad? Or is there an explanation for what causes this? Everything your dog does is cute except for their extreme fascination for garbage. You find them digging through and rolling over stinky stuff. Does it feel like rolling over grass? This wild act in dogs has been a cause of headaches for dog owners, especially when their dogs start walking around the house with carcasses rolled around them. You can train the dog to stop rolling over things by keeping their movements controlled around disgusting garbage. What seems to be hard days of lathering up the dog in shampoos and long baths can be prevented by paying close attention when they are playing outside. Read on to understand the reason behind the inclination of pet dogs to roll in poop. Afterward, also read why do dogs roll in dead animals and why do dogs roll on their backs.Why do dogs roll in other dog and animal poop?The pungent smell activates a rolling instinct in your dog. That is the simple answer to why dogs roll in it. Even though there is no accurate reason as to why the stinky scent prompts such a rolling response, there are some theories to explain this.Your dog might be trying to hide its own scent. It is a form of camouflage for them. Other wild animals like wolves are seen doing this same rolling action over poop to hide their own smell. Wolves don’t want their prey to sense them and run away, so they camouflage themselves in order to hunt their prey. This same instinct to hide their scent causes dogs to roll in feces or other garbage. Although the reasons for such actions in dogs and wolves are different, they are both seen doing this action. Maybe the dogs are trying to leave their own scent behind by rolling in poop. You might be familiar with this action seen among dogs. They like to claim their territory by urinating on everything, which might be the reason that your dog is rolling over poop. As a means to mark their territory on things with a pungent odor, they might roll in carcasses. This type of marking lets the other dogs know that this place has already been investigated by someone else.Why do dogs roll in their own poop?It’s one thing when your dog rolls in nasty stuff, but why do they roll in their own poop? Since dogs are very sensitive to smell, anything with a pungent odor invokes curiosity in them. Since their own poop smells stinky, it’s hard to go unnoticed.Sometimes dogs roll in it to get attention. They might have noticed that whenever they roll in their own poop, their beloved owner snatches them away for a long bath. In order to get attention, it is possible for your dog to repeat this action. As a way of letting others know that this is their poop, dogs might roll over poop to leave their scent. It is a primitive way of claiming territory. Dogs fail to realize that rolling over poop is causing a hard time for their owners.Why do dogs love stinky things?It’s not that dogs love stinky things, sometimes they are curious about the stinky odor. What we consider gross might not be so for them. The perfume that we think smells good might annoy your dog. It’s hard to determine whether they love poop, or if it is an instinct for them to roll around in nasty things.Among the various theories to explain why dogs love stinky things, one is that by rolling over smelly stuff, they let others know where they have been. It’s a way of showing what they’ve encountered on their way. Wild dogs used to do this to let their pack know where they’ve been. This trait is passed on as an instinct to your pet dog also. In the case of domesticated dogs, they want to let their owner know where they’ve been, even if the owner is not very keen to know. Sometimes the carcasses become a means of getting rid of their boredom. Your dog might find rolling over poop a perfect way to engage themselves. It doesn’t bother them that this activity causes you to lather the dog in shampoo to get rid of the scent! It’s hard to cope with the fact that your dog has stinky preferences in life.How do I stop my dog from rolling in poop?Now that we know why dogs roll in poop and other smelly stuff, how do we stop this behavior? It’s particularly hard if your dog plays outdoors often. Still, there are certain actions done by dogs before rolling over poop. If you can identify these actions, preventing them from this wild behavior becomes somewhat easy.Some dogs are seen focusing on the smelly things before rolling around. Others will practice the rolling before actually doing it. If you find your dog preparing for a roll in poop or other smelly remnants, give them a strict order to abandon the action. It takes a while for your dog to understand the order, but eventually, they will reduce this wild behavior. Training them to understand this command is definitely worth it. Distract them every time they start to roll over in something smelly. Another method to stop this rolling behavior is to put them on a shorter leash when going outdoors. This way, the dogs won’t escape from your vision and you can ensure they are not rolling in garbage. That being said, it’s always a great idea to stock up pet-safe cleaning products in the house since you’ll never know when your dog will go on a little adventure by themselves.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for why do dogs roll in poop, then why not take a look at why do dogs like squeaky toys, or Pekingese Pomeranian mix facts?
It’s a weird sight for humans to see a dog rolling in poo, so it is important to try and keep it on a leash when going for a walk.
