If you are one of the dog owners looking for answers, you are in just the right place.We have gathered all the possible reasons why they roll in smelly things and how you can stop your dog from rolling around in dead animals. This is important for their health.Let’s get started on our journey to discovery! They are our lovely furry friends. Dog keepers often praise the behavior of their canines. They have a natural ability to charm people around them. A dog’s sense of smelling foul odors comes in handy in lots of situations. They have a very strong sense of smell. Domesticated ones love rolling and playing on the ground. They often bug their humans to take them to parks. It’s all well and good until they start digging smelly things from the ground. Even with a leash on it becomes difficult to control canines once some scent catches their attention.Find out more about this canine behavior in this article. To find more, you may also check out why do dogs roll in poop and why do dogs roll on their backs.Why do dogs roll in smelly and gross stuff?As a dog owner, it happens quite often that your dog returns to you looking like it has rolled in all sorts of garbage emanating a disgusting odor. They smell foul and you can’t stop wondering what stinky thing it has found now. Even with a bath and shampoo, getting rid of the funny scent seems impossible. And dog keepers, thus, start to question the behavior of their furry friends.Dogs have a very strong sense of scent and are often attracted to poop, garbage, and even the carcass of a dead animal. They can smell things from a very long distance and are even capable of smelling things that are buried in the ground. This heightened sense of smell in conjunction with the curiosity of those puppy eyes serves to be a terrible nightmare for their humans. Every time you are out on a walk or in the park they are bound to find funny smells which are commonly stinky and roll in whatever is causing the stink.There are a few reasons as to why they would want to roll around in smelly and gross stuff, like a dead animal, even when they are aware that this is going to make them foul-smelling animals. Dog breeders believe by rolling around in smells and rubbing their body in whatever gross and smelly stuff, they could camouflage their smell from the predators. They get the stinky smells on themselves to not let the predators catch their natural scent. Sometimes they wear the stinky smells to bring back the information of whatever is causing the smell to their pack.Similar behavior has been observed in wolves. Whenever a wolf finds something interesting it wants other wolves from the pack to know about, it rolls in that smell and brings it back to other wolves in the pack. This can be information about prey animals, food, feces, dead animal/carcasses, and the like. It helps all other wolves to find this thing their friend has discovered. Such behavior of wild wolves is depicted by dogs. Just like wolves, they also roll in the scents of their fellow pack mates to establish a sense of bonding within all the members. So your pet dog might be bringing in information for your other pet dog when it rolls in gross and stinky stuff.Why do female dogs roll in dead animals?Females have distinguishing behavior from male dogs. Females are maternal and have a soft touch. They like to fiercely protect themselves and their families. Typically, they have stronger instincts compared to males. It is a natural adaptation of females to be more aware of their surroundings.When they are having a litter, all their senses are even more heightened. They can gather information about their surroundings more quickly than males. They think quicker and react even more quickly when they think they or their pups are in danger. Their instincts help them avoid becoming prey and also catch prey whenever necessary. Wild females can be as fierce as the wolves protecting their own.Females are very commonly found to be rolling in dead animals. But the question remains as to why would they want to coat themselves in these foul odors? Females not only roll in dead animals but also feces. The answer to that is quite simple really. They are being protective and hunting at the same time. As you can believe pups are not able to hunt at an early age. They eat what their mother provides them. But it is the responsibility of females to walk their pups through the process of surviving. Pups need to be able to find their food.To conduct their training, females introduce them to distinguishing scents. They initially learn to distinguish the smell of feces from food and so on. A dog’s sense of smell is so strong that it is just a piece of cake for them. Females thus roll in dead animals and bring the remains of the scent back to their families. It is an excellent training exercise for pups to be able to do the same in their future. To bring the remains back to their families, female dogs have to rub themselves on the smelly things and that can be achieved only by rolling.What does it mean when a dog rolls on its back?They just love to play. They have their favorite playing techniques which they use every time they get a chance. One of the most common playing routines is to roll on their backs. We typically don’t mind this behavior when they are safe in their clean houses. But when a dog rolls on its back in the backyard or the public park it becomes a nuisance. They get so dirty and need a bath more often than they should be having.Even though a dog rolling on its back is very cute to observe, the thought of cleaning them afterward is very heavy for dog owners. They on the other hand are carefree and love rolling on their backs. But what is it that makes dogs go wild to roll on their backs?There are several explanations for this behavior. Dog breeders have published studies that explain this behavior of dogs. As it happens, rolling on its back and exposing its belly is a way for dogs to say hello. It is completely non-threatening. Dogs feel that by exposing their belly, they are more likely to make friends with them. They want individuals around them to trust them. Dogs want them to know that they are not going to attack them, they just simply want to play. And a roll on the back is a dog’s way of showing that. Socialized and friendly dogs adapt this technique when they visit new environments and meet new people.This behavior seems acceptable but as dog owners, keep a lookout that your dog is not rolling on its back too frequently. Sometimes, they have an itch that they cannot get rid of hence they keep on rolling on their backs. If your dog has allergies, then you have to pay more attention to their body language. Some itches might be a result of a bug bite but others can be serious infections. Taking your dog to the vet before it’s too late is essential. Another reason that dogs roll on their backs is what we discussed earlier - they want to mask their scents.How do I keep my dog from rolling in dead animals?A dog’s first instinct of catching the scent of remains of dead animals is to rub itself on them. Dogs run towards dead animals and start rolling in them. As much as they seem to enjoy it, dog owners get very irritated. After all, who would want their dog to smell like a carcass! But dogs are stubborn and will run to roll in dead animals every chance they get.Controlling them is very difficult, especially if they are new to your family. But you cannot let your dog roll in dead animals they find lying around. It can cause them health issues if they continue it for extended periods. Let’s see what methods we can implement to keep dogs from rolling in dead animals.The first step in keeping them from rolling in dead animals and poop is to identify the tell signs of them finding such stinky things. Each dog has its individual tell sign. Some dogs rub their nose in the area, some bark at it, some jump in happiness. As dog owners, you have to identify the telling sign of your dog finding a stinky thing to roll in. Once you have identified you can prepare yourself to control them whenever you see the sign. But you might know that controlling a dog without training is very difficult. That is why you should train your dog to react to certain commands.Dog breeders and trainers often suggest using the phrase ’leave it’ to stop your dog from pursuing the thing they are curiously looking at. Leave it training can take days to complete as dogs cannot help themselves but be curious and go snooping around. By successfully training your dog, whenever they find dead animals or poop on your walk, you can tell them to leave it and they’ll walk away. Some dogs are stubborn, however, and require a leash to prevent them from rolling in dead animals.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 dead animals then why not take a look at why do dogs howl when you howl or Peagle facts?
If you are one of the dog owners looking for answers, you are in just the right place.
