# Rolling in Poop!



## Guest (Feb 17, 2009)

I know there's a poop-eating thread here on the forum, but how about dogs that simply cannot resist rolling in poop?

Savannah, my shepherd cross, does that and it is really annoying. 

Seems like every time she spots a fresh mound of soft poo, she just has to roll in it.

Does anyone have any idea why dogs do this? I understand some dogs like to roll in the grass, or in the leaves, even in the snow. But roll in poop? Aren't dogs supposed to be clean animals?


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

You gotta understand that dogs just don't view poop the way we do. :smile: I used to have 2 Goldens who immediately after returning home from the groomers would look for and find something stinky to roll in. They usually didn't roll but would rub the side of their face, neck, and shoulder in it.

I think the good smells that they picked up at the groomers were offensive to them and they wanted to cover it up and usually did a good job of covering. :smile: They would do this with not only poop but also dead and decaying critters.


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## lorih1770 (Jun 17, 2008)

Ewww! Dead animals? When we lived by the lake my dogs would try to roll on the dead fish on the beach. 

What about a dog that just doesn't mind if he steps in it? Every other dog I've ever had avoided stepping in their poo except the Saint Bernard I have now. He can't go out in the yard and there might only be one little, tiny pile in the whole yard and every time he steps in it and comes back in with it smashed between his toes. It's soooooo irritating! Luckily he loves the bath and I make him go straight to the tub to wash his feet, but it's still a PIA.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Sometimes it's a breed thing. Chows are notorious for being extremely prissy and are housebroken almost from birth. They go to the farthest corner of the yard to do their business and will not even pee on a walk. Rocky will hold it for the entire walk and then rush to the back yard as fast as he can before he explodes! My other boy chow was the same way. They don't even mark territory or anything. But Lhasa Apsos are little pigs. They'll step in poo, mash it around, and are impossible to housebreak. They'd just as soon get yelled for going in the house as to go outdoors. Having one of each now is a joke. Rocky thinks Chelsy is disgusting sometimes and he's the puppy!


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## Lovemymunchkins (Feb 3, 2009)

None of my dogs do this but, my sister has a Boxer who LOVES to do this....he particularly enjoys rolling in cat poop if he can find it 
My sister has yet to find a way to stop him from doing this but...he does seem to be less likely to do it if he doesn't smell "clean". By that, I mean, when he has just had a bath, if she lets him out he will go and roll in ANYTHING. Where as, if she keeps him inside for a while and he calms down a bit, he is less likely to do it...it does still happen sometimes though....sorry I don't have any helpful information for you...


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## TippysMom (Oct 3, 2008)

lorih1770 said:


> What about a dog that just doesn't mind if he steps in it? Every other dog I've ever had avoided stepping in their poo except the Saint Bernard I have now. He can't go out in the yard and there might only be one little, tiny pile in the whole yard and every time he steps in it and comes back in with it smashed between his toes. It's soooooo irritating! Luckily he loves the bath and I make him go straight to the tub to wash his feet, but it's still a PIA.


Tee hee - maybe he likes the baths so much that he's doing it intentionally to get you to bathe him! :biggrin:


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## ChattyCathy (Nov 22, 2008)

LabbieMama said:


> I know there's a poop-eating thread here on the forum, but how about dogs that simply cannot resist rolling in poop?
> 
> Savannah, my shepherd cross, does that and it is really annoying.
> 
> ...


I remember reading somewhere that dogs roll in poop for a couple of reasons... if they just had a bath, they may roll in poop because they don't like their scent (In this case you could ask for an unscented shampoo and no perfume be sprayed on them -- I think the smell is for our benefit anyways!) Another is, it's like catnip is to cats... they just "love" it. Who knows why.

I also remember something about if they roll in a dead carcass or something like that they are trying to cover their smell so that they can hunt for other animals -- not sure on this one though -- I can't remember 100%.

One of my dogs many years ago rolled in another animals poops and it took me forever to get the smell off. That equates to a double yuck for me!!!! And, after that I made sure to keep up w/cleaning any poop before they found it. Now, I only have to worry about one of my dogs eating her poop. She goes through phases... sometimes she'll eat it other times no. Who knows why they do these things. It's just annoying to us.

Although this is about a cat... I think it may explain it too. One of my cats had to get shampooed as he had a bad case of ringworm and after many months and many shampoos later we let him into the "general population" of the house and his sister would hiss at him because he didn't smell like himself. It took awhile for him to get his scent back. I even used towels we used to give him our scent to stop the hissing. Therefore, I believe the rolling in poop for your dog is about scent.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

LabbieMama said:


> I know there's a poop-eating thread here on the forum, but how about dogs that simply cannot resist rolling in poop?
> 
> Savannah, my shepherd cross, does that and it is really annoying.
> 
> ...


Where is she spotting the poop and rolling exactly? If it's in your own yard, it seems like it should be fairly easy to control this one, just make sure you pick up your yard and keep it clean as often as possible. If it's outside of your yard, just keep her on a leash until she learns to "leave it" when you tell her to. 

Another thing I've noticed (and I'm not trying to push raw on you I swear) is that my yeast infection-eared, older shepherd mix started eating poop but only my roommate's kibble-fed dog's poop. She doesn't eat the raw food poop (which is hard and crumbly and probably not nearly as deliciously flavorful in I'm sure). Raw poop has less of a smell that may be attracting your dog to use it to cover her scent with it and it's not as squishy and "luxurious" to roll in, I'm sure. 

Kati also loves to roll her self on the carpet and scratch her ears and whole back on in it. I call it her break dancing! Thank goodness she doesn't do this too much outside or she'd be getting bathed a lot more often (which she doesnt mind in the slightest, weird ol' dog).


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2009)

rannmiller said:


> Where is she spotting the poop and rolling exactly?



She is weird in that she only likes the soft poo of other dogs, not her own. She doesn't roll in poop in our yard but she will roll in the leaves and on the grass / snow. I guess she just can't resist the smell of another dogs' soft poo.

She doesn't like the scent she gets at the groomer's so I gather she must be trying to get her "dirty dog scent" back.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Hmm maybe you can just ask the groomers to use non-scented shampoo and maybe do the whole keeping her on a leash and teaching her to "leave it" thing.


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## domari (Jun 17, 2008)

I'll never forget when one of my dogs was covered in what I thought was mud. After I touched her I realized it wasn't mud, but that she rolled in a nice fresh pile of cow plop!! She loved rolling in whatever gross things she could find, dead animals were another favorite. 

Now I have a dog that loves to roll on the ground under the bird feeders where I have suet hanging. I don't know if she likes to roll in the suet that falls to the ground, or if it's the smell of the squirrels, birds, and whatever little critters go to eat the birdseed on the ground. Every time I let her out, she rolls and wiggles under the bird feeders, so something there must be of interest to her.


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