# Why do they roll on top of smelly things?



## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

I never understood why dogs do this. Ruby usually finds dead worms and then has to roll on top of them. 

Enjoy the video of her doing this over and over......

http://s664.photobucket.com/albums/vv4/kimney_01/?action=view&current=MAH00160.mp4


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## Aimless1 (Sep 25, 2011)

Great video 

Owned dogs for 35 years and I've never understood the behavior ... but they all do it!


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Best explanation I have been given.

Wild dogs are predators that have succeed throughout history by attacking their prey.

They need to sneak up as close as they could before attacking full force. This is how they could catch faster animals. 

Problem was (is) dogs do have a distinctive scent that prey animals instinctually know how to recognize.

By the dogs rubbing their coats in other odors, whether dead fish, squirrel, cow poop, or any other non-predatory animal smell, they mask their own.

When they are rubbing in nature, it is instinctual to do this. Around the house it might be just to scratch an itch.

Wonder of nature. Remember. They are hunting dogs for a reason.

RBD
http://redbirddog.blogspot.com


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Wow, good answer. I read some cats lick off any human smells if handled a lot but dogs are more efficient this way... ;D

Interesting also because I never witnessed a German Shepherd do this.... is it because they are a herding breed? Sam, our V. LOVES to roll around in horse poop. WOW, even a little smell a lot.


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## Matt (Sep 4, 2011)

I've seen Shepherds do it! We have a Mali (Belgian Shepherd) at the off-leash dog park and he always rolls around in something... right before Matt : ;D


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Loved the video of Ruby putting on her perfume. Aren't they just a riot?! Very cute! 

Once long ago I had a Harrier (looks like a large Beagle), and I also had next-door neighbors who raised hogs. You can guess the rest. That hog poop smell is soooo bad! Many times I had to drop everything to give my dog a bath...  Yuck!


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

I've heard the same explanation that *redbirddog* offered earlier. Sophie rarely does it outside, just on the carpet in the living room; however, her bestie GSP does this quite often.


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## littlebit (Oct 15, 2011)

Cute video. Both my vizsla and the cocker spaniel love to find deer poop and roll in it.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Oh my god! Copper, my son and I were Salmon fishing on Sunday. Copper finds a dead salmon carcass and rolls in it. He spent most of the day in the woods and fields looking for prey. He also went swimming while we were fishing. After a few hours on the river we decided to get into the truck and relocate. Let me tell you.....it was very hard to keep the vomit down. The smell was unbelievable!  Why he wanted to do that I don't know. :-\


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## ironman_stittsville (Oct 12, 2011)

My Phoebe finds every dead bird and field mouse she can and does a "shoulder-drop & roll" technique to get the scent evenly distributed over her whole coat.

Smells like death when I bring her home. I usually brush her really well rather than bathing her because it happens every week and I don't like to bathe her that often, her skin dries out and she scratches the **** out of herself.


Rh.


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

We were up at the cottage this summer and Kian was in the bush. He snooted, stopped, dropped and rolled to his heart's content. I yelled at him to stop but he looked so happy.
He walked over to me and there was nothing on him, or so I thought. As he got closer I caught a wiff, I just about vomited. He was wet on his neck and back. 
I immediately grabbed a hold of him got my GF's mother to grab some soap, walked him into the lake and poured it all over him. THen literally picked him up and threw him in to rinse off.
My GF came over an hour later and was still gagging. We had to wash him 2 more times to get the stink out.

Now we are wondering what it was? Raccoon urine, bear urine or deer urine.
All I can say was that the odour was extremely strong and he had quite the wet spot on his back so it leads me to believe it was a large animal.

Whatever it was, it was disgusting. Why any animal would want to roll in that is beyond me.


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

redbirddog said:


> By the dogs rubbing their coats in other odors, whether dead fish, squirrel, cow poop, or any other non-predatory animal smell, they mask their own.


don't our dogs know that V's don't stink?!?!?! lol


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