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<\/a><\/p>\nThe day is perfect.\u00a0 You and your pup are walking peacefully along the beach and she suddenly runs up ahead.\u00a0 You can see her sniffing something\u2026..and then she\u2019s rolling in the sand like there\u2019s no tomorrow.\u00a0 When you catch up, you see that she\u2019s rolling on a dead fish, or eel, or something that was once swimming happily in the ocean (and by the smell, it was a good while ago!).\u00a0 Why does your otherwise perfect dog like to roll in dead fish? And more importantly how can you discourage the behavior?<\/p>\n
Most dog parents have at some time become familiar with this smelly habit. Whether it’s a bath in cow manure, a plunge into the nearest road kill, or a leisurely massage in a long-gone fish remains at the beach, dogs seem to wear foul scents the way people wear perfume.\u00a0Do they just like the smell? Is it an olfactory disguise their ancestors used when hunting prey downwind?<\/p>\n
While most dog lovers, including myself, haven’t a clue, there are several theories that do make sense.\u00a0 The Senior Curator at Wolf Park in Indiana, Pat Goodmann, spent several years studying the phenomenon, called scent rolling, in the wolves at the semi-natural wolf reserve.<\/p>\n
Why Do Wolves Scent Roll?<\/h4>\n
\u201cScent rolling is probably a way for wolves to bring information back to the pack, \u201d said Goodmann. \u201cWhen a wolf encounters a novel odor, it first sniffs and then rolls in it, getting the scent on its body, especially around the face and neck. Upon its return, the pack greets it and during the greeting investigates the scent thoroughly. At Wolf Park, we’ve observed several instances where one or more pack members has then followed the scent directly back to its origin.\u201d<\/p>\n
This scent smearing ritual isn’t limited to stinky odors. In her studies, Goodmann placed different odors in the wolf enclosures and found that wolves roll in sweet-smelling scents too. Besides rolling in cat feces or urine, elk, mouse, and hog, they also rolled in mint extract, Chanel No. 5, Halt! dog repellent, fish sandwich with tartar sauce, fly repellent, and Old Spice. So the scents aren’t necessarily foul, nor are they ones that wolves necessarily like. Goodmann stated, \u201csome of the Wolf Park wolves object when handlers put fly repellent on their ear tips but these same wolves often scent roll readily in fly repellents manufactured to be sprayed onto horses, provided the scents are sprayed on the ground and left for the wolves to discover.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the explanation that makes the most evolutionary and adaptive sense is that this ritual is an attempt at disguising the dog\u2019s own scent, a leftover behavior from when our domestic dogs were still wild and hunted for a living. If, for instance, an antelope smelled the scent of a wild dog, jackal or wolf, it would likely bolt and run for safety. But prey animals are quite used to the smell of their own droppings, so canines learned to roll in antelope dung or carrion to mask their scent and thereby increase the likelihood of a successful hunt.<\/p>\n
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How to Prevent Dogs from Rolling in Foul Scents?<\/h4>\n
While this foul form of fragrant communication may be fine for wolves, it’s not so fun when it’s your pup that’s sharing The solution to this problem lies in your keen vision and ability as a trainer. Keep your eyes open for things that excite your dog’s nose and before your furbaby is rolling in ecstasy, call her back to your side. Then keep her engaged in fun games and rewards around you so that she forgets the potential stinky fun elsewhere. While the training time for preventing scent rolling<\/em> makes this solution sound tedious, the time saved on needless baths makes the effort easily worthwhile.<\/p>\n Teaching the \u201cleave it\u201d<\/a><\/strong> command can be very helpful in managing your dog\u2019s most odor-inducing\u00a0activities.\u00a0You may need to bring along your dog\u2019s favorite treat when you begin training, which will act as an appropriate reward for avoiding these strong-smelling items.<\/p>\n Even with training, your dog may still roll in “stinkiness” and will\u00a0still manage to get dirty and smelly on occasion. (He is a dog, after all.) \u00a0Bath time will be on the agenda, and Nature’s Miracle products are excellent in removing odors and are formulated with odor neutralizers & deodorizers.<\/p>\n Dead fish:<\/strong> If you spend time with your dog by a pond, lake, or beach, she may anoint herself from time to time with eau de dead fish.<\/p>\n Wash the worst of it off with dog shampoo and water, and rinse well. Then saturate the fishy area with lemon juice \u2013 freshly squeezed works best. Let it soak for five to ten minutes. \u00a0(You can chat with him while you wait. Don\u2019t scold him, he’s just doing dog things.)<\/p>\n Then rinse, shampoo, and rinse again, and apply conditioner according to directions to counteract the drying effect of the lemon juice.<\/p>\n Icky, greasy, who-knows-what gunk:<\/strong> If your dog rolls in foul-smelling things he finds in the yard or on a walk, a bath with Dawn dishwashing liquid will probably remove it. Dawn is often used to clean wildlife that has been exposed to oil and other toxic substances.<\/a>the news. What can you do to discourage this odiferous behavior? According to Goodmann, it’s a hard habit to break. Even if presented with an odor over and over, wolves continue to roll in it. The same goes for dogs.<\/p>\nManaging a \u201cStinky Dog\u201d<\/h4>\n
Safety Concerns<\/h4>\n
<\/a>If the leave it command comes too late and the damage is already done, there may be some safety concerns. Most of the time, your dog\u2019s penchant for rolling around in stinky stuff is unpleasant but harmless. If your pup starts eating some of these \u201cdelicacies,\u201d you definitely need to intervene. A dog that eats the\u00a0remains of an animal, especially rodents, can inadvertently digest a deadly toxin \u2212\u00a0such as rat poison. The dog can also be exposed to parasites and bacteria, including leptospirosis<\/a>. If your dog does ingest a dead animal, contact your veterinarian for guidance and to discuss health risks.<\/p>\nCleaning Up<\/h4>\n
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