Why do my dogs....

[crabo]

like to roll in fresh cow poop? What's up with that?

[D Crockett]

Crabo I hate to tell you this but you need to take your dogs to councling they are not right in the head [smilie=l:[smilie=l:[smilie=l: D Crockett

[edler7]

They were petted by a lawyer and need to get the smell off.

[Olevern]

They were petted by a lawyer and need to get the smell off.

:bigsmyl2: I can believe that!

[TNFrank]

Dogs are pack hunters and want to blend in with their environment. They find something "stinky" to roll in to cover their scent same as bow hunters use deer or fox urine to cover their scent. That's why I like cats, they're much cleaner animals. :grin:

[R.M.]

Yup, I had a Springer that just loved to roll in dead fish. The more aged, the better.

[lbaize3]

at my place thinks those stinky smells make her beautiful. Then she wants me to enjoy her beautiful smell

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_113004f7871926ece8.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=4656)

[lbaize3]

And here is the second picture I have been trying to put in....


http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_113004f7874970b0c2.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=4657)

[Boz330]

It is much worse in the spring when the fresh grass makes it especially attractive. Another problem around farms is that dogs really appreciate fresh calf manure because of the milk content I guess, makes their breath anything but minty fresh. Dead things are always an attraction for cover scent.
Fortunately my latest family member hasn't subscribed to this norm. I had a Collie/Shepperd mix that used to do her damnedest to get even with what the last skunk did to her. Somehow she never won, but I use to buy tomato juice by the case.

Bob

[Katya Mullethov]

Because it smells SOOOOOOOO good ! While I was waiting for the lead pot to heat up this morning I picked up two five gallon buckets of cow and donkey bones the black and tan taliban had drug over from the neighbors over the winter . I had to drive around most of a spinal column a few weeks ago on the way to work . (doggie caltrops)

If they savor that stanky month old marrow that badly , fresh cow poop has gotta be like the canine version of AXE ®

[starmac]

Not all dogs are into it, I have seen dogs roll in anything dead, while another dog looks on looking like he is thinking what are you doing. lol

[BD]

The manure I can understand I suppose, as if you're in a pasture, manure small is everywhere. But, what's with the two month old dead carcasses? Who are they trying to fool? I'd think the game would be spooked by the scent of dead animals on the move. Zombie attack dog?
BD

[yovinny]

Same reason they like to eat grass or clover,,,,,,,

If you figure it out,,,,,,let my dog know too ;)

[fatnhappy]

They were petted by a lawyer and need to get the smell off.

That right there is funny, I don't care who you are.

[rockrat]

I guess they think it is better to smell like something dead, than a predator. There are many decomposing things in the forest and I guess the game figures that as long as it is not them, things are OK.

My neighbors dog likes dead things and manure. One of mine will try and sneak off when I am not looking, to get into the neighbors horse manure pile. Kind of broke him of coming home green, as everytime I caught him, he got a bath immediately using the smelliest girlie shampoo we had. Wife thought he smelled great, but the dog figured it was the worst of smells. Guess he figured out that it wasn't worth the romp in the manure

[MtGun44]

Like rockrat says, I have always assumed that it is as a "cover scent" to aid in hunting,
ancient dog pack ingrained behavior coming out.

Not unlike some of the fox urine scents used as cover scents. Those things are NASTY!
Had some cow elk urine plastic smell tabs I tried one elk hunt. OMG! Incredibly strong
and bad smell.

Bill

[geargnasher]

Dogs are pack hunters and want to blend in with their environment. They find something "stinky" to roll in to cover their scent same as bow hunters use deer or fox urine to cover their scent. That's why I like cats, they're much cleaner animals. :grin:

My cats don't roll in stinky stuff, but the they do love to roll in dust and dirt.

Gear

[Simonpie]

A labrador coated in dead seal is the worst. Seals don't even smell good alive.

[462]

When younger, our dog was all over anything that once lived in or flew over the ocean.

[ElDorado]

I always thought it was to give credibility and prove prowess within the pack. The little feral dog in my avatar grew up in a wild pack and she rolls in anything grody wherever she is - at the beach, in a marsh, the backyard - wherever! She’s always trying to “top dog” our labrador, who is over twice her size. He doesn’t engage in such behavior.

[Jammer Six]

Labs are too stupid to even keep their ears right side out. There's no telling what a lab will do. Labs are about enthusiasm, not brain power.

A lab will let you finish pulling the porcupine quill out of its nose, one by one, then leap off the table and go looking for the porcupine.

[Topper]

TNFrank has it right. Wild dogs, wolves, and yotes will do the same thing.
However, I really like the lawyer theory ;-)

[LUBEDUDE]

MY female Collie would sneak off to the ranch down the road to roll "in it" all the time. It was hell, because she was an inside dog.

[Boz330]

Like rockrat says, I have always assumed that it is as a "cover scent" to aid in hunting,
ancient dog pack ingrained behavior coming out.

Not unlike some of the fox urine scents used as cover scents. Those things are NASTY!
Had some cow elk urine plastic smell tabs I tried one elk hunt. OMG! Incredibly strong
and bad smell.

Bill

Bill,
I had a hunter that had several of those things pinned to his hat. It took me a couple days to figure what in the hell stunk so bad in my truck. At first I thought that this guy had the worst hygiene in the world.:shock:

Bob

[Moonie]

A labrador coated in dead seal is the worst. Seals don't even smell good alive.

Movie quote "And I thought they smelled bad on the outside!"

[contender1]

Canines have a long history of rolling in stuff that smells bad to us. All animals have scent glands & use them for communication with other animals. Adding their smell to a dead animal, or manure or whatever is some form of communication. However, as a trapper, I can attest to how good rotton stuff is at attracting & catching canines.

[Jeffrey]

I once saw a dog gyrating at the edge of a road, Thought it had been hit and was in death throes. Then I saw the carcass it was rolling in. EEEYYYOOO

[ElDorado]

And here is the second picture I have been trying to put in....


lbaize3-

My wife sure likes your little dog, although I am disappointed in her apparent lack of interest in cast boolits.

[bbs70]

I had a dog that loved to roll in poop, the fresher the better, then he would come home and try to nuzzle up to me.
Kind of broke him of it when he found out he would get hosed down with the garden hose upon returning home from such an adventure.

So I guess I can sort of see why they want to get the scent on themselves, BUT why do they have to eat the stuff?

[DeanWinchester]

Mine likes to catch birds, tear them to shreds and then waller in the remains. Nasty little $@&!@**

I love him though.

[bearcove]

Might be a Lab thing?

I had a Border Collie/Lab mix. Smartest dog I've ever come across. She understood english.

BUT! Loved to get in the stinkiest stuff and roll. Tie her to a tree and soak her with dish soap and use the hose with a spray nozzle cause you couldn't get closer.

[Jammer Six]

A Border Collie could re-wire your house.

[KCSO]

This is a canine trait that we exploit when trapping. If you trap a skunk, leave it in the trap and set more traps aroound the skunk. Then when the coyotes come to roll on the skunk you have something good, albiet smelly, in your traps. I've also caught a few dogs this way.

[DLCTEX]

It is a way that Red Mange is spread among canines. An animal dies with the effects of mange and others roll on the carcass and are contaminated. Coyotes here get it regularly. Bobcats do not.

[PAI-Scott]

Same reason they will roll in a dear carcass, or make a bee line to the toilet right after you have done the dirty. Same reason why I have to put the dog in the kennel, and walk 400-500 yard out of site to do a field drop (if I don’t they will run over and eat it).

They are just dogs, and its behavior like this that endears them to you.

[bbs70]

2 years ago my oldest husky got the mange.
Vet asked if he had been around any carcasses.
Since I live in town I'm not aware of it if he did I told him.
Thankfully the vet had a new treatment for the mange, it consisted of several pills over a week or so.
The dog recovered and is still with me, I'm happy to say.

[selmerfan]

Our beagle has rolled in anything stinky OTHER than dog **** since he was old enough to sneak out the door and run the neighborhood. He's an inside dog and we keep a close eye on him to prevent it, but it still happens once in a while. The bad part is that he has taught my female weimaraner to do it as well. She's not quite as enthusiastic about it, but if she isn't being watched she'll go for it. Ignores anything like it while hunting, but just hanging around the yard they both look for the stinky. Into the bathtub, wash them off, back to normal. And neither of them wallow in it, it's more a matter of marking their shoulders, sometime the side of their heads with it, never a full out **** roll.

[jonk]

Quite simple. Dogs are gross. Dogs are slobs. Dogs are disgusting. Some dogs are smart, but that doesn't negate the fact that they are smelly, loud, offensive creatures with horrible habits and a slave mentality that would make a liberal wet his pants with envy.

They are also beautiful animals... so long as they aren't in MY house. I love petting and playing with other people's dogs, but they are so vile in their hygeine that I could never have one. Sorry, but I do NOT want a dog licking my face after it has eaten a pile of cow flop.

Cats are clean, but then there is the stinking litter to deal with. The ideal is a cat that can go outside to do its business.

I love animals, I just don't want pets.

You might as well ask why a dog sniffs another dog's butt; you and I will never know.

[bbs70]

Quite simple. Dogs are gross. Dogs are slobs. Dogs are disgusting. Some dogs are smart, but that doesn't negate the fact that they are smelly, loud, offensive creatures with horrible habits and a slave mentality that would make a liberal wet his pants with envy.

They are also beautiful animals... so long as they aren't in MY house. I love petting and playing with other people's dogs, but they are so vile in their hygeine that I could never have one. Sorry, but I do NOT want a dog licking my face after it has eaten a pile of cow flop.

Cats are clean, but then there is the stinking litter to deal with. The ideal is a cat that can go outside to do its business.

I love animals, I just don't want pets.

You might as well ask why a dog sniffs another dog's butt; you and I will never know.

I was reading Jonk's post and thought that is how women look at men.:bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:
WELL, except for the butt sniffing part.

[bbs70]

I've had dogs ever since I can remember.
Yes they can be filthy, stinky, trouble, and sometimes a royal pain in the butt.
But from what my wife says, so can I.
You just gotta love something that irretates a woman.:bigsmyl2:

Joking aside, dogs don't care if you did something wrong, made a bad decision, lost your job, etc.
They are just happy to see you, how many of us have human friends who are like that.

Cats on the other hand are sneeky, arrogant, and lazy.
Reminds me of some women I know.

[ShooterAZ]

You might as well ask why a dog sniffs another dog's butt; you and I will never know.

It's called the doggie handshake.

[edler7]

The best definition of a dog's attitude I ever heard was-

"If you can't eat it or screw it, pi** on it."

Works for me.

[bbs70]

Labs are too stupid to even keep their ears right side out. There's no telling what a lab will do. Labs are about enthusiasm, not brain power.

A lab will let you finish pulling the porcupine quill out of its nose, one by one, then leap off the table and go looking for the porcupine.

I seem to remember some years ago the neighbor had a female lab.
When she,the dog, saw someone she would go running full speed to them and not stop until she literally ran into them.

[MikeS]

I have 4 chihuahuas, and the oldest one never rolls in anything. Then I got another one, and she always finds a spot to roll in right after the lawn has been mowed. When she had pups we kept 2 of them, and just like their mother, they too roll around. I've never been able to see what they're rolling in, just looks like another patch of lawn to me, but to them it's a special spot. I think it might be sex related, as my daughter also has a chihuahua, but it's a male (the father of one of the pups), and he too rolls around in spots on the lawn, but different spots. When he comes over to visit, and they're all out in the back yard, the 3 girls will find a spot to roll in, and he'll come over, sniff the spot, then walk away, and find another spot to roll in. When the girls go over to investigate his spot, they sniff it, then walk away without rolling in it. And while all this is going on, my oldest (she's 9 years old) looks at them like they're crazy.

But then my oldest is also gay. When she goes into heat she won't let a male get anywhere near her, and when one of the other girls goes into heat, she gets crazy, just like a male will! She gets on top of the dog in heat, and does her best to get her pregnant! I thought when I had her fixed that the behavior would stop, but it didn't, one of the pups (well, they're a bit over 4 years old now) is still not fixed, and when she goes into heat, the oldest one goes crazy!

[ErikO]

I think they got it right in 'Back to the Barnyard'. Dogs have a sensative sense of smell but do not differentiate between 'good' and 'bad' smells like we do.

Just keep them out of the pasture. lol

[ErikO]

I have 4 chihuahuas, and the oldest one never rolls in anything. Then I got another one, and she always finds a spot to roll in right after the lawn has been mowed. When she had pups we kept 2 of them, and just like their mother, they too roll around. I've never been able to see what they're rolling in, just looks like another patch of lawn to me, but to them it's a special spot. I think it might be sex related, as my daughter also has a chihuahua, but it's a male (the father of one of the pups), and he too rolls around in spots on the lawn, but different spots. When he comes over to visit, and they're all out in the back yard, the 3 girls will find a spot to roll in, and he'll come over, sniff the spot, then walk away, and find another spot to roll in. When the girls go over to investigate his spot, they sniff it, then walk away without rolling in it. And while all this is going on, my oldest (she's 9 years old) looks at them like they're crazy.

But then my oldest is also gay. When she goes into heat she won't let a male get anywhere near her, and when one of the other girls goes into heat, she gets crazy, just like a male will! She gets on top of the dog in heat, and does her best to get her pregnant! I thought when I had her fixed that the behavior would stop, but it didn't, one of the pups (well, they're a bit over 4 years old now) is still not fixed, and when she goes into heat, the oldest one goes crazy!

Not to be rude, but why do Floridians grow gator bait? :kidding:

[PanaDP]

Dogs are pack hunters and want to blend in with their environment. They find something "stinky" to roll in to cover their scent same as bow hunters use deer or fox urine to cover their scent. That's why I like cats, they're much cleaner animals. :grin:

That may be but I can tell my dog to "go get that cat" and she'll do it. I can't tell a cat to "go get that dog" unless I just want to talk to myself.

[Jammer Six]

When she,the dog, saw someone she would go running full speed to them and not stop until she literally ran into them.

A lab will be asleep silently on the kitchen floor, and as soon as one of its owners walk in, jump up, and charge at them, then do the I-Haven't-Seen-You-In-Twenty-Years-And-You're-My-Favorite-Human Happy Dance for twenty minutes.

I've noticed that as soon as someone else walks in, the lab will change who his favorite human is.

[MikeS]

Jammer: Not only Labs, my Chi's do the same thing. Well, most of them, one of mine is totally loyal to me, and if I'm around, she doesn't care who else is around. As my mother isn't as fond of my dogs as I am (and I live in her house), the dogs usually stay in my room, which is 11x11, but usually she lets them come out for a couple of hours at night, or sometimes if the weather is nice I'll leave the backdoor open so they can go in/out on their own, but even when doing either of those, if I'm in my room, that's where that one dog will be! The others will go outside, or go sit in the den with my mother, but the one stays with me. It's funny, when I open the door to let them out, all 4 run outside at full speed, and once they get to the fence, then the loyal one will turn around, and run back to make sure I'm going outside too.

I forget where I first saw/heard it, but proof that dogs are better than women is easy to show, just take your dog, and your girlfriend/wife (or both :) ) and put them in the trunk of your car for a few hours. When you open the trunk, which one is happy to see you?

Erik: to answer your question about gator bait, have you ever tasted gator tail? :)