My dog has a bit of a nasty habit

Pat McGhee

How do all!

First post in the animals forum, hullo!

I'm hoping somebody might be able to give me some insight into a fairly icky habit that one of my dogs has (I have 2, both male.) Sam is approx 5yrs old, he found & adopted me almost 4 years ago when he wandered into the carpark of my previous place of employment. Back then he was in pretty bad shape but nowadays he's a happy & healthy lunatic of a hound, but in a good way, ie; one big ball of uber-friendly energy!

As dogs go, he's fantastic but he does have one bad habit that I've been trying to get him out of for ages, all to no avail - he rolls in other dog's poo. NASTY!!!! This can happen if he escapes out the front door to the estate (rare) or when I take him to the park or woods for his walk. I tend to leave him off the leash because he's so energetic, (he runs non-stop!), but if he happens to find a stinky pile & thinks he's out of my line of sight, down for a roll he'll go. Any time I catch him either about to roll or in the process of, I immediately correct him but the correction is not sinking in.

Help, anyone?? If someone else has encountered this kind of problem with their dog, I'd appreciate any advice/suggestions.

Thanks!

Glowing

Ew!

Do you wash him often? If you use really strong smelling shampoos, they sometimes don't like the smell and want to cover it with something 'better'

kerrysgold

ew, my dog will try and rub herself in bird poo but luckily she will avoid dog poo

maybe if you catch him doing it/attempting to do it say "no" or "leave it" firmly.

Pat McGhee

kerrysgold wrote: »

ew, my dog will try and rub herself in bird poo but luckily she will avoid dog poo

maybe if you catch him doing it/attempting to do it say "no" or "leave it" firmly.

I do & he stops immediately but he's a crafty little so & so, he waits till he's out of my line of sight or not watching him directly, then he'll roll for all his worth!!

He's the same at home, he knows he's not allowed on my bed (my place is open plan) but when I go to work, he snuggles himself right under my duvet. Little fecker!! One day he managed to get himself stuck in between the duvet & the cover though, & he couldn't get back out again. I have no idea how long he was 'trapped' but it was HILARIOUS!!! All I could see were shapes of his little stub of a tail wagging for all it's worth, & his head mad searching for the escape route. Lol! Poor pup. He still didn't learn though.

By the way, I ended up asking my vet about this rolling in poo phenomenon - apparently it's perfectly normal! It's instinct, a lot of dogs do it to mask their own scent in order to stalk prey, or protect themselves from predators. Nasty but normal. Eeewww.......

peasant

The thing is, he only does it when he thinks you can't see him.

You have to make him believe that you are omnipresent and that you have eyes in the back of your head.

Next time you spot a lovely pile before he does, pretend you didn't see it and make him believe you didn't. Watch him out of the corner of your eye and once he starts to engage the enemy, come down on him like a big thunderclap.

(Forget any witnesses that may be present )

Biiig theater thunder here ... a sharp, loud clap of hands and the loudest, growliest "Nnnnno!" that you can muster ..that should shake him.

As ideal opportunities for correction of this particular behaviour are going to be rare, it won't do any harm to apply the omnipresence theory to other habits as well.

I bet he does a few other things on the sly that he isn't supposed to.

Try and catch him in as many acts as you can and let him know that you ALWAYS know what he's at and that you don't approve.

This is at its most effective when you catch him as he's juuuust about to transgress ...when you get into his brain so to speak and read his thoughts.

You're more clever than your dog, aren't you?

Let him him know it !

DubArk

Pat McGhee wrote: »

Help, anyone?? If someone else has encountered this kind of problem with their dog, I'd appreciate any advice/suggestions.

I would image it’s an instinct that’s’ built into dogs for hunting reasons. By rolling in dead matter or other animals poo they’re covering up there own scent for hunting proposes. I live by the coast and had a Springer Spaniel and a Labrador in the past both of them at different stages and both if not caught in time would roll in dead fish matter and sometimes in other animals’ poo. I think you’ll find it more common a problem then you think! :eek:

I just kept them away from those areas, its hard when their off the lead!!

Im sure im no help at all?:)