Eau de Dog
Don’t you just LOVE it? That terrible, rotten, permeating wafting odor brought into the house by your four footed friend? The “Oh my heavens what died in here?” kind of smell?
Ahhhh, right - it’s merely eau de dog - not bottled and sold on the shelves at your nearest store. (Thank heavens!)
Why do dogs roll in things that are best left - well, left alone. Simple answer is because they can. More complex answer can range from they are rolling right after a bath because they do not like the undogly scent of the shampoo to they’re advertising what they found to other dogs. More to the point is that it is likely instinctual behavior patterned on what wolves do to mask their scent.
Some mega fave things to roll in and take into the house are dead fish, bird doo (sticky, smelly and tough to remove), other dogs deposits and rancid garbage. Enough of the visuals here - but you get the idea. If it smells, stinks, is rank, rancid or totally gross, chances are guess who will roll in it. Can you stop this type of behavior? Not likely, but you can try. Thing is you have to be right THERE when the dog goes to roll in something icky.
How do you know they are going to roll? Easy, the close sniffing of the ground in one spot, the tight little circles, the hunchy shoulders and the about to be bent “because I am going to drop” knees. This is where you make that BAH sound, the one that stops them cold.
Try the tone of voice route, the icy “BAH”, and as the dog looks at you, call it in and praise and treat. Then beat it out of the area in case the treat didn’t distract their attention long enough. Remember, the tone has to be the one they KNOW means “Uh oh I am about to be in deep doo!” So if your dog does happen to roll in something best not discussed in polite company, then make sure they get into the bath SOON.
