Science Questions

Why does my dog always poo on the path and not the grass?

Helen - I want to know why you asked me that question, actually. I’m not really au fait, don’t have a dog myself and am not necessarily any the wiser for why this might be. It could be all sorts of reasons. We were discussing this before the show. Maybe it was something to do with marking his territory. Perhaps poo as well as wee and lots of other urine and other fluids like that are good for letting dogs know where they are and if that’s their territory or not. Perhaps a path where other dog have walked along and left their smells would be a good place to leave their mark. I was wondering if it thought it as a cat. Cats will be more likely to defecate on a path rather than grass. Cats like to try to cover up their mess. Perhaps on a sandy path rather than the grass. Maybe the grass is spiky and it doesn’t like the feeling of it.

Chris - A couple of people on our forum have speculated – Dr Beaver says using Occam’s razor the pavement doesn’t tickle its bottom when it squats, perhaps in the same way as the grass. A person who calls themselves Dent Student says I guess it’s because dogs don’t have the same social cues and don’t consider it to be antisocial to poo on the path. Someone points out saying, ‘are you saying that you do poo on the grass?’

Helen - I’d say it’s pretty antisocial to poo on the grass anyway. I hate treading in dog poo. I hope when the dog poos on the path you do clear it up afterwards!

December 2008