[Karen W. (OP)]

My dog loves to do this!!!!
He makes me crazy!!!

He will be all nice and clean.. then I will think Yayyyyyy! almost bedtime at least he will lay with me and not stink... LOL Then he goes out around 7:30 and boom comes in looking like a ghost covered in dirt from rolling in the gravely and dusty driveway! ERRRRRRGH!


Why do they do it...? They roll and rub and scoot and get up and shake then do it again.. LOL... Its craziness I swear!


Help .. why do dogs do this... He will even roll in somethinkg like a decomposing critter out in the field... WHY? It Stinks!

[neilep]

Perhaps he thinks he's a pig ?

Though, I understand that it's a fallacy that pigs love to wallow in mud and stuff !

It's got to be some form of instinctual marking thing going on....whether he is depositing an odour or collecting it I just do not know !

As a firm believer in empirical study I asked my cats (they are the nearest thing to a dog that I have at close hand)....all they did was meow and bring up a furball....I hope this helps !

[Karen W. (OP)]

Yes indeedy.. LOL.. You know I have never seen any of my cats bring up a fur ball, and if I did I would probably puke too! LOL...

[Karen W. (OP)]

I have often wondered if it was their attempt to decrease the oil in their fur or try to get rid of parasites ie.. fleas.. We have searched him carefully and can find narry a flea...1 on him.. I hate flea medication and feel it was responsible for my Boston's cancer.. I really dislike its use although in extreme cases if I can't control it naturally I will dose them.. Rock has had no trouble with fleas so far!

[RD]

olfactory camouflage...

Scientists believe that rolling in strong smelling stuff, including feces and dead animals, gives predators a huge advantage: their scents are masked from the animals they are hunting. While most pet dogs do not hunt for their supper, their old, smell-loving instincts remain, and they are happy to roll in smelly stuff regardless of what their owners think.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/animals/breeds/dogtopics/dog_behavior.htm

[Karen W. (OP)]

Thanks RD That is a good link.. I have been reading it for twenty minutes! Interesting! Thanks!

[RD]

Thanks RD That is a good link.. I have been reading it for twenty minutes! Interesting! Thanks!

Here is some evidence to support the small-dogs-pee-as-high-as-possible hypothesis expounded on that dog behaviour site...

[rosalind dna]

Perhaps it might be to cook the dog down or it's skin is itchy from the heat in the day specially if they have been for a long run during their walks.

Or to remove ticks or such grass mites that they might have picked up in the day.

[Karen W. (OP)]

What do you mean to cook the dog down???  Oh wait you mean to cool the dog down.... How would dry dusty dirt cool the dog down... he gets in the pond to cool down... but then he lays in the sun to dry.. when he is dry then he rolls in the dusty road. after baths also.

[Karen W. (OP)]

Thanks RD That is a good link.. I have been reading it for twenty minutes! Interesting! Thanks!

Here is some evidence to support the small-dogs-pee-as-high-as-possible hypothesis expounded on that dog behaviour site...

Thats pretty funny! LOL LOL....I have actually seen more then one small dog do that!

[grumpy old mare]

Also, dogs tend to find other smells 'pleasant' than we do, so some dogs ONLY roll in something we perceive as stinking and/or horrid when we bathed them using shampoo.

(If your dog smells unpleasant without rolling in anything, it may be advisable to change its food, by the way)

[neilep]

As a firm believer in empirical study I will undertake to find some dirt and roll around in it !!

....Ahhh....now seeing as I had my annual bath in February I will conduct the real research next year...............in the mean time I can see outside a very charismatic pile of dirt that is beckoning me with it's wicked dirty ways.................!!!!

[RD]

If your dog smells unpleasant without rolling in anything, it may be advisable to change its food

but don't call Mr Chinnery the accident prone vet...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EYUxxtrWiQk&feature=related  []

[Karen W. (OP)]

Also, dogs tend to find other smells 'pleasant' than we do, so some dogs ONLY roll in something we perceive as stinking and/or horrid when we bathed them using shampoo.

(If your dog smells unpleasant without rolling in anything, it may be advisable to change its food, by the way)

that is probably what is is!!! the shampoo.
+ thought I would by him a wading pool.... cause maybe he would at least rinse off some of the dirt.. he loves wading pools and my pond!
he does have that problem also.
he has sensitive skin so we avoid corn in his food he eats lamb and rice. but certain brands reak havok so we found some rather pricy stuff that makes him bless flatulent!

[Karen W. (OP)]

As a firm believer in empirical study I will undertake to find some dirt and roll around in it !!

....Ahhh....now seeing as I had my annual bath in February I will conduct the real research next year...............in the mean time I can see outside a very charismatic pile of dirt that is beckoning me with it's wicked dirty ways.................!!!!

Just make sure you roll in dirt and not somthing dead... that kind of study might well get you kicked out of he house!!! LOL!!!

[grumpy old mare]

I'm sure your dog would appreciate a wading pool  [] (I know quite a few people who've got that sort of thing for their water-loving dogs)

he has sensitive skin so we avoid corn in his food he eats lamb and rice. but certain brands reak havok so we found some rather pricy stuff that makes him bless flatulent!

Is that a dry complete food you feed him?
My 'springy one' doesn't get on with any dry food, he gets quite ill. We cook for him and the blonde one gets raw food. And neither he nor the blonde one can ever be blamed when one of us has a flatulence problem....

Here in England there are a couple of very good dry and tinned hypoallergenic varieties about for 'sensitive' dogs (for example "James Wellbeloved" and especially "Burns", if I'm allowed to say brand names here?), but I don't know what is available in the USA that's really good. Could try to find out though if you like, have a friend in Texas who 'knows about these things'.

[Karen W. (OP)]

I tried the wet food and it doesn't mix well with his tummy so went to a dry lamb and rice. He is a pitbull and the corn seems to make him loose hair and scratch like crazy.. when I switched foods his bald patches disappeared and he seems better now.

He is a sweet dog very loving and a good friend and pet..

yes I would be interested in the food brands here.. I try to keep him on the same stuff so it doesn't effect his tummy so badly!

He just came in from outside ate and flopped across my feet under the computer.. He is such a lump of dead warm sweet weight! LOL.. He thinks he is a tiny dog and he is already 72 lbs and can knock me down if he so chose.. he is strong!

[grumpy old mare]

I'll ask my friend if she can help

I'm afraid a lot of the bullbreeds have a problem with sensitive skin and allergies anyway. I know someone who rescues pitbulls (not in England, obviously, as pitbulls are banned here), she tends to feed them raw food, but then that's not everybody's (and every vet's  []) cup of tea.

[grumpy old mare]

Answer:
"Animal Wellness" is a magazine with a lot of ads for 'holistic' dog food, from frozen BARF to dry food and tinned food of high quality. "The Whole Dog Journal" apparently has a lot of reports on dog food (and as they don't do advertising, the reports are quite critical) The book "Foods Pets Die For" is apparently a good start. There are now (she says) a series of dried foods and tinned foods without corn / rice etc., but with fruits and veg instead.
But it's a different question whether your dog would be ok with it and also most of the foods would have to be ordered and are not cheap. There is a dry food on the market without corn / wheat / rice and thelike which is fermented and very good and very expensive.
 
My friend would take your dog to a 'holistic' vet because she reckons there's more to the sensitive skin and tummy than just difficulties with some foods. Maybe vaccinated too often or not enough enzymes (e.g. pancreas problems??), too many chemicals in house and/or garden etc. Was your dog often treated with antibiotics and/or cortisone and for how long each time etc etc.


So - as usual no easy answer, sorry!

[Karen W. (OP)]

Answer:
"Animal Wellness" is a magazine with a lot of ads for 'holistic' dog food, from frozen BARF to dry food and tinned food of high quality. "The Whole Dog Journal" apparently has a lot of reports on dog food (and as they don't do advertising, the reports are quite critical) The book "Foods Pets Die For" is apparently a good start. There are now (she says) a series of dried foods and tinned foods without corn / rice etc., but with fruits and veg instead.
But it's a different question whether your dog would be ok with it and also most of the foods would have to be ordered and are not cheap. There is a dry food on the market without corn / wheat / rice and thelike which is fermented and very good and very expensive.
 
My friend would take your dog to a 'holistic' vet because she reckons there's more to the sensitive skin and tummy than just difficulties with some foods. Maybe vaccinated too often or not enough enzymes (e.g. pancreas problems??), too many chemicals in house and/or garden etc. Was your dog often treated with antibiotics and/or cortisone and for how long each time etc etc.


So - as usual no easy answer, sorry!

I don't like chemicals.. the people we got him from got him his first set of shots we are fixing to take him in for his second set.

The corn seems to agitate his skin.I am using dry lamb and rice right now..

He has only been to the vet for shots when he was a puppy. He has never as far as I know had anything else. He seems really healthy with a very gentle sweet disposition.

We got him at about 6 months old. He has just turned 1 year. He has never been sick sick.. He used to get car sick a little but no more.