What makes dogs roll in particularly smelly stuff? They sniff, sniff, sniff & just when you think they've finished they decide to roll in it...My girl has been wearing a brand new red collar ~looks  a little princess! But I've had to wash it 3 times already (cos of her rolling & getting it covered in yuk!) & she's only had it a week....

I guess it is a part of our dogs that no matter how domesticated they are we can't eradicate. It is instinct to roll in other species poo from way back in their hunting days to cover up their own doggy scents whilst hunting, to allow them closer to their prey.

Some breeds are worse than others. It does seem a strange thing to do now that they no longer need to hunt for food, but I guess instincts are instincts. :-)

Well haven't you got a favourite perfume that you like to wear when you go out!!  :-)  I sympathise with you - my girl does it too.  I don't know whether it is something to do with their make-up - mine can be quite nervous of other dogs - and maybe she is more prone to disguising her own smell.  My first dog did it while she was young but seemed to grow out of it.  My second dog was a male and very confident - I can't remember him ever rolling.  This one is dreadful - cat, fox, horse, cow poo and anything dead - She has difficulty knowing whether to roll in it or eat it.  Usually both.  If you do a search on this site I am sure it has been discussed before.   If you see your dog ranging around trying to trace a smell get her attention quick before she zooms in on it.  That is what I do now.   

we had a dog that when ever we were cleaning out our fish pond hed go and roll in the stinky dirty fish water ugh!

It goes back to when dogs were wild. They want to smell the same as their surroundings to make them "blend" in more and be less noticeable to predators. Its a survival thing.

I think huskies must have a natural propensity for fish, that's the only thing my two like to roll on - when they get the chance.  I guess it might be better than fox poo?

No, no, you're all wrong.  What makes dogs roll in smelly stuff is the bath they had yesterday.  :)

Mine love rolling in everything smelly !!!!!" especially seaweed on the beach !!! Imagine the colour they can get with all white coats grrrr!!!! thats mainly at the caravan park when the tide is out at the beach they just love it!!!! Good to see a nice happy smelly dog-------dont like the cleaning up though and its worse if any sheep get out of a field nearby which used to happen all the time, but not much last year, thank goodness. Smelly greeny sheep poo !!!!!!!  LOL

So true, but thats why they roll in it after they've had a bath - to try and disguise the smell. Unfortunately dogs smell clean shampoo as something disgusting, and smell something disgusting for something nice and clean!!!  :-)

Hmmmmmmmm She had a bath yesterday!!!!!
AND today whats she gone & done??!!!!
Yeaph rolled again....

And what's worse is that she managed to wipe it in my trousers...Yuk!!!
Happiness is dog~shaped!
Roll on the dry weather......

Molly loves rolling in foxes poo. I can always tell when she's about to roll, she sniffs, gets close to the grass, points her shoulder towards the stuff & then takes a dive. Her legs always wave in the air as she rolls backwards & forwards...this is ok in the fields, but by the side of the road she does get some funny looks. Molly has to do this 3 times for each foxy poo. Collar & harness then needs a good wash, but Molly doesn't like being washed so she is cleaned with baby wipes.

Pepsi likes to roll just for the love of it, it's hard to tell if she is rolling in something smelly or just rolling for fun, poor dog gets hauled to her feet  for no reason some times!!! (Mind you at the moment rolling for fun in a soggy muddy field is not good for my carpets)The only one of mine that is not a great roller is Merlot and she is definitely top dog of the three so maybe it's a confidence thing as well, she just does not have the same compulsion to cover herself in stinky stuff! I had a yellow lab years ago  and she liked nothing better than a half putrefied cuttlefish and boy do they STINK!!! walking along the beach has some drawbacks!

I know that when a wolf that has made a kill that is to large to take back to the pack he will roll around on the carcass before returning to the pack allowing them to follow the scent back to the kill.

Both my little darlings like to roll in anything stinky that they can find....their particular favourites are fox poo and anything dead and decaying (fish is a particular favourite as we live near a river!) Someone once told me it was just like us putting on our favourite perfume!

when we used to walk in a forest it was deer or fox poo. mmm...musky (yuk)

It's horrible and lingers too. A tip an old gamekeeper once told me is to coat the area that they have rolled (their coat) with tomato sauce and leave for 10 minutes, wash off and the smell is gone. It does work.