Why do some dogs love to roll in fox poo?

1. 94

   Judi Beeposted 11 years ago

   Why do some dogs love to roll in fox poo?
   
   My dog loves rolling in fox poo!  In fact, not too long ago she nearly rolled off a cliff because she started wriggling around in the wretched stuff and sliding down the grass towards the edge as she did so.

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2. 0

   Sarra Garrettposted 11 years ago

   ha ha ha.  It's a dog thing and mine do it all of the time. They get a lot of baths!  The nastier it is they will roll in it.  When dogs do this they are trying to mark over the scent of the poo marking their territory.

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3. 97

   DrMark1961posted 11 years ago

   Over the years I have heard all sorts of theories about why dogs like to roll in nasty and smelly piles. (My dog seems to have a special attraction to fresh piles of horse manure.) Some people have theorized that the dogs are trying to disguise their scents so that they can hunt prey more efficiently. I do not believe it. I think dogs love to roll in poo for the same reason that some women like Chanel no. 5. They just like the way it smells.

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4. 84

   lrc7815posted 11 years ago

   Foxes mark their territory with a spray of a very musky liquid.  It is extremely pungent and a skilled nose can track one in dense woods by smell alone.  It is a scent that is irresistable to dogs as they are "markers" by nature too.  Gotta love em'.

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5. 66

   peanutroasterposted 11 years ago

   Dogs seek to get smelling by rolling in all kinds of smelly things I believe to camouflage themselves and thus be able to sneak on prey.

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6. 61

   Keankuposted 11 years ago

   I don't have a good answer to this; I'm just with the others! They certainly seem to enjoy it. As a groomer, I see lots of doggies who have rolled in poo or dead things, and it seems that they aim to get the stench on their necks - just like perfume!!! 

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7. 0

   huckelburyposted 11 years ago

   There are a number of explanations for why dogs roll in the excrement of other animals, animal carcasses, or other things that smell strongly. The most common explanation by ethologists is that the dogs are trying to mask their own scent. It's one of those protective mechanisms hard-wired into the dog by its DNA. After all, dogs are only 15-20 thousand years separated from their wolf ancestors, and it makes excellent survival sense to hide one's scent when in the neighborhood of either predators or prey. I have two dogs, and I've had to bathe them more times than I want to count after a little excursion into the woods around our home.

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      Sue826posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I once had a dog that squirmed all over some disgusting dead fish she found under my neighbor's shed. It was disgusting. It seems like the idea of masking their scent makes sense.

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8. 61

   angel4967posted 11 years ago

   I have no idea but I had a dog once who found duck poo very appealing to roll in.  We were on a day trip to Las Vegas and we found this great park with ducks and geese to have lunch at.  He rolled in it and was green from face to tail but that wasn't the worst part.  It was November and we had a 3 hour drive back to California.  Couldn't open the windows too much because of the cold.  Was a crazy day!

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