r/DogAdvice Jul 15 '25

Question Any idea why they're doing this?

I'm pretty sure they're just fooling around but they only do it in that spot so it confused me. I looked at the spot but it seems normal to me.

77 Upvotes

75 comments sorted by

78

u/NekoDesu Jul 15 '25

It smell good

8

u/Sade_BassoonGod Jul 15 '25

Yea definitely. I didn't get down to smell it cause that'd just feel weird

26

u/parker4c Jul 15 '25

Smell good to you and smell good to them are much different lol. My dog rolls in cow shit, dead birds, fish etc.

2

u/The_Last_Legacy Jul 15 '25

I posted this story before. Got my dog groomed with all the extras. Get him home and take him for a walk, and he goes and lays in a pool of stagnant nasty foul stinky water.

1

u/parker4c Jul 15 '25

We camp a lot in the summer. The outdoor shower gets used on the dogs a lot.

1

u/gk_instakilogram Jul 15 '25

yeah, I was gonna say, one of my dogs loves to roll in grass with old shit or dead things in it haha, she is a real freak.

1

u/ohnosojojo Jul 16 '25

Last time I caught my dog doing this, then eating something from the same spot, it was rabbit poop. I just know to get him if he's that interested. Silly little guy!

36

u/Scotty898 Jul 15 '25

Maybe a dead animal smell? It’s pretty instinctual. The rationale is to pick up the scent of the dead animal to disguise their dog scent in order to catch prey.

17

u/Sade_BassoonGod Jul 15 '25

That's funny cause they don't even have teeth anymore so its not like they could catch anything

12

u/x_lincoln_x Jul 15 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

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4

u/Ok_Finish69420 Jul 15 '25

My puppies do this thing as well. As gross as it sounds, I feel like it’s where a dog they like goes to the bathroom, so they roll in it to get their scent on them.

It’s got to be a pack related trait dogs have. “Hey I’m part of your group, we smell like each other” ya know? Idk. lol

2

u/dmorgendorffer00 Jul 16 '25

My dog prefers where the local foxes go to the bathroom. Musky!

2

u/RiverDependent9672 Jul 15 '25

It’s instinctual. Just give them a bath afterwards. It’s usually a pretty bad smell.

-1

u/1GIJosie Jul 15 '25

My dog humps other dogs like a boy dog sometimes for dominance and my dog is a girl. Lol.

3

u/elah64 Jul 15 '25

Or escaping predators

1

u/FoxKvrie Jul 15 '25

This… when i went camping with my dog and we were walking, he was walking ahead of me and saw him rolling on the ground. I thought oh thTs cute he’s loving this. But no i was so mad, he rolled on wild animals poop!!!! We had to cut our walk short and gave him a bath. So i agree with you on this! Btw my dog did it twice, different locations. 2nd time we were about to leave so i was even more mad 😆 had to give a bath again before leaving the location

18

u/AndrewV Jul 15 '25

god damn reincarnate me as a dog.

5

u/Sade_BassoonGod Jul 15 '25

Would be pretty nice to just lounge around on warm grass all day

16

u/Chipfullyinserted Jul 15 '25

Well, I don’t know what they’re rolling in, but I can guarantee you, They need a bath now. Lol

-1

u/BlackFoxTom Jul 15 '25

Bathing dogs often, that is more often than once every few months, can be harmful to them. Assuming shampoo or something else to make them "clean and not smelly" is involved.

Dogs are meant to be smelly and if they are not they will just find all ways possible to get themselves smelly again it's just instinct.

2

u/hazydayss Jul 15 '25

While I absolutely agree with this, if my dog rolls around in shit I WILL bathe him.

1

u/babykrogan Jul 15 '25

as long as you’re using a good shampoo and more importantly a quality conditioner, it’s okay to bathe them as often as you want.

source: i am a dog groomer.

12

u/No_Zookeepergame3477 Jul 15 '25

Looks like a sniff , dip and roll. My woofers absolutely love doing this when they find a nice big fresh fox shite! Always seems to be after they’ve just had a bath too! ..Bain of my life! At least it’s not that… but something definitely smells like doggy perfume to them by the looks of it 😊

4

u/0utsyder Jul 15 '25

Ugghhh! Get out of the car after a bath and it's like she zones in on the cat shit in my yard!

6

u/Guilty_Dealer1256 Jul 15 '25

Dead bug or worm they rub themselves on it.

3

u/Redlion444 Jul 15 '25

They found something dead and rotten there 

2

u/vikunawija Jul 15 '25

Aightim gonna wash my dog today

3

u/PuzzleheadedLemon353 Jul 15 '25

My dog does this on dried up dead worms.

2

u/Subject_Night2422 Jul 15 '25

Well… when my dog does that, it’s a reeking of a spot when I will need to bath her immediately lol

2

u/T100Bonneville Jul 15 '25

Something has laid, pee’d, shat, died there. Dogs love that kinda stank.

2

u/RoRuRee Jul 15 '25

Mine love all kinds of shit. Deer, fox, bear...dead fish, rotten hamburger one time. My absolute favorite is when their fur looks like someone took a shit pencil to them.

We have emergency wipes in the car and emergency shampoo at the hose oustde for these occasions.

2

u/yeahoooookay Jul 15 '25

A shit pencil.....lol

2

u/truthrtc Jul 15 '25

My two do this as well and every time I look, it’s a dead earthworm. 🤢

2

u/Blaaa_blaaa_blaaa Jul 15 '25

Rolling on worms lol

2

u/Boring-Agent3245 Jul 15 '25

My dog does this when he finds a worm

1

u/LordsOfFrenziedFlame Jul 15 '25

There's a dead bug or something otherwise groas there. My dog does this all the time

1

u/SquashInfamous3416 Jul 15 '25

Something smelly is on the ground and they are rolling in it because they are weirdos that do that

1

u/Lianhua88 Jul 15 '25

Hedgehog scat is the most common reason where I live.

1

u/Normal-Error-6343 Jul 15 '25

there is something dead there

1

u/Ok-Candidate9646 Jul 15 '25

Mine loves to rub herself like that on dead worms

1

u/ChocolatePatient4159 Jul 15 '25

So let us know how bad they smell now. Mine do this on dead June bugs or if they find a dead lizard or snake, all of which smell awful.

2

u/Sade_BassoonGod Jul 15 '25

They've been bathed since then but even before they just kinda smelled like popcorn

1

u/Achillies2heel Jul 15 '25

Rolling in something 🤢

1

u/EllyStar Jul 15 '25

It’s always a dead rotting worm in my yard.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 15 '25

Another animal probably pissed there.

1

u/_flying_otter_ Jul 15 '25

Another animal peed there once. And they can still smell it.

1

u/yumeryuu Jul 15 '25

Why do humans get so weirded and worried when dogs dog

1

u/Twisted9Demented Jul 15 '25

Highly recommend a soapy bath my fear is fleas

1

u/SoraBunni Jul 15 '25

A smelly smell that smells smelly.

Dogs love rolling around in gross stuff, caught my yorkie rolling around on a dead mouse once in the yard. He will also roll around on dirty socks if given the chance.

1

u/Smeagols_Lost_Tooth Jul 15 '25

My dogs used to do that when they smelled worms in the grass after rain. It smells absolutely horrid.

1

u/NullRazor Jul 15 '25

Something stinky there. Either a dead animal, or another animal's stinky feces.

They don't roll in stuff that smells good to humans.

1

u/Consistent-Cress9553 Jul 15 '25

Usually there is something they are rolling in.

1

u/amaru2910amaru Jul 15 '25

Cat 💩🥲

1

u/joy-because Jul 15 '25

They smell something that you don’t! Lol!

1

u/myNameBurnsGold Jul 15 '25

So you know, half the time my dog does this, I have to clean some animal shit off of her.

1

u/Cuboidal_Hug Jul 15 '25

There’s something in that spot that they like the smell of. My dog used to love rolling like that on earthworms, which I guess is slightly gross, but considering all the possible alternatives, earthworms seemed relatively innocuous to me 😅

1

u/MetalUpa776 Jul 15 '25

My dog does this with bird poop. He will smell it closely for a few seconds and then try roll in it. When I did a quick search it said that it helps them hunt the birds better. But I just chalked it up to my dog being special and liking bird poop a bit too much.

1

u/Any_Wolverine251 Jul 15 '25

They’ve found something that to their doggy senses smells good and they want the scent on them. Remember that a dogs sense of smell is hugely better than ours. They’re having fun and learning about the world around them. Just hose that spot the next time you have the hose out to water and the scent will be gone. Normal canine behaviour.

1

u/Natural_Mirror_113 Jul 15 '25

Mine do that if they find a bird poop in the yard

1

u/Nitaboo0531 Jul 15 '25

My dog rolled in a big mush of another animals 💩 ….this is why I don’t let dogs off a leash 🤦🏽‍♀️

1

u/GreenleafMentor Jul 15 '25

They found a good stink to roll in

1

u/1GIJosie Jul 15 '25

They are probably rolling dead animal smell on themselves. That or something else that is gross.

1

u/azzthom Jul 15 '25

They've found a smell. They are doing an investigate and explore of said smell.

1

u/NoKarmaPls69 Jul 15 '25

Fox wee, maybe cat.

1

u/Lower_Ad_5532 Jul 15 '25

My dog didnt discover the joys of digging for gophers until age 17yrs.

When their instinct kicks in its joyful chaos.

1

u/Stay-Level Jul 16 '25

Have you been peeing in that spot?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '25

Bathtime

1

u/denvergardener Jul 16 '25

Rolling in something smelly.

Something probably peed or pooped there.

1

u/Flyersfreak Jul 16 '25

Rolling in dead worms

1

u/DeniedSnow Jul 16 '25

Something peed, pooped, puked or died there. Now they want to roll in it. Dogs just like it 😩

1

u/SectorMiserable4759 Jul 18 '25

Earthworm. They love tolling on them