# How to keep dog from rolling in feces



## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

My dog (13 months old) has on several occasions now found the aroma of some feces he found in the field delightful enough that he rolled around in it. Cow dung once, cat dung, and several occasions in softer dog waste. We pass by dozens of piles of dog waste on our twice daily walks so most of it he shows zero interest in but then he'll find one, a particular type I guess, and he just wants to roll over and rub himself in it. It's a pain because he's a big dog, 28" and 80 pounds, has a long coat and bathing him is no small task. He's also a good house dog when he's clean and he's accustomed to being in the house every day. But when he covers himself in feces, he's banned from the house until I can bathe him. So if it happens while I'm walking him before work, he might have to wait outside a while. The mess is usually too much to try just wiping it off with rinseless shampoo, and it's nasty stuff I don't want cast around my house.

By the way, he doesn't eat it, just rolls in it.

He's well behaved off leash and I try to walk at least half the walk off leash in one of the several different fields or wilderness areas around our neighborhood. He's rolled in dung in each different one and along the sidewalk too. So it's like I either keep him on leash, use a remote collar (after the fact as a postive punisher), or what? There's no relief in "redirecting" him because once he starts the behavior, it's already too late. It's easy to redirect him but he comes over covered in stink and this does nothing to prevent the next occurence. I'm pretty much stuck with the remote as far as I can tell but I like to ask for ideas before I go that way.


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## Kaz8 (Jan 16, 2011)

My dog Riley also likes to roll in smelly things including dead animals, it stinks for days even after he has been washed and shampooed!


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

Yes, this is the same behavior. If he finds a dead animal or some old bones he will do the same thing -- shoulder roll into it and squirm around on his back like he's rolling in roses. Dead animals are usually long dead and dry and I haven't had a problem with the few times he found one. But the feces is bad stuff. The ones he chooses to roll in are the moist pasty ones. It might as well be a fresh carcass with maggots. I love him but he's pretty hard to love after that.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Both of my cattle dogs like to roll in things we deem nasty lol Izze's (my avatar) fave thing to decorate herself with is fresh cow dung & we have a herd of 20 here so there is no shortage of it lol. Both of them will eat it if I'm not there to stop them, but when they hear a correctio they imediately spit it out.

I have given up stopping them from rolling in nasty crap bexause they always do it when I'm not looking lol & I don't want them to be ashamed because I don't want a nasty suprise when I pet them. When Izze does it I take her to the wash rack in the barn that has hot water & wash the area off that has poo & dry with a towel.

How long is his coat? Like a lassie dog type coat? Izze's coat is medium length.


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

yeah, almost lassie, but it also can matt so it's not wash and dry. I have to wash, blow dry and brush it out with a slicker and comb. It takes at least an hour work but the brushing and combing can be done later that day or the next as long as the blow dry is good enough to leave it mostly straight

I wish there was a way I could communicate to the dog that it's because he rolled in that stuff that we go through all that hassle. I get irritated with him because it seems to happen when I have the least time for that, but it's no use getting mad at him because he can't possibly understand why I've lost my patience. So I just suffer long with him since being mad won't help any.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

No point shocking him after he has already rolled in it, because he's already been rewarded by having fun rolling in it. If you were going to shock him, it would have to be just as he started thinking about rolling in it. But I never recommend using shock collars for any reason, there's a reason they are banned in Europe. IMO they are cruel and not needed.

Put a leash on him for walks before work, so at least he doesn't have to wait outside all day, then do off leash walks on weekends and evenings when you have time to bathe him if needed. Or, buy a raincoat type thing he can wear for walks, then just take it off him when you get home and hose that off, and the dog is still clean


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## Pawzk9 (Jan 3, 2011)

A really solid "leave-it" might be of help. I can't talk though. When Alice was getting her cattle title it looked something like "round up the cattle" "sliiiiiddddee through the fresh green poop" "get them moving down the fence line" "stop for a really good roll" She was always quite well decorated and fragrant by the end of the run.


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

He has no issue with a redirect like "leave it," but I have to command him before he dives into the stink. What I'm wanting to train is to not just "leave it" for now, but to never go there even when I'm not looking.


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