It’s something dogs do; not all but some do. They will roll around in some really disgusting stuff if left to their own devices. Dogs will roll around in poop, dead carcasses, old fish and all sort of other smelly things that they find or dig up. They will often do it with gusto with paws in the air and seemingly having great fun.
Dogs have an amazingly sensitive sense of smell and people often question why they would do this in something so foul. The short answer is: No one knows for sure. Many have theorized that this behavior is to cover up the dogs own scent for hunting but recently a different theory comes from the research of Pat Goodman who is the lead wolf behavior researcher at wolfpark.org nicknamed the “Wolf Goddess”. On wolfpark.org she says in part this:
An unusual behavior, scent-rolling, involves a wolf who finds something strong-smelling (often manure or a carcass) getting down and rolling in it, coating themselves. Some dogs also scent-roll. No-one is sure why wolves scent-roll, but it may be that they are bringing the smell back to the rest of their pack, which might then follow the wolf’s scent trail back to the thing that smelled interesting.
Nearly every website I found on the subject quotes or paraphrases her theory so it seems to have become a popular theory.
So…. Your dog is NOT broken; this is expected behavior in some cases but what can you do about it? Well one option is to just bathe them afterwards and move on. Training it out of them can be difficult at best since it appears to be a strong instinctual behavior in some dogs. A leash is also your friend but even then you will need to keep a sharp eye out and see it before they smell it and can get close.
Doctor S0phia Yin has this suggestion if your dog is off leash:
Since your chance of finding a mint patch next to every dead fish is smaller than slim, the solution lies in your keen vision and ability as a trainer. Keep your eyes open for things that excite your dog’s nose and before Rover’s rolling in ecstasy call him back to your side. Then keep him engaged in fun games and rewards around you so that he forgets the potential stinky fun elsewhere. While the training time for a good recall makes this solution sound tedious, the time saved on needless baths makes the effort easily worthwhile.
About the author.
Bryan Curry loves all dogs in general, especially Golden Retrievers. He has had dogs for all but 6 months of his long life and all have lived happy and much longer than average lives. Bryan and his wife Terri are co-owners of Texas TLC Goldens; a small responsible breeder producing high quality Golden Retriever puppies.