Dogs love to raid smelly trash cans and eat spoiled food. Our canine friends find their feces and other animals excrements very appetizing. Would it be surprising to see a dog deliriously happy while rolling in dead animals? Canines seem to have an unfathomable predilection for smelly things. It is believed that canines and humans have pretty similar genetics. Why then do dogs enjoy smells that are abhorrent to humans?
The behavior may be perplexing to humans but to canines rolling in dead animals and other smelly things is perfectly normal. Odors that are disgusting to humans may not be abhorrent to dogs. Animal behaviorists believe that it is a self preservation act. By rolling in dead animals, the dogs will take on the reeking odor and the dogs natural scent will be masked. By covering up their own scent they can hide from their predators more effectively. Rolling in dead animals serves another purpose. Because the dogs natural scent is masked, they can easily sneak up on a prey.
Domesticated dogs no longer need to hunt or to protect themselves from predators. Rolling in dead animals is a natural canine behavior but since these animals stay inside our homes and even allowed to share our beds it would just be proper to find ways to stop the pets abhorrent habit. A dog that has rolled in dead animals would naturally need to be bathed to remove the stench. Bathing the dog once may not even be enough to remove the obnoxious odor. Imagine how much it would cost you if the dog is taken to a professional groomer. If the pet that had developed an unaccountable liking to roll in dead animals is long haired, it would be a good idea to have the long hair of the pet trimmed to make grooming easier.
The dog can be prevented from smearing Eau de dead animal on its body by keeping the dog away from the sources of the putrid odor. Dogs love to roam but if it is not possible to keep a close eye on the dog it would be better to keep the dog on a leash. A dog that is constantly presenting you with dried feces and pieces of rotting toad on its coat and one that is always reeking of rotting animal odor may be starving of your attention. The pet may be punished but to the pets mind scolding would be better than no attention at all. Try giving the dog some attention. It may wean the dog away from its undesirable behavior.