Robin
asks:
I'm
wondering if you could tell me why-- when I'm walking Yogi through
some grass-- that he smells something and the next thing I know,
he's stuck his head on the ground and starts to roll his body over
the area he was smelling. On two occasions, he coated himself in
another dog's poop. I've been asking vets and laypersons to explain
this behavior but no one seem to know. Thank you so much for listening.
Very
Sincerely,
-Robin
Dear Robin:
This
is a hold-over instinct from before dogs were domesticated. They
would roll around in a heavily scented object to mask their own
scent, when hunting.
This
behavior can be stopped by telling your dog, “No.”
Sounds easy, right?
Well,
if that hasn’t worked, then you can bet that your, “No”
command doesn’t have any meaning to your dog.
Here’s what you’ll need to do:
1.
Establish yourself as the pack leader.
2.
Leave a training collar and tab on your dog, so that you can start
consistently associating a “negative” with your verbal
“No” command.
3. If your correction is motivational, your dog
will get the picture, fast. Dogs simply do not continue to do a
behavior that does not feel good.
To
read more of my dog training ramblings, read about my book (click
below):
Secrets
of a Professional Dog Trainer!
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