Why Do Dogs Do That?

Dogs are such complicated beings. They do things that just confound people. Hopefully, I can answer a few questions about certain issues.

Scooting across your nice clean carpet just minutes before guests arrive: This is usually associated with an anal gland problem. The glands are located at 4 and 8 a clock on the anus. Sometimes they get irritated and new to be expressed. Your groomer or vet can do this in just a few minutes. DO NOT attempt to do this if you are not experienced with expressing them. Not only can you rupture the sac, but let me tell you from experience….you don’t want that nasty smelling stuff ending up on your hands, hair or face. It’s most unpleasant! The other reasons for scooting are worms. If you happen to see little rice shaped things in your dog’s stool. Take a sample to the vet to make sure they to do not have tapeworms. These are usually associated with fleas.

Rolling in Smelly Stuff: This behavior is left over from dogs ancestors. Wolves roll is foul smelling things to cover their scent while hunting. Some dogs roll in funk to get rid of the smell of shampoos and colognes. We may love a sweet smelling dog, but it wreaks havoc their sensitive noses. ( our shop DOES NOT put cologne on the grooming dogs and try and use a clean smelling, but not overpowering smelling shampoo. Many people, including myself suffer from chemical sensitivity. I can only imagine how this effects the dogs noses!)

Drinking from the toilet: To you and me this sounds gross, but to your furry pal there, it’s a cool fresh bowl of water every time! They don’t have no idea what we do with the thing. Porcelain keeps the water tasting fresh as well as keeps it cooler than in a regular dog bowl. Put down the lid…it’s that simple. Keep a fresh supply of water on hand. Clean and fill the water bowl everyday. In the summer toss a few ice cubes in there. They enjoy a cold drink on a hot day just as we do. Or invest in a pet fountain that keeps the water flowing constantly. This is a quandary for me since most, if not all of these devices are made out of plastic. There is an earlier blog post about the dangers of plastic food and water bowls.

Eating feces: Geez, this is something that most dogs do on a regular basis…you’re just not catching them doing it! No one knows the real reason behind this. It may stem from the fact that mother dogs eat their pups stool to keep the area clean. Some people say it’s a lack of something in the pet’s diet. Out in the woods, dogs regularly eat the stool from deer, birds, you name it. The real problem…besides getting a kiss on the mouth from them right after it happens….is that they can contract parasites and viruses very easily. Especially, giardia which can really make your dog sick. My advise is to discourage this behavior right away and clean up any lying around the yard immediately. Keep a close eye out when you have your dog at dog parks and when hiking.

I will continue this discussion in my next post.

This entry was posted on June 5, 2013 at 5:29 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.