Just the other morning I let our dog outside to enjoy the quiet morning air. A few minutes later, I called her back in the house only to find the most horrific smell lingering around her. I checked her paws and they were clean. It wasn’t until 15 minutes later when I found the source of the smell, she had rolled in feces and it was all over her neck.

Why do dogs roll in feces, dead animals and anything else that smells terrible?

Some people believe rolling in nasty smells is a way of marking territory. Dogs are always in a war for territory sometimes they claim that territory by urinating on top of another dog's urine, and sometimes the claim it by rolling around in the horrific smells they come across. By rolling in the stinky stuff around your neighborhood, your dog could be bragging to the other dogs about all of the wonderful “stuff” that they own. That dead squirrel at the end of the street is mine, and to prove it I am saturated in the smell.

Perhaps the simplest reason is the best, they just like the smell. The dog’s sense of smell is so strong, we can’t even understand it. Perhaps they smell something good in the mess, and they want to wear it like we wear perfume. Obviously humans don’t agree with a dog’s choice of cologne, but unlike the guy wearing too much cologne, at least we have the option to give our dogs a bath and make the smell go away.

Making the smell go away

The best way to keep you pooch smelling good is to watch them. When on walks, keep them leashed and lead them away from temptation. If your dog displays this type of behavior in off leash areas like a dog park, be sure to have them under voice control and teach them the command "leave it". Hopefully, they will listen to you and stop. If they do this in your own yard, you should consider walking your yard every morning and remove all smelly temptations.

If you find that you are too late to stop the behavior, and your best friend wreaks of a garbage dump, then it is time for a bath. This should be done right away, before your dog has a chance to spread those lovely smells to other areas of your home. Use a shampoo specially formulated for dogs. When you are done, keep your dog inside until they are dry.