rolling

Question
I  recently acquired a new pup, 10 mo.old shepherd, not neutered as of yet. The dog has quite a penchant for rolling in the stinkiest stuff he can find, either dead animal or feces.  His behavior seems very primal.almost wolf-like and he is extremely interested in scents, either leaving his own or sniffing everything around. Why is he doing this rolling  and more importantly, is there any hope of correcting this behavior? Ive heard that some dogs are just natural rollers and theres not much one can do. I hope thats not the case as he is smart and loving and I really want to keep him but cannot abide with the smell or constant bathing.  I would appreciate anu insight you can provide on this subject.

Answer
Hi Kathryn,

I wish I could mail you a pill and the rolling would stop. However, there are some dogs who just like to roll. You can stop this behavior but you have to remain pretty alert and be aware of the next time he's about to roll. In other words you have to be able to correct him the moment before he's about to roll.

First. Until you have this habit under control, I would suggest you keep him on a leash. He can still roll while on leash, but you have an advantage. You may sight something that you feel he is going to roll in, and that is your heads-up and its time for you to be ready to go into action.

You may notice that his head goes down and, if he's going to go into a roll, his head will probably go to the side and the front shoulder(s) will move downward.

At the precise moment you notice these actions, I would like you to command no (not having to holler it loudly, but firm enough so he knows that you mean business). Also, pull him away from that area on the leash.

You have just broken his concentration and brought him back to reality. Now, praise him emphatically. Do this each time he is about to go into the roll and I believe you can break the habit.

The trick in the beginning though is to keep him on his leash and for you to be prepared and take the action I mentioned above.

Good luck. You can do it. Think your actions through.

Please let me know how you make out.

Harry