Rolling on dead things

[ginastags2315]

When I take Muffin for walks, she stops and rolls on dead animals if she finds them. I try to pull her away before she can get to it, but she's too strong, and she doesn't listen when I tell her "no" and "leave it". She smells horrible when she stops rolling on it. How can I get her to stop?

[Rivsky]

I know how you feel - River loves rolling in dead fish when we go to the beach - it's gross!!

I always just grab his ball and run off and he stops straight away - but that's because he's ball obsessed. Does Muffin have a favourite treat you could "bribe" her away from it with?

[scarfy]

As soon as you see the dead thing or smell it, redirect. Call her attention to you and turn the opposite of where it is. Or give her a leash pop with the no.

[StephanieandTeddy]

Tough to do because the instinct is so strong...you really need to see the dead thing before she does, then "control the thought"...and redirect and reward...

Nothing worse than dogs rolling in a dead seal with all the blubber stuck to their collars...or rolling in and eating human feces.

[calgal]

Mine will roll on the bed covers, sheets, my husbands underware he leaves in the floor while taking showers, grass that must have old poo or pee smells and try to roll in the seaweed at the beach but I pull them off pronto.

[Kona]

Keep her on a leash. A dog that will not respond to your voice commands (first time every time) has no business being off leash. Keep in mind that she's not just doing something annoying. She's also learning that disobeying you 1) is possible, and 2) sometimes is fun. Soon she may decide to start experimenting. What else has mom been asking me to not do that might be this fun? Digging in the trash? Jumping on people? Running out into traffic?

[2pups622]

my boys love to roll on dead bugs its so nasty !

[IceyBlueSibes]

Mine are pretty good about not rolling on dead stuff. They're more interested in staying busy on the walk than to stop and roll in some dead stuff!

But one funny moment -- I was bringing my BF's hockey stuff inside to wash (jerseys, socks, underarmor) and his gear to air out/spray febreeze. I threw it into a pile on the floor, and the dogs come to investigate (after all, it's stinky so we've got to atleast check it out), what does Lugar do? HE ROLLS IN IT! LOL Then he got Kelso to do it. It was hilarious -- I held up his hockey skate, Lugar sniffed the inside and tried shoving his face inside it. lol I know it's gross, but it was the funniest thing. One of those times where you just can't help but laugh -- seeing it was the first time he's ever done it! But I guess that goes to show you how smelly his hockey gear is. LOL

[calgal]

When my Azrael (2 year old Yorkie) finds either mom and dad smells on the sheets or something in the yard, she "flops" on it like a fish out of water. It's so cute!!

[ginastags2315]

Originally Posted by StephanieandTeddy

you really need to see the dead thing before she does, then "control the thought"...and redirect and reward...

I usually don't see it before she does... it's usually in the grass or it doesn't look like an animal and blends in with the ground, so she finds it first.

Originally Posted by Kona

Keep her on a leash. A dog that will not respond to your voice commands (first time every time) has no business being off leash.

I do keep her on a leash, but she's stronger than me and I can't pull her away. I tried getting her to stop with a treat, but she wouldn't.

[IceyBlueSibes]

Have you tried a gentle leader? If she goes to sniff something that looks odd, or she gets that "posture" of getting ready to roll in it, give a quick "HERE!" and continue walking. She won't be able to pull you with the gentle leader on

[StephanieandTeddy]

If your dog is stronger than you and pulls and ignores you...then the two of you need to get into some OB classes!!

You have a right to walk your dog without being pulled around.

[Sophie45]

I agree with Stephanie. If you can't control them on a leash then you need to take them to obedience lessons ASAP. They need to know when you tell them 'leave it' they need to leave it immediately. You're the leader, therefore you lead the walk, not them!

If you do the gentle leader, make sure you desensitize them to the gentle leader over a week or two BEFORE you use it outside the house. Slapping something on a dog's muzzle and then marching them out for a walk is a guaranteed way to make your dog miserable.

[ginastags2315]

Originally Posted by StephanieandTeddy

If your dog is stronger than you and pulls and ignores you...then the two of you need to get into some OB classes!!

You have a right to walk your dog without being pulled around.

She stays next to me when I walk her, and if she goes ahead of me I just have to say her name and she'll stop or slow down. The dead things she finds are on the path we're walking on... she doesn't pull me toward it, but I can't pull her around it to avoid it.

[Kona]

Originally Posted by StephanieandTeddy

If your dog is stronger than you and pulls and ignores you...then the two of you need to get into some OB classes!!

Originally Posted by Sophie45

If you can't control them on a leash then you need to take them to obedience lessons ASAP. They need to know when you tell them 'leave it' they need to leave it immediately. You're the leader, therefore you lead the walk, not them!

Ditto, ditto, ditto. My dear, you have a potentially very dangerous situation on your hands. If you cannot control your dog on leash then get thee hither to an OB class as soon as possible! Every time you try to pull her away from something and she out-muscles you, she learns to disrespect you. Every time you give her a verbal correction and she ignores you, she learns that your commands mean nothing. I have seen situations like this get very ugly. Until you get her responding to you on leash, do not allow this to happen again. Stop putting her in situations where she wants to disobey you.

You need to find a teacher who can help you understand that it has NOTHING to do with strength. It is about respect and technique. I happen to be a man in good health and just under six feet in height, but I have been humbled by some amazing women trainers who are much smaller than I am and in some cases physically disabled. Respect, communication, practice, and corrections and rewards that are immediate, consistent, and meaningful. These are the hallmarks of effective training.

So enough "pie in the sky" talk. How about some actual practical advice?

Whenever possible I do not place a dog in a situation where I already know she will fail. Take the three controllable factors (Location, Leash, and Lure), and present her with an easier version of her particular challenge. The problem happens outside? Practice, at least at first, inside your house or outside on your fenced-in property. She can't stay away from a dead thing? Walk her past something tempting but not quite as tempting. You can't control her with a leash? Then find a way to control her! If you are using a flat collar then use a choke chain (once you have learned how to use one properly!). If you are using a choke chain then use a prong collar.

Once you have a workable training situation, practice until she responds exactly the way that you want her to. Then make it harder. Present her with a slightly more tempting challenge. Walk her past it more slowly. Walk her past it more closely. Stop next to it. Have her lay down next to it. Have her walk right over it. Then find something even more challenging and do it all again. Get her to the point that her training sessions are much more challenging than anything she'll ever see in real life.

The two messages that I want you to hear are:

1. Don't wait until she's rolling in a dead thing and you are being ignored by her and you think to yourself "What should I do now?" Once a dog has shown you that she will disobey you in a given situation, don't put her in that siuation again! Practice, practice, practice until that situation is nothing.

2. You absolutely, positively need to establish a meaningful relationship with your dog wherein she sees you as the center of her universe. All good things come from you, and only when she earns them from you. To over-simplify a bit, from her perspective either you are the boss or she is.