Why do dogs do that?
Dr. Floyd Dorsey, Special to The Gazette
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Why does my dog do that? It’s the one question I get asked more than any other.
For example, Doctor, why does my dog hang his head out the window of my car when I go 70 miles an hour, but tries to bite me if I blow in his face? Or, why does my dog eat his own poop? Or roll in dead stuff? After all these years, all I can say is “that they like it.” Most of the annoying things dogs do are no problem for them, it’s a problem for us their owners.
My three dogs love to eat dead fish. We live on the lake at Thorndale and during the fishing season there is always a lot of dead fish that wash up on my shore. The deader the better for the dogs. Just before the fish go to the liquid putrification stage, they eat some, roll in what’s left, and barf it up in the house. Again, no problem for them, just my wife and I who don’t like dead fish barf on the good carpet. It’s one of those facts you need to learn early. Then you will be prepared.
For instance, my first pointer was a wedding gift from a relative. An English Pointer from a high brow kennel. Not a well thought out gift for newlyweds in a duplex. A goldfish might have been more appropriate. My wife named him Fritz, and we tried to give him what he needed in our limited space. I had a 10-by-20 foot dog run outside, and we let him stay inside while we were home. He got walked daily, and taken for runs on the weekends. To thank us for the love and care, he ate the arm off our couch the one time we left him inside alone. I never saw him tired, and he seemed to have an endurance I’ve never seen since.
The main lesson I learned from Fritz was to never take a bird dog hunting without a crate for transportation. You see, a classmate invited me to come to his farm for a quail hunt and he wanted me to bring Fritz. I let him ride with me in the cab of my Datsun pickup. Now, Fritz could disappear faster than any dog I’ve ever owned. Take him off his leash and he would sometimes run miles before he stopped. He was a training nightmare. On this day he did just that. Gone in 60 seconds. My classmate and I hunted alright, but not for quail, we spent hours hunting for Fritz.
With binoculars in hand, I walked and called his name with no luck for several hours. The only animal I had seen was a dead cow in the middle of a pasture. The first time I passed by, I looked to see if Fritz was investigating the dead animal, but didn’t see him. After walking that entire section, I again was passing by the pasture with the dead cow. This time something caught my eye. The carcass seemed to move. I could not see a reason a dead cow would move from where I was, even with my binoculars. I had no choice but to go look.
When I got to the spot, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was Fritz. He had crawled inside the carcass of this dead cow and was rolling around. He was completely coated with, well you know what’s inside a dead cow carcass, dead cow. The smell was hideous. After getting a leash on him, I had to drag him out of the carcass. He acted like he wanted to move in and stay. The walk back to my truck was not too bad. I stayed upwind of him. But when I got back, I realized I had no dog crate, and no safe way to tie him into the bed.
My classmate was very understanding. He said Fritz was not allowed in his truck, kennel or home, but if I decided to leave him, he would leave food and water by the dead cow till I could get back. Fritz could stay in his ready-made dog house. After resisting the urge to leave him, I came to grips with the fact he was going to have to ride in the cab with me the 50 miles home. It took the rest of that weekend to bathe Fritz, clean the funk out of my truck and burn my clothes. When we finally were able to let him back in the house, the wife asked, “Why does he do that”? I said, “He must like it.” I’ve never come up with a better answer. If someone does, I’d like to hear it.
In the meantime, take my advice. Never take your dog hunting without a crate, towels and whatever else might be needed for a more pleasant ride home than the one I just described. I still call my supplies, “My Fritz Kit.”
Fritz did turn out to be a fine bird dog. But when I moved to Emporia, we had nowhere to keep him. A friend in El Dorado offered to buy him. He belonged to a quail hunting club that rode jumping mules while following their dogs. It sounded like a better life for Fritz so I let him go.
A year later I was referred to as “The Idiot Vet, who sold the finest pointer to ever hunt birds for 100 bucks.” But I was busy raising a family, and was glad for Fritz that he was living the dream of all pointers, “to run big, and not have to pass up a roll in a dead cow.”
zippy (anonymous) says...
Loved the article! My grand-doggy rolls in everything too!
August 20, 2011 at 11:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zippy (anonymous) says...
Loved the article! My grand-doggy rolls in everything too!
August 20, 2011 at 11:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
What a wonderful, wonderful article. Great storytelling. It feels so good to laugh out loud. That Fritz!
My dad told me that dogs roll in dead stuff because they like to disguise their own scent. Fritz must have been a spy with a great need for camouflage.
August 20, 2011 at 8:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Malique (anonymous) says...
cats > dogs
August 21, 2011 at 3:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Local_Hispanic (Vic Rodriguez) says...
Hold on here! This was a Dog story!
I didn't read anything about Fluffy rolling in any kind of dead animal, did you?
Let's give the dog his doo.
If someone wants to write about where they've looked for their pussycat. Then I would return the courtesy.
My doggie Pedito agrees tambien(also).
August 22, 2011 at 12:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Merry_Carol (anonymous) says...
Thank you for my first laugh of the day! Guess I'll quit asking "Why did you DO that?" when my dogs do something outrageous. I now know it's simply because "they like it."
August 22, 2011 at 7:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
It's funny. My wife asks me the same question all the time. Now she knows why. Thanks, Doc!
August 22, 2011 at 8:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )