dog rolling

Photo credit: DogN'Bone by Vinicius Mimo

If your dog likes to roll on their backs and wriggle around whenever they’re outside, you’re not alone. Almost every dog at some point in their lives has rolled in something, and often it’s something very smelly. So why do they do it?

Much of your dog’s behaviour is governed by two of their senses: smell and sound. You could say that some dogs, like scent hounds for example, are slaves to their noses. Knowing what we know already about dogs’ acute sense of smell, there’s something highly appealing about rolling in smelly stuff.

Even if you think your dog just smells like grass after he’s rolled in it for several minutes, your dog’s sense of smell tells him otherwise. Unfortunately, when dogs roll in the grass though, you can guarantee it’s going to be something gross and stinky. So why do dogs love being smelly?

The answer lies in an ancestral trait, dating back to the days when dogs were wolves, living outside and hunting for food for survival. If they rolled on the ground in the animal smells around them, it was the same as using camouflage to disguise their presence. If you smell like the environment around you, no animal will suspect you of being a predator.

So rolling in the grass is a leftover survival technique that ensures the continuation of the species. But there’s another reason. With the help of scent glands at the side of their faces and on top of their heads, dogs roll in the grass to mark a favourite spot as their own and to ward off other dogs (or wolves). It’s like leaving a message to their competitors: I know this is good hunting ground and I claim it as my own.

On the other hand, leaving their own scent on a juicy animal smell in the grass is a way of telling the rest of the pack to keep an eye out for possible prey. Or it could also be used as a warning, alerting the pack to a new and unrecognizable scent, which could possibly be a threat. In other words, rolling in the grass is a form of canine communication.

Other dogs love to roll in the grass just because it feels good. Rolling gives them the chance to give their backs a good old scratch. Only a contented dog will roll in the grass, showing you his delicate tummy as a sign of trust and happiness.

So the next time your dog rolls in the grass, try not to get too angry with them. They’re only following their instincts and expressing extreme pleasure of being outside.

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