Washing your Dog
Washing Dogs
How many times have I heard someone say "Whenever I wash my dog he goes straight out and rolls in the garden and makes himself all dirty again." What about the time when it has been raining and you now take the dog for a walk. What does he do? He aims for a real muddy puddle and rolls in it. How often do I hear folk chastising their dogs for doing this, but surely we should ask why?
When a dog is washed, we really do wash away his identity. This can cause a dog stress, he does not feel good or indeed natural. He rolls to try to get his identity back.Dogs have many underlying instincts and we must not forget they are hunters by nature. Your on a walk and the horror occurs, your dog rolls in dung.
Keep in mind you may have shampooed him, wow. He does this because his old instinct tells him that to get close to a heard or cattle for the kill, it is better to smell like the heard. This way he can get real close.
Article extracted from David the Dogman's A-Z Guide to Dogs available all bookshops ( ISBN 84-89954-08-9 or can be ordered on www.thedogman.net