What’s better than a walk in the woods with your dog? It awakens all your senses. The gentle wind blows against your back. The brilliant blue sky is breathtaking to behold. You hear the steady sniffing sound of your pup’s nose as she investigates everything around her. It is all wonderful…that is, until she stops, drops and rolls. All of sudden, your sense of smell takes over, and it’s not a pleasant whiff. “Oh no, Lucy! Don’t roll in that! It stinks!”

It is a truth universally acknowledged by dog owners everywhere: dogs love smelly stuff. Discarded food, swampy water, mud, feces or dead animals – we can’t stand the smell or sight of it, but many dogs seek it out. Some dogs like to sniff it, roll in it, paw at it and sometimes pick it up and eat it. It’s one of the less pleasant parts of being a dog parent.

Why do dogs display this behavior? We’ve done a little digging ourselves to come up with some theories. We’ve also pulled together some tips on how to manage this behavior, potential dangers to look out for, and how best to clean up after a particular malodorous episode.
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