Hello there, hello. My name is Tess. My owner is called John. John says I’m a Golden Labrador. He says I’m a good girl.
I live in the countryside with my owner John. John takes me out of our cottage twice a day for walkies in the fields and by the river.
But I don’t just walk, I run and play and chase chickens and fetch a tennis ball for my owner John. Then he gives me treats – I love treats!
I love living in the countryside. There is lots of grass. I love to play in the grass. Playing in the grass is extra fun!
Why do dogs roll in grass?
There are many reasons I love playing in the grass. I love to wiggle my back all over the grass.
Sometimes it tickles, sometimes it helps me to scratch an itch (when the grass is dry), and sometimes it helps to cool me down when the grass is wet. Rolling in the grass is so much fun and that in itself is one reason to roll around in it.
Now for the other main reason. Grass has a distinctive smell. Grass doesn’t smell like dogs, grass usually has a very fresh smell, and it smells nothing like my pee or poo. So, when I roll around in the grass on my walkies, I’m basically putting on a disguise!
My own natural scent comes mainly from my fur and my poo. But when I roll around in the grass, I don’t smell anything like it, and I smell like fresh grass instead. So, when I roll around in wet grass, I smell like a fresh new me all over again.
When I smell like wet grass, I don’t smell like the mess I did by the back door. What happened was that I had an accident. I needed to poo before my owner John got out of bed to let me out for my morning poo. I tried to wait, I waited as long as I could, but I had to poo.
I know it was naughty, and that my owner John would be angry. I was ashamed. I knew I would disappoint him. And when John woke up and came to see me, it was clear I was right about it.
When John could smell the poo, he was disgusted, and I think angry. He wanted to teach me a lesson, so he rubbed my nose in the poo. It was horrible and degrading.
When I poo in the right places when I’m supposed to, John gives me treats. But not now. Not when I had pood inside the house. That was wrong, that was naughty.
But later that day, when John took me for walkies, I got to roll around in the grass again and smell fresh as a daisy. Poo by the back door? What poo by the back door? Don’t know anything about it. Nothing to do with me, sir.
But it also works the other way around too. When other dogs come to the patch where I’ve been rolling around in the grass, they will pick up my scent, and they will know that they are in my territory. This patch of land is my patch and not theirs unless I welcome them.
Why do dogs roll around in dog poo and dirt?
My owner John arranged for me to be microchipped. Before I was microchipped, John used to panic when I ran too far from him, but since I’ve had the microchip, he doesn’t panic at all.
It didn’t hurt to have the microchip put in. But I can still feel the microchip there. It doesn’t really belong there and it itches a lot.
But scratching the area against dry grass isn’t comfortable. The only way to soothe the itching is by rolling in soft creamy dog poo. It’s so soothing. It’s just what I need when it starts to feel uncomfortable.
Sometimes I roll around in dirt that isn’t poo, like fresh soil. And I do this for the same reason I roll around in the grass. It’s so that I can be in disguise. It’s so much fun! But it’s strange though.
Even when I’m in my smell disguise, my owner John still calls me by name. Doesn’t he realize I’m someone else when I smell different?
Should I let my dog roll in the grass?
I only roll on the grass in the countryside, my owner John does not let me roll on the grass on our front lawn. This is because John sprays all sorts of chemicals on the lawn.
These chemicals come in bottles that have the letters FERTILIZERS, PESTICIDES, and HERBICIDES. John says rolling around in the lawn grass is naughty.
One time, we went for a drive in the car to go to a different place for walkies. I like going for a drive in the car, I stick my head out of the window. Anyway, we went somewhere new for walkies, and as usual, I had a little roll around in the grass.
But you know what? I got fleas and ticks. I was itching all the time afterward. And John had to buy me special tablets and special shampoo to get rid of the fleas.
The vet said something about “bacteria, viruses, and parasites” and that it was a “good job that I was up-to-date on my vaccines”. I like the vet, he’s a nice guy. He said I was a good girl.
But let me tell you about my friend Missy. Missy is a pug, and she gets allergies. She’s not allowed to play in the grass because of her allergies. Which is sad, because she’s missing out on all the fun.
Wrap Up
I saw a wolf on TV rolling around in the grass. The wolf wasn’t like me. The wolf was disguising its scent from its prey. So not all dog-like creatures like rolling in the grass for the same reasons as me.
There are lots of reasons why dogs like me like to roll in the grass. And so long as your dog is up to date on their vaccines, and doesn’t have allergies, it’s fine to let them roll around in the grass.
That’s provided you know there are no toxic fertilizers or pesticides on there.