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February 18, 2020

The fascinating reason why dogs love to play dirty

The fascinating reason why dogs love to play dirty
Dr. Chris Brown
by CHRIS BROWN

There’s a very good reason why, like this previously ‘golden’ retriever, dogs love being dirty. And it’s probably not what you think...

We’ve all been there. Rufus suffers his way through a bath only to immediately send himself to the muddiest corner of the park at the first opportunity. So why do they despise the fresh, the clean and the pleasantly fragrant? Here’s your answer...

Well, rather than revenge for the bath, the answer is actually instinct. You see dogs are obsessed with smelling like their surrounding environment. It’s a carry over from their wolf like ancestors who knew that hunting was impossible if a strong fragrant smell gave the game away to their prey. So when you spray pet perfume or even use a fragranced shampoo, this mud wrestle is an all too common result.

The easy fix? Go fragrance free and maybe take them for a leash walk after a bath so they can ease their new neutral smell into their environment; all while air drying.

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