Why do they do this?

[Michele]

Florence is the quickest roller in the Western World, she can drop a shoulder in 0.01 seconds 

[mum2milly]

Milly has a penchant for all things equestrian.......&  bovine, sheep etc etc 
Its her fav fragrance. makes for a nice trip home in the car tho......PHEWWW!!!

[elaine.e]

One of mine, Sam, was a roller. Luckily Josh wasn't and William isn't.

With Sam it was a case of watching him like a hawk and the second I saw the tell tale drop of a shoulder I used to shout "leave it" and reward him with a treat or a pat if he left it.

Have to say though, he was about 6 or 7 years old before the attraction wore off and he stopped doing it altogether. Good luck 

[SkyeSue]

Ahem....well, Princess Chloe has only ever rolled on a smelly thing once (dead seagull!) and avoids muddy puddles, only clean rivers or the sea will do for her 

[ClareB]

Both of mine do it, unfortunately.     Mocha rolls in everything, Milo just rolls in really evil, smelly stuff, like rotting fish.     Mocha's especially ladylike about it - rolls in it, then pees on it.  I guess she's trying to make sure every other dog knows it's hers.   

Have to say, my approach is much like Nic's, if I notice in time I can get them to leave it, but if I'm too slow and they're already rolling, the voice of doom yelling at them to get out usually works.   

[joanne_v]

Krumbles had a dodgy brown patch on his back for over a week...should really bath him! Chucked Lyra in a pond the other day as her entire head got covered in cowpat after a quick roll. It stank to high heaven so I stopped halfway home from daycare to wash it off in a pond.

[aledlewis]

Thanks everyone for your replies - you've made me laugh. 

Perhaps we should have a massed stinky dog walk one day, with a mobile dog groomers at the end of the walk to meet us.

She was back at it today, one minute chasing her ball and then in a split second on her back doing what she does best. Not sure what it was - but the smell in the car was horrendous.

The funny thing is, that Alfie (our Tibetan Terrier) thinks it looks like great fun and so joins in with his paws up in the air - fortunately he hasn't worked out the purpose and so just does it on the grass next to her and not in anything offensive. Its really funny.

I'm resigned to the fact that Poppy is a Cocker who loves all things smelly, dirty, dead, rotting, muddy or wet. 

[debrand]

Ali the boxer and I will be at the stinky dog walk!
She is such an expert at doing it sneakily that normally I am walking along with a sedate elderly boxer at my heels wondering what the awful smell is!!!!!!!