Why does my dog roll in fox poo?

While the fox and hound might make for a great pub name, there is a less pleasant combination of these two canine creatures. If your dog has ever taken the time roll around in a particularly pungent pile of fox droppings, you’ll know it do be a rather unpleasant thing. But why do they do this? We asked Head Vet Sean to give you a little more insight into why dogs enjoy rolling in fox poo so much.

A nose like no other

There are several theories as to why your dog might engage in this sort of activity, but one of the key things you have to remember is the sheer power of your dog’s nose. In the average human hooter we have about 6 million scent receptors that help us tell a fresh cup of coffee from the aroma of a fine port. A dog though has 30 million scent receptors that allow them to see in what we call ‘smelly vision’. And they have a huge amount of their brain devoted to processing these smells making them about 10,000 times better at sniffing things out than we are. And when it comes to fox scat, a substance that is full of intense and incredible aromas (to your dog at least), the likelihood is that this is fantastically fascinating to them. 

There are other reasons too, and in this video from our head vet, Sean McCormack, we’ll go through a few of these and give you a lot more insight into why this happens. And if you ever need to reward your dog for resisting the temptation to roll around in fox poo, why not keep some of our tasty treats to hand on those country walks?

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