Why does my dog kick up grass after peeing or pooing?

It can be a curious ritual to observe, but any dog owner who has taken their dog out in order for their pet to relieve themselves is likely to have witnessed it. After the deed is done, many dogs will then kick grass over their pee or poo. Why do they do this? Well, in this blog post and the accompanying video, we’ll give you all the info you need.

Doggy social media

Dog’s noses are amazing things with the power to sniff out incredibly complex scents and odours from a long way away. While this activity of kicking back grass or dirt over their business may seem to be all about the back end of a dog, like many other things in a dog’s world, it’s very much related to their nose. 

Dogs love to sniff each other’s poo and pee as each deposit leaves a complex message to the other dogs in their neighbourhood. As well as the kicked up grass leaving a visual clue to other dogs, letting them know that there’s something new here to be sniffed out, a pooch’s paws will excrete a scent that will help to identify them and their poo or pee to other dogs. It’s how they converse with each other in many ways, and that’s why we call it doggy social media.

For more information about this practice, take a look at this video from our head vet Sean McCormack who can tell you more. 

4 thoughts on “Why does my dog kick up grass after peeing or pooing?”

    • Strangely enough my female border collie does this, however she only started doing it after she was spayed, so I’m thinking something hormonal going on.

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  1. My female dog does it too. But I also have a male dog, I think she copies him, also it is a way of her to scent on top of another dogs scent.

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