Why do some dogs...?

[Jennifer Carr]

Why do some dogs kick back their four legs after urinating? Do they think they are spreading their smell around more?

[Stefie C]

Do you mean like they are wiping their feet? Mine does that occasionally but only after #2 if she has loose stools. I just thought she was just cleaning off her feet in case she had gotten any on her. :)

[Jennifer Carr]

It looks like wiping feet. Mine does it more after #1 and she is also a "marker" so I thought is was more behavioural.

She also rolls in dead animals so I would think she would welcome the smell! :)

[Renee]

We typically see this type of behavior in higher status dogs (though my dog does this and I wouldn't necessarily call her a "higher status" dog). I'm not sure if we know exactly why some dogs do this. I think the scent marking hypothesis might apply.

[Beth Pladson]

El does that and I thought she was just trying to cover it up! :? She does it after pooing more than peeing... only occasionally after pee, but always after poo.

[Daniela Jantzen]

I'm not sure if we know exactly why some dogs do this. I think the scent marking hypothesis might apply.

This has nothing to do with status itself but really with scent marking.
It is very common behaviour for dogs who are very eager to pass on their message - be it ladies in heat, youngsters in adolescence just discovering they got balls ("I am the king of the world - I think... Oh, let me claim that anyway"!), but also a typical behaviour for territorial breeds ("stay away from my area - meaning the next 150km..."). Livestock protection dogs for example are masters in scent marking and can do that quite excessively during walks.

Danny

[Renee]

Hi Daniela-

I was quoting Dr. P.M...I've heard her say that this kind of scent marking is seen in higher status dogs/wolves...

Bonnie Beaver states in her book Canine Behavior for Vets "Mammals typically mark more frequently when they are intolerant of or dominant to other members of their own species. Scent marking can also occur when an animal is motivated toward aggression and is likely to attack" Bonnie references 2 studies to back this statement up - though I have not read these two particular studies.

When I visited the researchers at Wolf Park, Pat Goodman did say that scent making does play into status with wolves depending on the circumstance. Pat did her masters thesis on scent marking.

I think this is an area that needs more research....unfortun ately we do not have a lot of research when it comes to dogs in general. Many things are just our best educated guesses because we don't have any reliable methods to test certain hypotheses and we don't have enough PhD's doing their dissertation projects on dog/wolf related topics.

Later,

[Susan Schue]

This has nothing to do with status itself but really with scent marking.
It is very common behaviour for dogs who are very eager to pass on their message - be it ladies in heat, youngsters in adolescence just discovering they got balls ("I am the king of the world - I think... Oh, let me claim that anyway"!), but also a typical behaviour for territorial breeds ("stay away from my area - meaning the next 150km..."). Livestock protection dogs for example are masters in scent marking and can do that quite excessively during walks.

Danny

You just described my Bonzo, who is half Australian Cattle Dog. I call it his poopy dance. He also is a prolific marker on walks, and very protective. Maggie on the other hand turns in 2-3 tiny circles, while squatting, before she goes, anyone have an explanation for her poopy dance? :p

[Beth Pladson]

Oh boy, doggies just have such interesting and mystifying (to us ignorant people) behaviors. I've talked to other lab owners and I don't know it's just the breed or something all dogs do, but El (year old female yellow) will squat to poo, then walk while squatting, and poo as she walks. Then she does the "foot wipe" maneuver while staring at me. We make her sit at the door of her run before letting her out. She's done that foot wipe dance since she was probably about five months. That's how we know she's finished pooping. Roddy, the three month old black male, runs off, poops, gets back up, runs away from where he just pooped, poos some more, runs off, poos more... he may do that four or five times before he's finally finished. He doesn't do the foot dance yet, though. But El stepped right in his poo once when she was doing it. I was like, gee, could you not step smack dab in the middle of it?! :? Oh well.

[Daniela Jantzen]

Hi Daniela-

I was quoting Dr. P.M....I've heard her say that this kind of scent marking is seen in higher status dogs/wolves...

It is - but not limited to them. It usually depends on the pack structure of the dogs/wolves.


Bonnie Beaver states in her book Canine Behavior for Vets "Mammals typically mark more frequently when they are intolerant of or dominant to other members of their own species. Scent marking can also occur when an animal is motivated toward aggression and is likely to attack" Bonnie references 2 studies to back this statement up - though I have not read these two particular studies.

Scent marking as a dominance display makes sense when other dogs are present and the gesture is clearly directed at one of them. But what about all those dogs who do that on their daily walks without usually displaying any type of dominant behaviour towards other dogs at all...? ;)
Scent marking itself is generally used to pass on ones scent as a message - the motivation behind the action has to be analyzed individually. It can be dominance, but doesn't have to be.


When I visited the researchers at Wolf Park, Pat Goodman did say that scent making does play into status with wolves depending on the circumstance. Pat did her masters thesis on scent marking.

It does and I never doubted that. But as Pat Goodman says: it depends on the circumstance........ I have seen and read a lot of research about wolf packs in the wild. And scent marking is also done by low ranking pack members if the intention is to mark and defend the territory against another pack or other intruders. If it is about status issues within the pack, it is usually the Alpha who does the most scent marking....with the youngsters trying to rebuild their egos by doing it in secret as soon as Alpha looks away... (Males and their ego... :) )


I think this is an area that needs more research....unfortun ately we do not have a lot of research when it comes to dogs in general. Many things are just our best educated guesses because we don't have any reliable methods to test certain hypotheses and we don't have enough PhD's doing their dissertation projects on dog/wolf related topics.
Later,
Sometimes using common sense while observing your own dogs in the dog park or in your back yard can help a lot when it comes to figuring out the motivation behind a dog's scent marking. The best study will not be able to give you precise answers to that if your dog has not been the researched "object" in every scent marking situation possible... ;)

Danny

[Jill Ramsey]

Oh boy, doggies just have such interesting and mystifying (to us ignorant people) behaviors. I've talked to other lab owners and I don't know it's just the breed or something all dogs do, but El (year old female yellow) will squat to poo, then walk while squatting, and poo as she walks. Then she does the "foot wipe" maneuver while staring at me. We make her sit at the door of her run before letting her out. She's done that foot wipe dance since she was probably about five months. That's how we know she's finished pooping. Roddy, the three month old black male, runs off, poops, gets back up, runs away from where he just pooped, poos some more, runs off, poos more... he may do that four or five times before he's finally finished. He doesn't do the foot dance yet, though. But El stepped right in his poo once when she was doing it. I was like, gee, could you not step smack dab in the middle of it?! :? Oh well.

Beth,
Finnegan, my 20 mo.old black lab will not stay in one place while pooping either!! He always leaves a trail. He doesn't do the foot wipe.
However, my 4 month old yellow, poops in one spot, and does the foot wipe after pooping & peeing.

[Luciann]

Well it is funny cause Frodo and Tika both do it, thou Frodo is better at throwing dirt around than Tika. They both do it after peeing or pooing, 9 times out of 10 they will i always call it kicking dirty more with the hind legs but the front as well some. frodo love to throw around pine needles as well.

i assumed it was a marking technique that they used. but then i always tell frodo when we are walking and has to stop to leave his reply to the message and come on...lol since we have to stop at EVERY post, tree or upright item.

What is even funnier is when Tika squats she has to hike on hind leg off the ground as though she is trying to mimic her daddy. and she pees and walks at the same time, i guess to spread it around more

[Chris Smith]

It's pretty funny to hear all of our dogs "bathroom habits"!!

Nalu just recently started doing the dirt kicking/foot wiping thing after pooping. He takes a couple of steps away from the pile so fortunately, he's not stepping in it at all.

He has only done it occasionally and only in the backyard - not out on walks or off leash. His in his teenage years so maybe he's trying to puff up his chest and shows his a big man now?? Or make sure that anything entering the yard (cats, possums, squirrels) know that it's HIS yard??

[Sarah Moore]

OK, have to jump in on this one because it is pretty funny how different dogs do their "business" My three: Lucky is a foot wiper in a BIG way. Same with marking. He would mark the entire world if his bladder was big enough. The only time he really gets to mark is at the dog park, which his trips are few and far between due to some recent aggression issues. On walks, I limit his marking by walking him in the street, etc. Mostly because I hate to see him tear up the nice landscaping with his foot wiping. :) Ginger does the little circle pee dance, it’s very cute. Even when she had her cast on from her accident, she still tried to circle, poor little girl. She does the foot wiping about 1 out of every 10 times. Teddy does the typical lab walk and poop so his poops make a 1-2 foot trail, sigh. He doesn't lift his leg to pee (he was neutered at 4 months, no idea if that is why) BUT he just started kind of marking sort of when I walk him. About 2 weeks ago, we walked by a plant and he kind of hovered over it a little drop squirted out. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. I said, wow my baby is growing up (he is 18 months now) :) Its funny, we walk the same path a lot and it is always that same bush he pees on, nothing else. If only we knew what was going on in their head...

[Alberta Hanko]

Actually, this is an interesting subject. My last dog, Ambrose, was self confident (this I didn't know then) and easy going, and he would always kick his back feet a lot after pooping. Now my Linus is fear aggressive, reactive to all sort of things, and although when he pees he holds that leg up as high as he possibly can--he does not kick his back feet--which I had thought in my ignorance that all dogs did.

Alberta & Linus

[heathea]

Well...here is my potty stories...

Teak (6 year old male; "fixed"; very shy and much happier not being "in charge" lab mix) will kick his legs like a fool after pooping only and will pee on anything standing still on a walk. He poops in one place only and as soon as he is done I have to make sure to pull him away from the poop or that can get kicked too, which makes clean up a bi*ch.
I always sort of thought he was overcompensating like an older bald short man with a silver corvette with the scent spreading....

Life (2 year old female; "fixed"; very confident without being dominant, loves new people, new dogs, and is just a very happy big headed beast (rottie/mastiff/etc. mix)) will poop while continuing to move. cleaning up after her is a pain in the butt as I have to follow the poop line. however she has never kicked or marked while peeing, in fact, she waits until we get back to our house to pee while on a walk.

interesting topic.
-Heather

[Susan Schue]

Maggie, who is approximately 10 months old and joined our family 2 months ago, squatted and peed normally like a good girl. Then a couple weeks ago, she started lifting her leg, which she does about half the time now, and often on things her brother Bonzo just marked. While I expected her to pick up some behaviors from him, I wasn't expecting that one.

And Alberta, your Linus sounds like Bonzo when I got him at a year old, lots of fear aggression, and no poo dance, though he did a split that could rival any cheerleader's when he peed. Then one day about six months later, he did the foot wipe thing, looking oh so very happy and proud of himself, and he's been doing it ever since.

[MutzzysMom]

Mutzzy runs around the table full speed when she has to go #2. She runs a like a greyhound in circles growling wildly as if she is some kind of ferocious beast. As if she is telling her poop who is boss. She never has a poop accident in the house because this poopy dance is incredible hard to miss. Ive actually caught it on tape bc it is just too funny. Too bad we cant post videos

[Luciann]

Susan

Tika is like Maggie, she has started hiking her leg when she pees but what is funnier is when she finds a spot that has been marked and squats/hikes leg over and remarks the spot.

Frodo will some hike his leg so high that i expect him to fall over actually but so far has not done that. when he is wipeing his feet he steps away from his pool at least. tika will also do it but where frodo can throw grass/dirt/leaves etc feet/yards tika can only seem to get it inches but i praise her for her good job of throwing dirt too

neither of mine do the pee dance at least