How can I stop my puppy from rolling?

Question.
I have a nine-month-old puppy, Bitza, and am at my wits' end because she rolls almost every day and has to be bathed each time. Is there anything I can do to stop her and how should I react when she does this? Recently she has begun to carry any offending material away so she can roll in it again and will not come back to be put on the lead afterwards. Apart from the inconvenience of having to clean her and the bathroom every day, I am worried about Bitza's coat and skin as she is becoming dry with all the washing.

Answer.
Unfortunately rolling in unpleasant material is natural for dogs and not something they find offensive. Regarding your reaction, I urge you to ignore the behaviour as much as possible for two reasons. Firstly rolling is normal to Bitza and if you react in a hostile manner she will not understand why and may develop fear responses. Secondly it is possible for dogs to develop any behaviour into an attention- seeking response and if you react every time Bitza finds some offending material she may begin to do this.

It is better to turn a blind eye, which can be difficult. The key is to increase control and convince
Bitza there are other activities to take part in while out on walks which are more rewarding than rolling. Teaching a reliable recall and a leave response will be very valuable as both can interrupt the unwanted behaviour and bring Bitza back to you. If she is a suitable breed it may be beneficial to teach a retrieve game to establish a positive association between having an object in her mouth and being close to you. This should help to deal with her tendency to pick up material and run away from you.

Before deciding on alternative activities it is important to understand what motivates Bitza. Is she motivated by food or play? If food motivated you could try introducing search games into your walks. The idea is that you provide Bitza with reward pots that are thrown for her at intervals. These pots contain food and when Bitza finds the pot and brings it to you, you open it and give her the contents. To teach Bitza the rules, introduce the games at home first. Obviously she is highly rewarded by the rolling behaviour and you may need to use very high value rewards in the pots when on walks.

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