October 21st, 2008
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So, why do dogs scratch with their hind legs after defecating? You might think the dog is trying to cover up his poop like a cat does, but it’s actually a way to mark territory, with the scratch marks in the ground pointing to the scent the dog has left. |
interesting. i always wondered. but… um, what kind of dogs (wait–is this a shitsu thing?
and how many were surveyed to reach this conclusion? how did they signify their responses? i mean really… how could you know this for sure?
One thing I think one would do is look at the personality of the dog. My submissive lab never scratched the ground until I got my dominant coon hound. The hound really tears up the ground and now that the lab is starting to show some signs of dominance, he’s scratching at the ground as well.
John’s comment is hilarious – but no, nobody stood behind a thousand dogs after they pooped and took a poll of why they scratched backwards afterwards!! Like so many dog behaviors, social scientists have deduced information about their behavior by studying wolves in captivity. And I myself have noticed that only a small number of dogs actually engage in this mark-scratching, and those who do will also sometimes do it after they mark with urine. As for Becky’s comment, there is not really any relationship established by those researchers between a dog’s place in his pack and marking where he defecated. The Lab may just have learned this behavior from watching, as dogs learn so very many other things – when you say “submissive” Lab, was he submissive to the Hound or to all dogs? or to you? this word and description is so misunderstood, but we’ll save that for another time. I also would suggest you check out THE DOG BIBLE or other publications that explain what “dominant” means, since it is a word misused by many people, especially even trainers who have not done much studying, and it can get in the way of really understanding your beautiful Hound’s true temperament.
my two year old golden retriever started doing it about 6 months ago(you do the math for age) – I appears totally unlearned as the dogs he socializes with don’t exhibit that behavior. 1.5 years might have been a maturity thing…but I believe its hardwired, not learned.
All three of my dogs scratch the ground after they poop, they do not do it everytime and one does it more often than the other two.
My Boston Terrier, Sparky, does it almost every time he pees or poops. He is a little over two years old and has been doing it since he was a small pup. He really gets down with it, throwing grass and dirt way up and landing it on his back sometimes. Really funny and cute to me.
I have had my puggle for 6 yrs and she never did this, we now have a year and half old pit lab mix who does this after she poops but only first thing a.m. Doesn’t do it any other time of day. I don’t think its a breed thing I think its an attitude thing she is just very dominate.
I have a pitbull and a pit/lab mix. Both dogs do it. The older one seems to do it more often (usually every time he pees or poops). He is only older by 1 year. They are 7 and 8 years old. I have had to keep them separate for the past 5 or so years ( pain in the butt ). Which is hard because they are both inside dogs. If they see each other they try their hardest to kill one another. Neither dog has ever been “dominant” acting toward a person or other dog. They will just walk on by or stare at other barking dogs like they could care less.