Monday, November 23, 2015

Ask OBP #18

Benjamin

This week's Ask question comes from Christie. She shared that her Olive will kick up the dirt/grass after she has done her business. Her boys Vito and Luigi do not do this. She wondered if our pugs do/did the same. Yes, Christie, Benny and Luna both did this and not only after going potty but also just on occasion after a specific smell that they wanted to top. We had pretty much seen it as a dominance type of behavior. There are a couple of theories why dogs do this, though.

The first theory is that they are "covering" their mess. Like they are cleaning up after themselves. I am not sure if I buy into that but it sounds nice, doesn't it? Here is a little article to support theory.

The other theory is that they are marking their territory even more. They did their business, and now they are leaving more of their scent behind. (Dogs have scent glands in their paws.) This is more to what Benny and Luna would do. They would poop or pee and just kick up a dirt and be so proud of themselves like they showed that last dog who was boss! Here is more on this theory.

I think we've asked this before, Christie but I am going to ask again. Is Olive a dominant doggy? I feel like I keep hearing stuff that indicates that she is but I think you have said that she is not. From an outside perspective, you may want to consider that she is. And there is nothing wrong with her being a dominant little diva! Luna was the best at the role! She was a hotsie totsie and did it well! Benny had only a few dominant traits but marking stuff was sure a big one! If he was a human man or boy, he'd be one of those guys who would just pee in the middle of Mardi Gras and think it was a hoot! Whoosh! Thank goodness he was dog! LOL!

Due to the upcoming holidays we will be reverting back to Caption This on Tuesdays. But we will go back to Ask OBP early in 2016. We want to be able to give our full attention to our responses and with a busy holiday season that may not be possible. So, be sure to be jotting down some questions over the next few weeks! We'd love to have some good ones to start the year with!

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Minnie, Mack and Mario

11/24/2015

Happy Holidays! Love, Minnie, Mack and Mario

Sue VDB

11/24/2015

I have had several dogs do the digging up the grass/dirt after their business meeting. Honestly I never thought too much about it until Christie mentioned it.

Not too sure how I feel about the two theories because of the different personalities of all my fur babies. As I reflect back I can see some dominance in a couple, but not all, and as far as cleaning up their mess it was not consistent.

Maybe the first thing in the morning business meeting, there is always a lot of newspaper reading and perhaps whatever was in the yard overnight had to be covered up.

Christie, your questions has triggered a lot of thinking about the subject I never gave a thought to before.

Lori

11/24/2015

I always heard it was a way to help express their anal glands. Not sure where I heard that. My jack russell (very dominant) does that. My pug girl does not.

Martha

11/24/2015

I have wondered about this, because my Bennie does not do this, but my son’s pug, Norman, is very enthusiastic about doing it. So much so that sometimes Norman has actually kicked so hard that he’s backed up into his business and kicked right into it and gotten his paws dirty!

#GottaKeepYourEyeOnNorm

Sleighbelle

11/24/2015

Sleighbelle would do that, but not every time she went potty. Maybe they do it when they smell something and they want to “top it”?

We spend so much time trying to figure out what is going on in our furbabies minds, I wonder if they do the same thing? Looking at us, trying to figure out why we do or say the things we do. I’m glad they can’t talk, cause I know Sleighbelle would have had some things to say to me! “Dang mom, what in the world were you thinking??”

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Christie Sachde

11/24/2015

How cool that you got an action shot…is that some kind of sand snowman he’s peeing on?!?!?! I never knew that there were scent glands in their paws…maybe that does have something to do with it! We always thought maybe she was trying to clean off her paws???

As for Olive being the dominant doggy…I think the answer is YES! Vito was 5 when we got her and until that time our house was HIS kingdom! When she arrived he would look at us as if to say…I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS…HOW COULD YOU (I’m still not sure he’s forgiven us)?!?!?! We expected the alpha male scenario but Vito just seemed to mostly sulk:( So, Olive saw her chance and went for it…Vito can’t play with a toy without her stealing it from him… and don’t even think about going anywhere near her food or her human! And now that we have Luigi she is all kinds of pissed!

He is blind and has atrophy in his legs from being locked in a laundry room for so long. So, I have to carry him up and down the steps…Olive gets all worked up in to a lather when I do…she makes this noise that sounds like the Tasmanian devil and jumps up biting at his paws! She does not like it when either Luigi or Vito is getting attention!!! So, yeah-she is a diva like little Luna…can you imagine what the two of them would have been like together?!?!?!

Christie Sachde

11/24/2015

My question…chewing…did any of your kidz chew your shoes or slippers??? I have always heard about dogs chewing shoes…NONE of our kidz chew shoes…BUT for whatever reason Vito is all about chewing our slippers…both mine and my husbands! In fact often times he will come after them while they are on our feet and try to pull them off!!! I have close to 130 pair of shoes and he NEVER touches any of them but our slippers are a different story! He is always trying to worm his way in to my husband’s closet so that he can get at his slippers so, I have to make sure and close the closet door completely so that he doesn’t find a way in!!!

Brenda Cooper

11/24/2015

I think I mentioned that Genevieve and Molly both do the kicking and scratching thing after they potty. Genevieve is very vigorous aboutit, sometimes her right back leg goes straight out. Molly the much bigger dog, is very dainty and dignified when she does it. Genevieve is the boss around here, she rules with an iron paw. She’s a funny little girl sometimes.

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