Scent Rolling Like a Boss...or a Wolfdog

Wolves and dogs scent roll for a variety of reasons.  Some speculate is to camouflage their own scent with the scent of something else. In the case of wolves, this could be done so that prey would not smell them, but whatever they had rolled on.  It is also speculated that scent rolling is a territorial/owning behavior, in that they are claiming whatever it is they are rolling on by placing their own scent on it.

Faolan loves to scent roll.  On anything and everything it seems.  I can see him doing it for both reasons listed above. He loves to rub on me, no matter what I smell like.  I think it is his way of claiming me.  My reasoning for this is that he also demonstrates some minor resource guarding behaviors of me around other dogs on occasion, such as body blocking and vocalizing.

Examples of things Faolan scent rolls on/in: new stinky treats, new non stinky treats, fabric softener sheets, soap, hair product, Pledge furniture polish, other cleaning products, dirty clothes, poop of various species of animals, various foodstuffs, me, shoes, etc. Basically, if something has a scent at all, Faolan will attempt to scent roll on it.

Seeing as how it is one of his favorite activities, here is a brief pictorial primer on to appropriately scent roll like a boss...or wolfdog.

Detect unusual scent.

Choose a side to start with.  Believe it or not, a pattern is typically followed when scent rolling.  It involves leaning over and starting with one side of the face. Then the body flops down and wiggles until that side of the body is sufficiently covered with said scent.  Stand up, switch sides, repeat.

The sillier the faces made, the better.

Stand up, sniff area to see if any other interesting scents exist.

Repeat the process.

Finish with a delightful chin rub.

There you have it.  Faolan's method for scent rolling like a boss...or a wolfdog.

Do your dogs ever scent roll? What are their favorite scents?