Dogs and Dead Things

This is Spanky (hi Spanky!).

Spanky lives down the road from me, and sometimes when the dogs and I are walking, he joins us. On more than one occasion, Spanky has found treasures such as this dead squirrel. I won't tell you what he did with it. I was grossed out. My dogs were intrigued.

Why do dogs like dead things? They aren't food and they aren't even fun. What's the attraction? Spanky gets plenty of food at home, and I suspect he's got real dog toys there as well.

Dogs seem to have a different standard than us humans. A dead squirrel smells terrific to a dog. He may eat it, he may roll in it. But why? Oh why? Some dog behaviorist believe dogs roll in dead things to mask their own odors, so any fierce animal that may be on the hunt for our dear dog will be thrown off.

Frankly, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but after twelve years of watching dogs and observing dog behaviors, there just is no explaining certain scenarios. Dogs will just always surprise me.

Spanky got me wondering if there are some "dead things" I hold on to in my life. What poor quality food do I partake, when there is much better food at home? There are even those bad habits that I will "roll around in" that really serve no good purpose but to make me stink.

God wants so much better for you and for me than what we may find on the road.