Madeline ~ Come on and Walk my Way

Today we took the crew out to an abandoned campground that is situated on a chain of lakes and marsh.

It was a beautiful day. The dogs were in heaven. I mean what’s better than exploring a new area off leash? Complete with water!

Now bear with me.

As can be expected when one is hiking, the need to relieve ones self can arise. So I squatted in the grass on the side of the dirt road we were walking along. Then we went along our business of exploring, ’nuff said. Shortly thereafter B found himself needing to do the same.

Before either of us could fully realize what was happening Madeline sashayed on over and squatted to pee on B’s pee. Once finished with her quick spritz she dashed right on through the newly directed stream of B’s urine to continue exploring.

Hmmmm, I thought, this is very interesting. I had never experienced a dog peeing over a human’s urine before. But it is no secret that Madeline loves her daddy. Hell, she owns his ass apparently.

So on we go.

Eventually we loop around to find ourselves walking along the same patch of road from which we entered the grounds. And ultimately we arrive at the spot where earlier I had relieved myself. Madeline did a curious thing. She went right over to the spot and proceeded to drop and roll in my pee! WTH is that?

We speculated as to why she would feel compelled to do such a thing and arrived at no real consensus. So I did some boogying on the web. Essentially everything I found could be summarized by the following:

• Although no conclusive evidence exists regarding why dogs roll in other animal’s waste (as well as dead animal parts), it seems reasonable to assume they do this to provide themselves with a sort of camouflage. Animal waste carries a rich supply of pheromones, potent chemicals that reveal its source’s species, sex, reproductive status, and even social rank. Because many mammals rely on scent rather than vision to identify each other, a dog who rolls in waste or other debris from a member of another species could conceivably fool members of that species into accepting it as one of their own. In the wild, this would enable a predatory dog to get closer to a potential meal than it could otherwise, thereby improving its chances for survival. Because of the survival advantage the behavior conferred, it would become firmly entrenched in the wild dog’s repertoire and persist even after domestication.

Almost makes me wonder if she isn’t saying “This is my man b@#*!”

I guess if that doesn’t work the plan is to fool him into thinking she’s me.

Clever, or just weird? You decide.

Filed under: Observations & Reflection