Dogs have natural instincts that are very different to ours, and do a lot of things we find disgusting. How often does your Border Collie coming bowling up to you full of excitement at its new smell, and it absolutely stinks? These types of behaviour will not hurt the dog, it is just that we do not like it or the behaviour is annoying....

Does your Border Collie have any of the following disgusting habits?

• Does it eat its faeces? This can be because your dog is bored, hungry, curious, or just enjoys eating it.
• Licking and sniffing another dog’s crotch when meeting. This is normal dog social behaviour and how dogs get to know each other.
• Your Border Collie may like to roll in disgusting things such as garbage, dead things, and anything else that smells good to them. This is delightful for your dog, covering itself with its favourite scents.

While you may find these things upsetting and inconvenient, they will not harm your Border Collie dog. While they may be normal, if your dog is an indoor dog it will make it unpleasant having it around. Here are some tips to help you manage your Border Collie’s disgusting habits:

• Make sure your dog is well fed and it will not want to pick up stray things to eat.
• Ensure your Border Collie gets enough exercise every day.
• Pick up your dog’s waste when it goes to the toilet outside.
• Use something like chilli powder on your dog’s droppings to discourage it from eating its own waste. Make sure there is plenty of fresh water because your dog will need it after a mouthful of chilli.
• Border Collie’s licking themselves is normal but if it is excessive there may be a medical problem or it could be attention seeking behaviour. Take your Border Collie to the vet for an assessment.
• If your Border Collie is well-trained, your voice command ‘leave it’ or ‘come’, for example, should be enough to stop it rolling in anything nasty while it is off lead. If your dog ignores you and does get smelly, give it a bath and next time keep it on the lead while doing more training on the come or leave it commands.

Tips for Managing Disgusting Habits

If you are really overly worried about your Border Collie’s disgusting habits, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Proof your Border Collie’s basic training so it will return to you or respond positively every single time you give it a command.
• Keep your dog’s yard area clean to eliminate the temptations.
• Do not let your Border Collie off lead in an area where there may be temptations to roll in.

Do not punish your dog for enjoying the simple things, and smells, in life. Your dog will think you are punishing it for having a good time, and not understand what you are trying to communicate.