How To Keep My Male From "kicking"

[Echobelly1]

Our 4 year old male recently picked up the habit of kicking back the dirt after he pees and poops. We've had him 2 years and he only started doing this after staying at doggie day care for a few days while we were away. I guess he got in with the wrong crowd (at least he's not smoking!). Is there a way to train him to stop doing this? I know it has a lot to do with instinct and spreading his scent, but it's really unpleasant when you're walking him on leash and have to pick up after him and he turns and kicks dirt in your face. We quickly scold "NO", but he doesn't seem to get it.

[CharlieRhea]

My dogs have always done this, it is a natural thing to do. I've never tried to stop them from doing this, don't know what to tell you.

found this and many articles saying pretty much the same thing:

 

It is normal for dogs of both sexes to vigorously kick the ground with their hind legs after defecating. This is called scraping or peeling out. Some dogs will also do it after urinating. Dogs are descended from wolves, which also perform this behavior. It is not a bad habit, but a vital part of a dog leaving a visual message and scent message to any other dogs that happen to pass by

 

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/about_6620614_do-scratch-ground-after-defecating_.html

[BatterseaBrindl]

My dogs have always done this, it is a natural thing to do. I've never tried to stop them from doing this, don't know what to tell you.

found this and many articles saying pretty much the same thing:

 

It is normal for dogs of both sexes to vigorously kick the ground with their hind legs after defecating. This is called scraping or peeling out. Some dogs will also do it after urinating. Dogs are descended from wolves, which also perform this behavior. It is not a bad habit, but a vital part of a dog leaving a visual message and scent message to any other dogs that happen to pass by

 

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/about_6620614_do-scratch-ground-after-defecating_.html

 

 

Nixon always does it ..... in the exact same places each and every time we walk.

Ruby will do it the odd time.

Nigel never does.

[RedHead]

I agree, my dogs both do this (one is a male, the other female). I don't think there is much you can or should do to stop it as it is a natural behaviour. I have gotten some clods of dirt kicked in my face, so now I just stand in the other direction

[scullysmum]

Niles does this too, I have learned to stand out of the way . Thankfully Johnny hasn't done it yet.

[Guest lemon]

Tosh also loves to do this and appears so joyous that I normally don't stop him. On occasions where I feel it might be damaging to someone's nicely kept grass or other people's personal property (i.e. small rocks flying at my neighbor's car- that was fun ) I will just gently touch him on his back end and that seems to stop him. I actually catch his poop in a bag as he is going because it tends to be soft and hard to pick up. Using that method allows me to stand up right away when he's done and step outside the danger zone. Of course sometimes I forget and end up with dirt all over my shoes - but at least I know it's just dirt.

[scullysmum]

I just remembered I even have a picture of angel Sadi doing it....her legs were moving so fast the camera couldn't keep up

 

[Greydawg]

Funny that he picked this up this habit at day care.

 

My Alex does this "bravado" thing too, but only when there are other big dogs around that he wants to impress. At least that is how I interpret it. He doesn't do this normally. If I anticipate this behavior, and I am quick enough to correct him just as he starts, I can usually curtail it. But I am a split second late, too bad, he has to kick up earth, and there is little I can do to stop him after he is into it.

 

I am interested in reading everyone's comments.

[Sambuca]

I don't allow it because we leash walk and I don't want them destroying others yards. I say "nope" gently then give a gentle pull of the leash and call them to continue walking/move. It generally works. I wait until they're done before picking up any poop.

[greytpups]

I'm also a "wait til they're done" type. I've learned my lesson with both snow and dirt. Generally, I try not to let them go on other people's property, but sometimes it happens and then I just have to touch Ben's butt and say ok Ben, let's go and he'll stop.

[Guest IrskasMom]

My Morty does it sometimes . My Friends Supoda , he was the World Champion in kicking the Dirt .

[Guest normaandburrell]

Both of our males did this and we learned to turn the dog slightly after he finished so that whatever he deposited was more in front of him than behind. It gave us a chance to pick it up without getting dirt kicked in our face! Sometimes he still kicked but at least we were out of the line of fire.

[scullysmum]

I would be interested to know if it's mostly males who do this, obviously my girl Sadi did it...but she could "**" her leg with the best of them too. So how many girls do it too?

[LaFlaca]

My Wendy does this vigorously after urinating and defecating, but only if she's not in our yard. I guess it's her way of telling other dogs, "Wendy was here".

[PrairieProf]

Beth does it pretty regularly. (For the record, she marks a lot, too.) A short leash and moving her on will prevent it if she is doing it in a bad spot, like someone's mulch. Or just reposition the dog so their back end isn't towards your face when picking up the poop, or wait until they're done. I would never try to "turn off" a perfectly normal dog behavior.

[Echobelly1]

I realize it's normal dog behavior, I just thought it was odd he never did it till the day we picked him up from doggy daycare. He had been there a number of times before, I guess there was one dog that really impressed him!

[silverfish]

It might be more that he was exposed to a lot of other doggie pheromones and decided he needed to compete. I'm with the others: it's a perfectly normal behaviour and I don't see the need to stop it. I'll ask them to move on a pace or turn them while I pick up, so I don't get covered in divots but ... it still happens sometimes!

[Gryffenne]

Sammi used to love doing this when she was younger. Usually when I was wearing sandals

Now that her back end is getting weaker, it has become a very rare occurrence.

 

River does this almost every time. If she is feeling extra spunky, it's a scrape, scrape, scrape, SPRING, turn and face me. She is also a little OCD about her pee routine. She HAS to scrape the ground with her front paw 2x in three different spots (so 6 total) if you disrupt/distract her, she starts the process all over again.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Gryffenne

[Brandiandwe]

Paige and Hermon both do this, with every sign of enjoyment and enthusiasm. They both look so proud! I stand away from them and don't atempt to pick up until after they're done, not least because both have occasionally misjudged the distance and got the poop as well. Brandi attempts to mark but doesn't scratch. Benny does neither, he just bops along.

[Guest Addie]

Logan never did it until this spring, but he only does it on walks never in our yard.

[macoduck]

I would be interested to know if it's mostly males who do this, obviously my girl Sadi did it...but she could "**" her leg with the best of them too. So how many girls do it too?

Only my angel Gracie did the kick. She would also sometimes lift her leg to pee while my old boys squatted.

[Fruitycake]

Monty never does this (and he's not much into the marking everywhere, as most boy dogs are). Allie, our girl dog, does the kick after every poop and after most pees. I usually can direct her to get onto pavement or sidewalk (so she files her own nails!) but if I don't a gentle "hey, get on the sidewalk" will get her to stop. She also is a marker - around one block she will pee about 4 times, a little here a little there, and will always pee after seeing another dog and getting huffy at it, or being barked at by another dog (even when it is inside a house and she can't see it).

[Guest chickenpotpie]

lucky does it. I've never stopped her, I just stay out of the way until she's done.

[Guest PipDG]

Emmie never used to do it until she saw another girl greyhound and copied her. Our boy Harvey has started doing it as well now. They get so much pleasure out of it I don't stop them. It is often the precursor to a big, joyous zoom!

[Guest loki1]

I've only had my 21 month old for a month and up until last week, he never kicked up the dirt. Suddenly, this week he's turned into a kick boxer after every wee when out on a walk. I wasn't sure whether to stop it but since most of you are experiencing the same thing, then I'll let my boy show the neighbourhood "who's the man."