Why Does My Dog Roll in Poop? How Do I Get Him to Stop?

We love our dogs. We share our homes, furniture, sometimes even our beds with them. And while we love all the wild and wonderful things about our fur babies, I’ll admit that when my dog takes a dive into a fresh pile of ivory bird poo (his favorite) I am disgusted and think, “why are you like this?”

With so much research available on dog behavior helping us to understand their wacky and unpredictable antics, the jury is still out on exactly why dogs seem to enjoy rolling around in poop and other nasty revolting stuff like trash, rotten food, and even dead animal remains. Here are some theories to better help you understand this phenomenon.

It’s Instinctual.

Whatever the reason, it is a deeply ingrained evolutionary instinct that dates back to well before dogs were domesticated animals. Even wolves, coyotes, and foxes roll in feces and dead animal remains. It is largely believed that they are either seeking to leave their scent behind as a form of marking, or they are trying to mask their own scent as a hunting technique.

They are Leaving Their Scent Behind

This is in line with another well-known dog behavior — marking. Dogs mark with urine to establish their territory and communicate with other animals, especially right after another dog has done so. It can be viewed as a simple doggy communication system in which your dog wants his neighboring animals to know that he’s been there and investigated the smelly odor too.

This is especially interesting when comparing it to the behavior of wolves. Researchers at the Wolf Park facility in Indiana noted that wolves will roll in something smelly, like the remains of their prey, and other pack-mates will sniff the wolf and then follow that scent back to its origin. This is a valuable hunting instinct. It communicates where prey was found and allows them to track future food sources.

They are Hiding Their Own Smell

It’s hard to look at the sweet teddy bear face of my pup and remember that his predecessors had to hunt to survive. He has never had to hunt farther than the kitchen to get a meal. But when I play with him, I see his primal instincts come alive. He will drop his prey (ok, it’s a plush toy shaped like a taco, but go with me on this one) and encircle it. His eyes fixed intently on me, especially my hands. As I inch them closer, he drops down and grumbles out a menacing growl. He is such a wolf in that little 8 lb. body!

By rolling in their prey’s smell, be it remains or poop, a dog can hide their own scent and mask it with a non-threatening odor that allows them to sneak up on unsuspecting game. The desire to hunt and engage in primitive instinctual behaviors of their wild ancestors is still highly active and makes your dog feel like he is doing what he was born to do.

How Do I Stop My Dog from Rolling in Poop?

Perhaps understanding why they do it is not as important to you as inhibiting it from happening in the first place. It is much easier to correct this behavior if your dog is on a leash when they are most prone to drop it low and wriggle in something revolting.

Watch for Cues They’re About to Drop it Down Low

Often your dog will have a particular posture or sequence of behavior that will alert you to their intent to roll before they even hit the ground. For example, sniffing intensely at a particular area. He may begin shaking his head or twisting to one side, alerting you that he is preparing to barrel into a vile mess. That is when you give the leash a tug and use your correction of choice, “no” or “leave it” works.

If there is a particular area that your dog tends find his favorite nasty stuff to roll in, like around a pond with ducks or geese, then make sure to walk them on a leash in those areas.

Off leash

It is harder to correct this behavior off leash. Establishing a solid training foundation with your dog is imperative. Using the command “no” or “leave it” will let her know it is unacceptable behavior. If it happens in your yard, keep an eye out for dead animals and clean up your dogs’ poop regularly to limit access to yucky stuff.

If you’re away from your home, or with particularly driven dogs, a distraction method may be effective. Offering small treats to distract her from the undesired behavior can help. A travel sized squeeze bottle (the ones for shampoo or lotion) filled with peanut butter supplies endless diversion from the temptation for really determined doggies that like to get dirty.

How to Wash Out the Smell When Your Dog Rolls in Poop and Gross Stuff

There are a myriad of odor-neutralizing shampoos on the market. I use one that includes orange oil, recognized as a safe deodorizer and degreaser. Look for one formulated for your dogs’ particular skin and coat type.

While you may never fully prevent your dog from rolling in poop and other nasty stuff, you can do your best to mitigate the behavior and redirect it. Play with your pup in a way that allows his natural hunting instincts to come alive without engaging in rolling in messy stuff. Correct the behavior before it happens when you sense a roll coming on. And be prepared with a good odor-neutralizing shampoo for when it occurs.

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5 Simple Kitchen Sustainability Swaps That Will Save You Money

Photo by Visual Stories || Micheile on Unsplash

Zero Waste, Money Saving Hacks for Your Home

Sustainability in the home is simply an effort to produce zero waste, or low waste, conserve resources, and reuse materials in a way that reduces our environmental impact. Bonus: these hacks also save you money! We have all heard heart-wrenching statements like — a full trash truck’s worth of garbage is dumped into the ocean every single minute. We see sad images of turtles with straws embedded in their noses and environmentalists and government leaders are urging us all to live a more sustainable lifestyle — our planet literally depends on it. But it can be hard to feel like you’re doing it right or doing enough — unless you move into a mud hut and live off of twigs and berries. I promise I am not going to ask you to start wiping your bum with leaves, I mean, unless you want to.

I am an imperfect environmentalist. I make plenty of mistakes on my journey to live greener. However, these five swaps I made last year were easy peasy lemon squeezy, and they were either free or repaid the cost of investment quickly and have saved me money in the long run. I estimate that these swaps saved me at least $3,796 in 2021.

1. Reusable Food Storage Bags

The average person uses nearly one pound of plastic sandwich bags, about 540 baggies, per year. If you are a parent with kids in school, it feels like double that amount, so this swap was a no brainer. I bought a set of twenty washable, reusable, silicone food storage bags, that came in three sizes, are resealable, leakproof, and freezer approved. Read the reviews and get good bags that will hold up and withstand a lot of washing and use. I paid $17.99 for my set of bags on Amazon and while I have not officially tracked the amount I was spending on plastic bags, quick math will show you that the average cost of a box of disposable plastic bags times 540 bags will set you back around $76 per year! The only downside to these bags is that they need to be hand washed, but that is really not difficult. I use a drying rack and it’s super easy to soap, rinse, and hang them.

If you’d like to read more about the severity of the plastic crisis, this article is a great resource.

2. Repurpose Food Containers

This swap is great because you can start right away, and it costs you nothing! How ironic that we live in a society that regularly disposes of (or attempts to recycle) the plastic and glass containers that we get for free when we buy products like sauces, pickles, olives, condiments, yogurt, whipped cream — the list goes on and on — and then go out and purchase similar plastic and glass containers for food storage. Madness! I save and repurpose as many food containers as possible. In fact, my stash of clean, empty, and available containers is getting a bit ridiculous. I use them for everything. Like organization — my daughter wears a mask to school every day, so an old coffee can has made a fantastic vessel to store and cycle her masks. I also use this technique to keep socks and undies from getting lost in dresser drawers. Glass containers are wonderful for a myriad of things: from storing leftovers to drinking glasses, or craft into a cute gift. Make your loved ones this adorable DIY cookie kit or share a signature pasta sauce, soup, or bangin’ chili.

3. Reusable Shopping Bags and Produce Bags

Many states are pushing hard towards reusable shopping bags by charging a small fee, like $0.05, for plastic bags. Think about it, how ridiculous is it to put our groceries in these awful, flimsy plastic bags that have to be doubled up to hold anything, only for you to then collect them in your home for months, then bring them back to the grocery store to recycle? That is, if they get recycled at all. I love reusable shopping bags because they hold a lot and are super sturdy. If you are team “one trip” like me and load yourself up like an Olympic weightlifter to avoid going back to the car, then these are a vastly superior way to transport groceries. While they typically sell for $0.99 in stores, most of my reusable shopping bags have been given to me for free as a promotion — for example, when you sign up for a customer rewards program at your local store. Last year I bought a variety of mesh produce bags as well to cut down on the use of plastic when buying fresh produce. They are machine washable, and the air flow actually keeps many fruits and veg fresh for longer.

4. Cloth “Paper” Towels

This one took the most getting used to. Using cloth towels for food can be a bit messy. For example, if you used one to wipe up spaghetti sauce, you need to thoroughly rinse it out before putting it in the wash, and particularly messy loads of kitchen towels will need to be washed separately from other clothes. For me, washing my kitchen towels with my clothes has not been an issue. At first, I noticed a less-than-fresh smell from my laundry when I began this practice. Using a small amount of color safe, non-bleach laundry booster has completely remedied this. I purchased a couple packs of microfiber cotton reusable towels because I like the uniformity of size and quality of material for use with food. For all non-food jobs, old t-shirts and outgrown, stained, kids’ clothes make excellent cleaning rags. On occasion, the job is so dirty that I will dispose of the rag, but I consider it a win when I have extended the life and usefulness of that old t-shirt. In total, I spent less than $10 on reusable towels, and another $20 on cloth napkins. Consider this statistic — the average cost of disposable tissue, napkins, and paper towels per person is $123 a year!

5. Buy Less Processed Food

Lockdowns spurred people’s desire to cook and try making things from scratch — sourdough anyone? — and I happily jumped on that bandwagon. I started making things that I had never made before, and when I saw how incredibly quick, easy, and affordable it was, I never went back. This is where the bulk of my savings comes from — my average food cost per month is half of what it was in the beginning of 2020.

Also, the less processed the food we buy is, the lower its carbon footprint. Think about it — when you buy a jar of peanut butter, it has to be processed in a factory, tested for safety and quality, packaged, shipped hundreds or thousands of miles to get to your grocery store’s shelves. When you buy a container of peanuts and zip them up in your food processor at home, you are cutting down on energy use and fossil fuel consumption (not to mention skipping the additives and preservatives that are likely in that store bought product). Thanks to my handy food processor, I make all my own nut butters, hummus, smoothies, and soups. I make quick breads and pizza crusts, sauces, and salad dressings. Sauces and dressings have among the highest markup in price, and because they coat their containers in oils and food residue, generally cannot be recycled and produce a ton of waste.

I hope this has inspired you to try a few of these zero waste, sustainable kitchen hacks, and if you did, let me know how they worked for you. What are five sustainability swaps I should make in 2022? This video great, it shows the swaps I mentioned and gives more kitchen sustainability tips and tricks:

Immune Boost Email Promotion

Good Morning Yogis, 

In an increasingly health-conscious world, if you don’t have a healthy immune system, you don’t have anything. How often have you thought about your own immune system? Is it healthy? How can you make it better?  

Did you know yoga can dramatically increase your immune system function, as well as detoxify organs, remove waste, and increase the flow of rich, oxygenated blood throughout the whole body? Yoga For Every Body has designed an incredible new workshop, Immune Boost, that will have your immune system thriving.  

Immune Boost focuses on twists to wring out the liver and kidneys, inversions to flush the lymph nodes, and pranayama breathing techniques to oxygenate the blood and alleviate adrenal fatigue. Additional side effects of this workshop may include a stronger body, more flexibility, extreme stress relief, improved anxiety and depression, deeper sleep, an increase in serotonin production, and an overall sense of calm and awesomeness. 

Immune Boost is so much more than a yoga class, Goddess Madeline will teach you the relationship between the asanas and the anatomy of your body, the sequence with which you practice, and how they work together to achieve maximum benefit. You will receive one-on-one breathwork coaching, an essential part of receiving the benefits of the practice and the one piece of the puzzle you cannot do alone.  

Taught by Goddess Madeline — yes that’s Goddess Madeline, the fun, sassy, nurturing, spiritual guru, healer, and mother you did know you always wanted — Immune Boost is an 8-week series beginning on March 1^st. Because we care about you and want you to get these amazing health benefits, we want to offer you a little gift, 25% off the total price of the workshop! However, to get this incredible deal you must register this week. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Space is limited, click here <insert link> to sign up. No one ever says, ‘man, I really regret the time I did yoga, got healthy, and improved my life. Should’ve stayed home and watched Shark Tank reruns.’  

Peace and Love, 

Goddess Madeline and The Yoga For Every Body Studio 

See Also: 4 Yoga Practices That Will Boost Your Immune System And Detox Your Body

Yoga to Boost Your Immune System And Detox Your Body

Many people view yoga as a lot of stretching and breathing, and that is a big part of it, but the science behind it is complex and intentional. For example, did you know that if you suffer from joint damage, certain poses can flush out built-up toxins and damaged cells, replenishing and repairing the joint with nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood? It is remarkable. And this process of natural detoxification can be applied to every system of the body. There are poses (or asanas, as the yogis say) that detoxify your internal organs, stimulate lymphatic drainage, oxygenate the blood, and improve neural pathways within the body. Physical effects of this include soothing headaches and body tension, alleviating anxiety and depression, deeper, more restorative sleep, and giving your immune system a huge boost. Let’s be honest, Immune system function is paramount in today’s virus-weary and uncertain climate.

Can you incorporate these yoga poses in your daily life to feel better, live healthier, and improve your immune system? The following aims to serve as an introduction to understanding the asanas that aid in waste removal (stimulating the excretory system from the liver, kidneys, sweat glands, and bowels), purification, and restoring the body’s natural functions while replenishing with highly oxygenated blood. It is important to note that if you suffer from physical ailments or limitations, it is best to check with your doctor or seek hands-on guidance from a trained and trusted yoga instructor. If you feel safe to pursue these poses on your own, remember to ease into them, maintain focus on the breath, and show yourself kindness.

Compression 

Ball your hand up into a fist. Squeeze it really tight, as hard as you can, for 15 seconds or so, and let it go. What happened? Your muscles and joints were stressed very hard and temporarily deprived of its blood supply. When released, they are flooded with freshly oxygenated blood cells. In particular, the knees, where injury is common, asanas like reclining hero pose (shown below)  have great results in repairing damaged tissues, lubricating the joint, and improving mobility. This compression technique can be utilized to ease nerve pain and tightness while lubricating the hips, ankles, elbows, wrists, and even the spine. Applying compression to the abdomen, like in child’s pose or bow, will flush the liver and intestines, and promote healthy digestion. Backbends like camel pose will compress the back body, purifying the kidneys.

Reclining Hero Pose, Child’s Pose, and Camel Pose

Twists 

Think of twists as wringing out the inner organs the way you would a wet towel. They are an extension of compression postures. Twisting and compressing the mid body wrings out the liver, kidneys, and spleen, stimulating waste removal. Our bodies are incredible organisms that naturally excrete waste through sweat, pee, poop, and even in the air we exhale. By stimulating the digestive organs and facilitating waste removal in all systems of the body, you will not only rid yourself of toxins encountered in your everyday environment, but you will achieve a homeostasis of being hormonally and chemically balanced with a thriving gut microbiome. Your gut microbiome is responsible for a host of healthy brain chemicals, including serotonin production. In addition to that, if you spend much of your day hunched over a computer screen, yoga will alleviate the pain associated with this, and reverse slouching.

Inversions 

An inversion is any pose that puts the heart above the head. They can range from a simple forward fold to advanced postures like pincha mayurasana. Inversions encourage blood to flow in the opposite direction, rinsing out the lymphatic system. Draining of lymph nodes is an essential part of immune system function. Inversions increase circulation and oxygen to the brain, clearing up brain fog, relieving stress, and combating depression and anxiety. Inversions are a great way to flip your perspective upside down and see things in a new light. Because inversions reverse the pressure of gravity and increase blood flow to the face, it is praised for its anti-aging, beautifying benefits as well. 

Breath 

Breath work, also known as pranayama, is the most important part of your yoga practice. Deep, slow, controlled, audible breathing creates oxygen rich blood and regulates the nervous system. This aids in the functions of all systems of the body, creating overall wellness and homeostasis. Breath work helps many manage stress and panic attacks, fall asleep faster and deeper, and relieve and manage chronic pain. Pranayama breath reduces adrenal fatigue, which is extremely prevalent in our stressed-out, overstimulated, hustle culture. Adrenal hormones are catabolic, meaning they burn lots of energy and break down cell structures in the body quickly. Repeatedly activating the adrenal glands through stress, stimulants, and lack of REM sleep causes adrenal fatigue and makes you especially susceptible to illness.

Conclusion

My hope is that this information found you at the right time to shed light on the incredible healing and restorative benefits of yoga and has inspired you to incorporate it into your daily life — even if you start with just a few poses a day. As you feel comfortable you may seek out the plethora of free or paid online yoga content or an in-person class to help you understand and grow your practice while learning proper form and sequencing for the greatest benefit. Remember that yoga is not about being able to get into a difficult pose or extreme flexibility, it is about the practice. Through the practice, through the effort, through the breath is where we reap the benefit. Namaste. 

Written by: Tiffany Griffith

See Also: Immune Boost Email Promotion

5 Easy Steps To Create Your Writing ePortfolio

Creating an online writing portfolio can be an intimidating task. You might be thinking you need web-design or coding expertise, or that you have to pay someone who does. Perhaps you feel you lack the body of work to create a dynamic and engaging portfolio. Luckily for you, neither is true. This article will guide you through creating your own personalized online portfolio, in just 5 easy steps. 

1. Plan Ahead 

First, you must do some research. There are so many types of portfolios, and the kinds you will need depend on the job you’re seeking. There are:

• Presentation Portfolio – Also known as a PDF Portfolio, is commonly used to submit a sampling of your work to an employer. 
• ePortfolio — A permanent home for your writing samples that can cater to multiple audiences and showcase your career over time.
• Paper Portfolio – This one is rare in today’s paperless society, but good to know about, in case it’s asked of you. 

If an ePortfolio fits your objectives, then this article is for you. Maintaining an online portfolio is the ideal format for freelancers, bloggers, and self-published authors and can be viewed by potential employers, buyers, and serves as a networking tool to connect with other writers.  Think about the intent for your portfolio and its audience. Is it to appeal to employers as a freelance writer? Is it to get into a University or writing program? Are you an author trying to sell your work? Clearly define your goals, your audience, and the strategies you intend on using.  

Next, do a bit of investigating into hosting websites, if you haven’t already. Luckily, there are lots of beautifully designed free hosting sites available that do all of the coding for you — no web developer degree needed. You may decide that a paid hosting site or personalized domain name will be useful, but for now, try out some free ones and play around. I recommend Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace. All are user-friendly for beginners with loads of tutorials available (either on their website, or YouTube) to help guide you through any of the tricky parts. And voila, you have a website! 

2. Know Your Audience  

Although I touched on this topic briefly before, now is the time to really put yourself into the role of your audience and what appeals to them. What “problem” do they have that you are the perfect candidate to solve? Think about the industry, or industries, you are aiming for. 

Many writers choose not to select a niche or commit themselves to a specific genre, and that is great! In that case, your website needs to be neatly organized, easy to navigate, and clearly differentiates your work. Look at examples of portfolios in your industry, or prospective industries. A simple search in the search engine of your choice will give you plenty to peruse. Looking at the work of others will show you what is effective, what tips and tricks you would like to borrow, and what you want to avoid. This is a great way to look at the standards of presentation and professionalism and ensure that you’re meeting those expectations. Once you know what you like, and do not like, and you have established how you want to present yourself, you need to start thinking about the writing samples that will best represent you. 

3. Select Your Best Work  

Now is the time to go through all of your writing samples and select your best artifacts (that’s industry lingo for the documents or media you will include in an ePortfolio). You may have some pieces that you already love, some that need tweaking, or you might be starting from scratch. Starting from scratch is no big deal. The samples in your portfolio need to be tailored to your target audience or niche – the golden rule of appealing to a prospective employer, admissions officer, or customer, is do not waste their time! You need to peak their interest quickly in order to land the job or make the sale. Even if you have 1,000 samples of perfect technical business writing, it does not make much sense to include them if you have decided to pursue your dream of writing children’s books. Show your audience what they need to see on the first page. Do not expect them to go digging for anything.  

If you are creating a portfolio as a novice freelance writer, you may be wondering what to do without any professional writing samples. Simply create your own. You can draft documents based on the type of business or brands you would like to work for and call it a “concept” or “sample.” This allows you to show potential employers that you are equipped to do exactly what they need, regardless of your previous experience. It is important that you are transparent about the work being a mockup. Although there is no set limit on the number of artifacts you will need, I recommend at least five samples to start. 

Finally, you must back up your work. Do not wait for a laptop meltdown to leave you high and dry. Find your method, be it the cloud, external hard drive, thumb nail drive, or the like and begin backing up immediately.  

4. Build a Simple, Attractive Website  

The rule of thumb for ePortfolios, and you may have picked up on this while doing your research, is to keep it simple. The focus is on your writing – graphics and photos need to be minimal and intentional. Font colors should be easily read by all audiences. Keep in mind how the website will look to those with vision issues, color blindness, using screen readers, or viewing it on a smartphone. Make sure that any images used are legally within your right to republish. If you need help with this, search for free Creative Commons images, or use websites that are dedicated to free, shareable, high-quality images like Unsplash.com or Pexels.com.

5. Fine-tune, Publish, and Upkeep  

So far, we have selected a hosting site, and crafted a simple yet beautiful website, using free images, with a minimum of five of our best writing samples that are tailored specifically to our target audience. Finished? Not quite. Now is the time to fine-tune. Because no matter how great your work is, broken links, misspelled words, bad grammar, or inconsistency between pages is going to look unprofessional. Go over every page of the site scrupulously. Check that links are working, the font type, color, and size are consistent and cohesive throughout, it is easy to navigate, make sure everything is lined up to a grid for structure and visual appeal, and make ample use of white space to break up the page and direct the viewer where to go. 

Proofread! Get the help of an outside source to catch spelling, grammar, punctuation, and clarity issues. Have friends and colleagues you trust go through your site first and give feedback on its ease of use, organization, and design before you post it for the world to see.  

Finally, once the site is published, it will need regular upkeep. Think of your ePortfolio as a living journal. As you grow and change as a writer, so should your portfolio. Change and update your samples. Tweak the design or images used to better reflect you and the current trends in your industry. When applying for a particular job, view and navigate your website as that employer and make sure that it will appeal to them and your best work is on the landing page. The greatest part of an ePortfolio is that the ball is in your court. You have the freedom to design, create, and present your art as you see it. Now go be great.