Pawing the Ground After Peeing/Pooping?

I just need to know if anyone else's pug does this: Tallulah aggressively paws the ground with both her front and back paws after peeing or pooping - she really digs up the ground; she can spray dirt and grass (and worse) up to 5 or 6 feet! One neighbor put a little fence around an area of her yard near the curb where T has left a patch completely bare. I try hard to pull her away if she does this anyplace but off the beaten path but she is bound and determined to dig. Anybody else experience this and if so is there any way to curb it?

It's called thatching and most dogs do it as do most canids in the wild. It's done to spread their scent around. All my dogs do it.

Yep, scent. My experience has been that the sassier the dog, the more they kick. Marlee is a champion.

SacramentoPugs wrote:Yep, scent. My experience has been that the sassier the dog, the more they kick. Marlee is a champion.

Marlee kills me! How'd you get such a diva?

Yep, Blanche and DeeDee are right. My girl pug does this, and when Ichiro is acting tough, he does it too.

Yup! I have seen many a pug and other dogs do it. The nice soft grass and dirt areas are their favorite places. Then when you come inside with them one has to wipe the paws and make sure all the dirt is out from under their nails. Which nearly every pug hates having done.

Here too, my yard is looking quite pathetic from Julian!! Not that it wasn't already from my lab!

Mine both do it, generally only with the back paws. Snifter makes a particular effort to kick the poop and if you are behind him and at the wrong angle it can be rather unpleasant.

Only my males have ever done it, Stewie started to then stopped now that I have a foster he is back at it again.

Snifter&Toddy wrote:Mine both do it, generally only with the back paws. Snifter makes a particular effort to kick the poop and if you are behind him and at the wrong angle it can be rather unpleasant.

Indy and Sophie both kick, and Sophie likes to kick poop-like immediately after she's done (can't waste a second!), so yes, if the angle is wrong, you can get hit.

Hooli, my lazy angel, still squats to pee and has no interest in kicking his scent around. That would be a waste of energy.

Saira wrote:

Snifter&Toddy wrote:Mine both do it, generally only with the back paws. Snifter makes a particular effort to kick the poop and if you are behind him and at the wrong angle it can be rather unpleasant.

Hooli, my lazy angel, still squats to pee and has no interest in kicking his scent around. That would be a waste of energy.

Just one more reason I love Hooli, his concise use of his resources.

Penny does it, too, and makes a funny little growl when she does it. Always has, and probably always will.

And I love Hooli - conservation of resources is his motto!

Wow - I never had a dog that did this...but of course I never had a pug before. Tallulah uses both front and back paws and is really aggressive when she "thatches" after a pee or poop- she generally snorts and chuffs while she does it and snaps her head assertively. And yes, I either have to be ready with my little baggie to grab the poop while she is still hunched..or wait until she has "thatched" (never heard this term before)and hope I can find it because it may have sailed off somewhere...and I have gotten pelted by flying poop when she does this and have learned to back off and stand to the side. Yikes! Well, the good thing is that this isn't just some aberrant behavior of Tallulah's - it is a relief to know other pugs do this too...but it doesn't sound like it's something I can break her of.

dianebarrybrazil wrote: - it is a relief to know other pugs do this too...but it doesn't sound like it's something I can break her of.

I always kinda laugh when my pugs do this, I know they are feeling good and assertive. Whenever Ichiro does it, not often, I always think he must be feeling manly at that moment, hehe!! I usually say something like, "Oh look at you Mr Tough Guy!". Pugs are so funny!

I have 2 that do it with gusto (Remi and Mickey ~tough guy competition) , Milo will when he wants to and Drago is to lazy to be bothered. It wasn't just the boys either , when Sissie was here, she did it to.

Louie always did and Chamuco learned from Louie. His first attempts were quite hilarious -- like he didn't quite have control of all his feet. Now he's not only good at it, he does it all the time -- he loves to do it on the mats we use outside the front and back door. Ulysses has now learned from Chamuco though he's not quite good at it yet. Watching him learn is very amusing.

Both of my boys did this (thatching) until they got older. I love it. I think it is hilarious. I actually miss it now that my remaining boy, Henry doesn't do it so much at 12 years old. Thatching is one of the many rituals that Pugs must complete while they are on their walks. The others being that all-over body shake they do, plus the circling round and round before they poop.

Several of ours (both male and female) do that. My Odie Gus Gus has it down to a science. He kicks LONG, SLOW strokes (holding his foot stretched out off the ground at the end of each stroke). He almost looks like a ballet dancer out there. He goes even LONGER and SLOWER if he is being watched! I'll try for a video someday.

Donna wrote:Only my males have ever done it, Stewie started to then stopped now that I have a foster he is back at it again.

Yup, Moose (our lab) still squats to pee when we let him out. But if we are babysitting another dog, or when we go for a walk and he sees another dog, he pees with his leg lifted as high as possible and he dows a lot of back-kicking afterwards. *LOL* Silly dog!