Our friends at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Muddy Dog Day was created to spread joy amongst dog-lovers by encouraging people to share photos of their muddy dogs. Who doesn’t love seeing a photo of a cheeky pup plastered in muck having an absolute blast!?
Ever wondered why mud is such a dog magnet? There are various theories and explanations as to why dogs love to get so dirty, my personal favourite is simply that it’s fun!
Other possible reasons are:
- When your dog coats themselves in mud it has a cooling effect because the evaporating water in the mud takes body heat with it. The cooling effect of mud lasts longer than that of clear water as it evaporates slower. This also why pigs love mud baths and is likely where the phrase “happy as a pig in mud” came from!
- Another possible reason why they love mud is the smell. Their incredibly sensitive snoots can pick up a multitude of different scents in the dirt which makes for sensational sniffs!
- Before they were domesticated, dogs may have used mud to disguise or mask their own smell to help avoid being detected by predators. Nowadays they’re more likely to use mud to cover up the chemically scents of grooming products! Dogs prefer natural aromas over perfumed scents.
- They’ve associated playing in mud with an entertaining response – they know that it’s a sure fire way to get your attention! Whether that’s you telling them to stop, trying to catch them or making a high pitch squeal as they launch into the sludge it’s instantly made a standard walk a lot more fun!
- It’s an enjoyable sensation sploshing around in mud, doing belly slides and scooping it up with their face!
Why not embrace the dirt and get equally muddy by tackling a muddy assault course together! The mud will easily brush off when dry, but the memories to last a lifetime!
If you fancy raising money at the same time, check out Battersea’s Muddy Dog Challenge https://muddydog.battersea.org.uk/
It’s worth mentioning that if your dog eats mud, they may have developed Pica. This is an unnatural craving that causes dogs to eat non-food items and can be a sign of an unsettled digestive system. You can find out more about pica here https://burnspet.co.uk/poo-eating-dogs/
Please share your Muddy Dog Pics with us, we’d love to see them!
