Rolling?? A Corgi quirk?

I have to say, over the last 9 months of having my first Corgi (Darcy's turning one year old soon), I've been THOROUGHLY entertained. Laying on her back, groaning, grunting, squealing, "talking," digging -- she seems to do something new and unusual every day! I've had Beagles and Shelties before, but they NEVER did half the quirky things Darcy does!

Well, here's one thing that just puzzles me. We'll be outside, and she sniffs the ground, seems to pick a VERY particular spot, then dives head-first into the ground, rolls over on her back, and rolls and rolls on top of this patch of ground. Gets up, sniffs it again, rolls again! So weird!!

I went over to see what she was rolling on top of, and all I could see was a dead black beetle! She went to that same exact spot a couple more times over the next week, and was rolling all over it. Such a silly dog!

I was just wondering if this is a "Corgi" thing?? And is there any rhyme or reason to it??

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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on March 17, 2012 at 10:45am

It's not specific to corgis, as Yuki (American Eskimo Dog) will do the same thing. Usually there's something stinky there, or at least a scent that they find enticing, and they are rolling around in it. It could be anything from bird poop to urine to something that we can't see or smell ourselves. ;)

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Permalink Reply by Chelsea on March 17, 2012 at 10:55am

Loving all these responses! Especially the ones about the noises they're making. Darcy seems to find a new sound every day. Grunts and groans and squeaks and growls and howls - cracks me up. The Wookie - yep, I love that one, too!

My favorite is probably the yawn-bark. Every time she yawns, this "YAWWWWW!" comes out. My Sheltie has even started to imitate her talking, just a little bit. I sometimes hear a growl/grunt that's very Corgi-like coming out of her - especially when she yawns....

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Permalink Reply by Alison Prasavath on March 17, 2012 at 12:14pm

Be thankful she isn't rolling in poop! That is usually what Noodles ends up rolling in and he knows my look that means head to the bathtub right now. When I see him rolling on the ground, I head on over to see what it is. Unfortunately it usually is something disgusting, but there are other times when I can't see anything and I just laugh. He likes rolling on things with his tongue dangling out of his mouth and he will make little barking sounds and kick his back feet in the air at the same time. Crazy boy!

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Permalink Reply by Emily & Cooper on March 17, 2012 at 12:32pm

Cooper rolls around on top of any smell he likes or sometimes on top of bugs, bones, and even his treats! He even chews his bone while rolling around on his back. he just loves to be belly up! My childhood corgi, Hercules, didn't do this quite as much as Cooper does, but he did love to be on his back, lol. Corgis are the quirkiest dogs! Cooper also makes the weirdest noises, he sometimes sounds like he has swallowed helium, and he makes hyena noises when he is excited. He grumbles and moans, he is the most talkative dog I have ever had!

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Permalink Reply by Cindi & Twinkie on March 17, 2012 at 6:20pm

Twinkie does the dive/roll when she is telling us she is done with our walk. She also does it in the yard as a prelude to just laying in the yard. I haven't seen Logan do it yet. Maybe it will come when he's a little older? It is really cute!

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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on March 18, 2012 at 1:46am

Sidney does this too, especially when we walk at the harbor and he finds a spot where a fish was set down. He came across some lobster traps last time and he was rolling like a maniac!

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Permalink Reply by Laura Rochette on March 18, 2012 at 8:58am

Yep, Lucy is a roller. Snow (harmless), freshly dug dirt, worms (wassup with that?), fresh cut grass, piles of leaves. Most of the time nothing too smelly except when she picks up on freshly laid fertilizer--then she smells like a cow barn. The only time it became a little messy was when she rolled in a bunch of pine needles and picked up pine pitch. not smelly really, just sticky and hard to wipe/wash off. I'm constantly amused by her antics and her incessant sniffing.

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Permalink Reply by Emily Trupiano on March 19, 2012 at 11:07pm

Oh yes, definitely a corgi quirk. Mine does it especially when he wants attention. He rolls around, rubs his head, and does a lot of talking. They're funny!

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Permalink Reply by Matthew on March 20, 2012 at 11:13am

ive heard that they roll around in smelly stuff, or try to roll around to get dirty in order to "mask" their scent.. i guess maybe they think it would make them harder to track or pick up in the wild or w.e. so i guess their instict tells them to do that, although who knows, maybe theyre just doing it to be silly and funny

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Permalink Reply by Gabi Walker on March 20, 2012 at 1:31pm

My Alex does something this indoors... She'll leap up then land on her back and roll around. It's almost like her back is itchy and she's rubbing on the carpet to scratch herself. I don't think that's the case though, because she looks like she thoroughly enjoys it and does it just for fun.