Caught your dog kicking grass and wondered what on earth he’s doing? Dogs pull all kinds of odd stunts, and if you’re a hands-on owner you’ve almost certainly stood there asking why dogs kick grass and whether you should do anything about it.
It’s a funny thing to watch, that sudden burst of back-leg digging. You love pretty much everything your dog does anyway. Stick around and you’ll find out what’s behind it.
Why Do Dogs Kick Grass?
Watch closely and you’ve seen the routine. Right after he poops, your dog plants himself, stretches his hind legs out behind him, and starts pumping them like he’s pedaling a bike.
It can be a hassle. He ends up with mud packed into his paws that you have to clean properly before you head home, and he tends to pick the worst possible moment to do it. So it pays to know why.
What looks strange to you makes total sense to him. Dogs kick grass for a few different reasons, and once you spot which one is in play you can head off the mess. Here’s what’s usually going on.
Mark their Territory
Most of the time the kicking comes right after a poop. Get there too slow and you’ll have mud and worse flying through the air before you can step back.
He’s working the scent glands in his paws. Dogs carry those glands in their paw pads, and scraping at the ground releases the scent to stake a claim on the patch where he just did his business. To him, that’s perfectly logical.
All that back kicking spreads his pheromones around. Now any dog passing through knows whose turf this is. Throw a few dogs into the same area and the grass kicking ramps up as each one stakes out his own ground.
Establishing Dominance
In a house with more than one pet, one dog usually does the backward scratch-dance far more than the rest. Size has nothing to do with it. The alpha is the one spreading his scent, even if he’s the runt of the group.
He’s announcing who runs the place. Dogs and other pets under one roof compete more than people realize, and your dog will pull all sorts of theatrics to prove he’s the boss.
A dog who’s never done it might start the day a new dog moves in. He’ll kick after pooping to throw his scent across a wider patch, or scrub the glands in his pads against the ground to get the same message out.
Discovering a New Area
The scraping and kicking can happen far from home too. It’s common out in the wild, where researchers think animals use it to sort out the ranks in their hierarchy.
Your dog, like the rest of them, wants other animals to know where he sits in the order. Nothing unusual about it.
Should I Worry Because My Dog is Kicking Grass?
No. If anything, the kicking tells you he’s healthy and feeling good about life.
The one time to take note is if a dog who always kicked grass suddenly quits. That’s worth a vet visit. A confident dog kicking away is just broadcasting that he’s here and the world should know it, so don’t let the wild leg action throw you.
How Can I Prevent my Dog from Kicking Grass?
It’s healthy, but you don’t have to enjoy it. Plenty of owners can’t stand the grass kicking, and the gripes are fair:
- It usually happens right after he goes. Stand too close and you may catch flying poop on your hands or face before you can dodge it.
- Once he’s scattered everything across the grass, cleaning up the mess turns into a chore.
- His paws end up smelling. They already carry the scent gland odor, and now they reek of poop on top of it.
- After all that kicking, his paws are caked in sticky mud. Loading him into the car or walking him back inside gets unpleasant fast.
Even so, you’re not going to talk a dog out of something his instincts are driving. Dogs have minds of their own, and as much as yours wants to please you, this isn’t a habit worth fighting head-on. Here’s what actually helps.
- Redirect him instead of stopping him. If you’re protective of the lawn or the backyard, walk him to a park where he can kick to his heart’s content.
- Keep spare gloves and a small shovel handy on walks. That way you can scoop up anything his kicking flung around and leave nothing behind.
- Have his favorite toy ready. The second he finishes, hand it over. With the toy in his mouth he loses interest in the digging, scratching, and grass kicking.
Final Thoughts
Dogs kick grass for a handful of reasons, and the behavior is completely normal even when it’s a nuisance.
You won’t stamp out something hardwired into his instincts. What you can do is redirect it. A park instead of the lawn, a toy at the right moment, a shovel in your pocket, and you keep the habit you don’t love from running your walks.