I'm wondering if you could tell me why-- when I'm walking Yogi through some grass-- that he smells something and next thing I know, he's stuck his head on ground and starts to roll his body over area he was smelling. On two occasions, he coated himself in another dog's poop. I've been asking vets and laypersons to explain this behavior but no one seem to know. Thank you so much for listening.

Very Sincerely, -Robin

Dear Robin:

This is a hold-over instinct from before dogs were domesticated. They would roll around in a heavily scented object to mask their own scent, when hunting.

I will try and make this short and include only details I think will help. I HAVE read entire book on line. I will pick up all of tapes along with book when I come to USA in May.

I live in a third world country. Most of dogs here are wild, mixed breed or mistreated.

We went to another part of country to obtain a pure bred dog. He is bred to guard sheep... an older breed and very large. Our dog is 9 weeks old and most of time is good... just regular puppy stuff.

My problem is that I cannot obtain a pinch collar or anything else for giving corrections until I come to USA in May. Sometimes our dog is very aggressive if wanting to do opposite of what we want. Seems he is challenging more often and with greater aggressiveness...snapping and biting. These dogs here are very UN-domesticated! Any suggestions on how to give a correction with hitting? I growl, spit in food. Don't have kennel or crate yet. Need to find materials and build one...difficult here. Help.

He is smart and I don't want to give up yet, but I feel like I am doing everything wrong without proper correction tools. Thanks in advance.

- Paula

Dear Paula:

Never hit your dog.