There are scent glands on and in between your dog’s paw pads. Scratching the grass after urinating or defecating helps spread the pheromones secreted by these glands around the area. Scent marking isn’t only about marking territory and isn’t limited to just male dogs either.

How do I stop my dog from kicking up grass?

Interrupt your dog BEFORE he kicks–this is where knowing the pattern helps. Try replacing the kicking with another behavior, like spin, jump, give-five, or tug. Once you get 95% success, start paying your dog for performance. If he does the work, he gets a big reward.

What does it mean when dogs kick the ground?

Veterinary experts call this behavior “ground scratching.” It’s usually dismissed as a nuisance — an odd and unexplained quirk of canine behavior. But research suggests that it can also tell us a lot about dogs. … “The dominant animals in the pack tend to show this behavior to delimit their territory.