This one hit me a few days ago when I saw my long-haired blonde retriever-mix dog out in the yard. He was running around on his 40 foot tether line and then lay down, rolled over, and started itching his back back and forth on the ground.

Made a funny moment and a damned cute picture. The dog above isn’t mine–I just love the pic.

But it made me wonder–how come dogs don’t get grass stains all over their fur?

I mean, I’ve never seen it. I’ve seen bits of grass get stuck in this one’s fur a few times, but no stains.

Hmm…what are the properties in hair that repel those stains, especially dog hair?

Somebody would make a ton of money in the clothing industry if they could make grass-stain proof kid’s clothes!

Huh–I got to do some searching and came across some websites saying that dogs CAN get grass stains on their fur.

Whaa? I’ve never seen it. Then again, I’ve mostly had short-haired dogs, but even this long-haired blondie, who loves to roll around in the grass, certainly has no discoloration that I’m aware of.

Now, I’ve heard of stains due to urination that darken the fur and smell awful (thankfully not a problem with these two pups–yet). But not grass stains. Mud and mud spots happen frequently with this freakish weather outside, but grass stains?

Some dogs are more susceptible than others to getting tear-lines that stain on the dog’s faces (short nosed-types with shallow eye sockets, usually, according to some sites like this one). Maybe it’s something particular to certain breeds or areas. I’m sure some hair types might make it easier to attract stains, or dogs that are super-white may look dingy because of the grass and dirt that cling after they go outside.

umm…. I guess I stand corrected. How come I’ve never seen that???

Again, I’m guessing a combination of region, grass type, and breed of dog have something to do with staining. I had to check my pooches again just in case and there’s nothing on them. Even just after I freshly mowed my grass, I’ve never seen a green anything on these pooches’ fur.

On the other hand, enjoy this lovely gallery of “Hulking-out” pups if you’ve never seen an accidentally green dog like me.

And if you did have a dog susceptible to grass stains, what did you do to get rid of the green?

Floor’s yours…