Why Is My Old Dog Digging At The Carpet

The digging at the carpet may be behavioral senility or canine cognitive dysfunction is becoming more and more common with our very aged dogs.

Why is my old dog digging at the carpet.

The email usually starts something like this why is my dog digging holes all of a sudden. The behavior may be a form of entertainment. If your dog is too hot or too cold he will naturally act out by digging to try to fix the issue. Destructive behavior just as with other behavior problems of senior dogs the underlying cause of destructive behavior needs to be determined in order to provide effective treatment.

Your dog doesn t know the difference between removing rocks or dirt and moving man made things that are in his way when he is looking for a comfortable resting place. Food toys training you can train an old dog new tricks and personal grooming time. If you can t consider hiring a dog walker or providing your dog with a place indoors to eliminate such as newspapers a dog litter box or potty pads. However in order to correct this behavior it is important to know the causes why the dog is displaying this behavior.

Other times it may be an interesting smell that compels your dog to dig at a particular location before he rolls in it much as he would do outside in the dirt. Don t be surprised if your dog starts digging on your carpet when good old fashioned soil isn t available. Another reason may be due to separation anxiety. Now it s a question i ve been asked more than once if there s one thing that s frustrating it s that there are literally hundreds of reasons your dog can start randomly digging.

Treatment for senility includes a medication called l deprenyl as well as environmental enrichment. Dear d c it s not unusual for dogs to dig in carpet for the same reasons that they dig in dirt. 1 digging is a form of mental and physical enrichment for dogs that don t have much else to do. So i ve been getting a few emails lately from disgruntled dog owners who all seem to have a common problem.

There may be simple explanations as to why some dogs may engage in this behavior. Outside digging is easier to understand than the indoor grubbing up of blankets and rugs but they are actually the same behavior. Whether your dog is digging at your furniture as some weird sleep ritual out of instinct or due to boredom we can all agree this behavior definitely needs to be nipped in the bud. A dog may be digging for temperature control or a softer spot to lay in.

Sometimes it may be as simple as him scratching to dig up that single crumb of food that fell in between the carpet threads. Couches are a price piece of furniture and training your dog to leave it alone will make you both the happier. Dogs may instinctively scratch the carpet especially when preparing to go to sleep as they like.