September 29, 2023

My dog digs on her bed and won't lay down. How do I correct this?

Full Question:
Hi - I have a 1 yr old Brittany and she digs on her bed -most dogs do the scratch n circle and then lay down - but she scratches/digs and doesn't lay down. This is worse when she is overly tired. How do I help her / correct this behavior? Currently if we go to her and hold her paw and calm her she finally relaxes. Thank you
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
I'm not sure this is something you can train or correct away, do you notice that a specific type of bed amplifies this behavior? I have a little dog that does this as well, she has since puppyhood and I just let her do it. In my experience, it's typically just an overly exuberant nesting behavior that is part of their settling ritual.
User Response:
Fluffy dog beds are worse - blankets are better so we just use those. But when she does it, it is almost frantic and she does not just lay down after a short amount of time (like a normal dog generally does). We tried correction with a THAT'S ENOUGH - we tried raising up on the leash (when she was younger and had a leash on in the house all the time) - now the only thing that seems to work is us soothing her and talking her down till she relaxes (about 2 minutes). She would go on for 15 minutes if we'd let her, which I worry would tear up a bed/blanket/carpet. So should I just let her do it till she finally lays down and learns on her own? I admit it has gotten better over time and is worse when she is super tired. Note - she does not do it in her crate but we are trying to give her more freedom and she has no other concerns while out of the crate. Thank you for your time and suggestions.
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
I think you have to decide what's most important to you. I let my dog do it, and she does dig holes in fluffy beds but that's ok with me. She's only 6 lbs :) when the beds get too tattered I just throw them away. She doesn't chew them or eat the fluff so it's not a big deal to us but some dogs could be in danger of ingesting bits of the bed or get too fixated on the tearing up process in which case I would not give a dog like this a blanket or bed.

If you know she's really tired, maybe put her in the crate then so she doesn't practice the behavior?

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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