Scratching at the Carpet

[arealhuman]

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Hi,

Our dog has started scratching at the carpet sometimes, like he's digging, when left alone.  He doesn't get left for long, usually an hour or so whilst my wife pops to the shops and I'm at work.  This only started in recent weeks, but you can imagine that the carpet is taking some damage.  Last night he did it whilst we were in the house, but we didn't realise until after he'd done it.  When he's left alone he has plenty of room indoors to roam (hallway, kitchen, stairway, landing) and has access to water and his bed.  He's walked regularly three times a day and has supervised access to the garden too.  There is a space under the floor, probably the best part of 2', so my initial thought was that perhaps he could hear/smell something under there but we don't have any signs of mice, rats etc.  So far, he's only down this downstairs in the hallway, not anywhere else.  We tend not to leave toys out - other than a couple of balls - as they all say they should be used under supervision. HE;s not a great toy lover anyway, he has to be in the mood.

Does anyone have any suggestions why he might be doing this? 

Many thanks 

 

[JoanneF]

It may be that he smells or has heard something. If it's always the same spot you could perhaps put a piece of furniture there to keep him off it, although he might just move along a foot or two.

 

[arealhuman]

Thanks for the quick reply!  Yes, we did exactly that, and he did move along to another spot.  We went out shopping yesterday for about 45 minutes and put blankets down all over the carpet which seemed to prevent any scratching (either that, or he didn't feel like it) but it's a massive faff to do that each time we go out.  Mind you, less faff than getting a new carpet!   Thanks again.

 

[gypsysmum2]

He could also be fulfilling an inbred instinct. Several breeds like to dig. You could try diverting his energies to a sand pit in the garden. A child's sand pit made with silver (play) sand from a builders merchant and filled with hidden toys/treats would fit the bill. Do cover it when not in use to prevent the local cats using it as a toilet.

 

[arealhuman]

He could also be fulfilling an inbred instinct. Several breeds like to dig. You could try diverting his energies to a sand pit in the garden. A child's sand pit made with silver (play) sand from a builders merchant and filled with hidden toys/treats would fit the bill. Do cover it when not in use to prevent the local cats using it as a toilet.

Thanks for that, a sandpit is something worth considering.  We have several patches of bare earth in our garden though, but he doesn't dig on that or anywhere else.  I guess he's too busy chasing seagulls and running though our flower beds (see separate post about all that!).

 

[gypsysmum2]

It may be, of course, that there is an underlying reason for him scratching the carpet. Could you film him? Is it an attention seeking ploy? Does he do it when stressed? Does he do it when excited? Did it start with a particular reason and has become a bit of a habit? Do his feet itch?

There is always the old adage. "Give him something else to do, incompatible with the unwanted behaviour, and reward the something else".

A stuffed Kong, for instance, would be something else to do and is self rewarding. Obviously be careful not to give it to him immediately after a carpet scratching episode.

 

[arealhuman]

We visited the vet yesterday, an annual pre-paid checkup (all was good  ) and I asked the vet about the scratching at the carpet.  She couldn't explain it either, and offered some suggestions that have been mentioned above.

I'm new to all this, but I don't think it's an attention seeking ploy as he has other methods for this - usually just coming up to us, reaching out with a paw, or just generally sitting by us and looking cute (you know, that inquisitive head tilt thing they do that humans just can't resist!).  He does get plenty of attention from us, and we love it as much as he does!

I also don't think he does it when stressed - the only stress points I can think of is if we leave him alone, which is usually for a maximum of an hour whilst shopping (I work but my wife is at home during the day).  Occasionally he gets left longer than this when we go out for a meal, for example, and he has learnt to recognise the signs of us going out without him, but he always appears clam and relaxed and usually just sits/lies down in one of his usual spots.  The other stress point could be around other dogs as when we're out and about he does get reactive to them.  Although how that affects him at home I don't know.  Perhaps a passing dog or the sound of another dog barking causes the scratching behaviour, although when either of these occurs when we're in he has not displayed the scratching (he just huffs and growls sometimes).

There's no reason we can think of why it started - he just happened to do it one day, and he does not do it everytime he's left alone.  In fact, I'm at work now and my wife is out and I'm wathcing Jimmy on our camera and he's been lying down all the time (about an hour)!  Mind you, we have put blankets down just in case

I think it;s just one of those things we'll have to keep an eye on and see how often he does it (not that much so far) and whether we can identify a trigger.  At least I'm relieved there's no obvious medical reason for him doing it. Thank you for all the suggestions, I really appreciate the knowledge of experienced dog owners.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Great that you are able to video the behaviour. Can be very revealing

Could it be bed making?

 

[arealhuman]

Great that you are able to video the behaviour. Can be very revealing

Could it be bed making?

Could be, but he didn't do it at all yesterday, which is good  

 

[arealhuman]

We've just come back from a few days away in a hotel near some beaches.  We took the dog  Anyway, when we ate breakfast/dinner, we had to leave him in the hotel room.  No digging on his part, and he was quite content to be left for short periods.  We took him on the large beach everyday - kept him on a long lead due to recall issues - but other than that let him roam.  No digging in the sand at all!  He was scared of the sea though, he didn't like the small (i.e. 1") waves coming in.  He was pleased to get back home - when we got in he ran around and did his excited-twisting-turning dance which was great to see.  After we'd settled and were in the house going about our business, Jimmy gave us a sly look then dug at the carpet!  Doh!

 

[gypsysmum2]

Hmmm. The "sly look" makes me wonder if it is a learned attention seeking behaviour. Dogs are so clever at working out how to press our buttons.

The recommended treatment for attention seeking behaviour is to completely and utterly ignore the dog every time he tries it. Of course, in your case, this cannot be done unless you can acquire an old rug/carpet to cover the existing one?

When going through the "completely ignore the naughty behaviour" treatment it is best to find things that he can do for attention. Anything from lying quietly to chewing a toy or sitting nicely on a dog bed etc could be given lots of attention so that he does it instead of digging the carpet when he wants attention. You may need to stick some post it notes around the house to remind you to pay attention to his "wanted" behaviour so that he repeats it instead of the unwanted behaviour (digging) when he wants attention.

Also make sure that he has an outlet for all his breed specific behaviours. If he is a digging breed he may need a sand pit outside. If he is a running breed he may need to go somewhere safe to run etc.

 

[arealhuman]

Hmmm. The "sly look" makes me wonder if it is a learned attention seeking behaviour. Dogs are so clever at working out how to press our buttons.

The recommended treatment for attention seeking behaviour is to completely and utterly ignore the dog every time he tries it. Of course, in your case, this cannot be done unless you can acquire an old rug/carpet to cover the existing one?

When going through the "completely ignore the naughty behaviour" treatment it is best to find things that he can do for attention. Anything from lying quietly to chewing a toy or sitting nicely on a dog bed etc could be given lots of attention so that he does it instead of digging the carpet when he wants attention. You may need to stick some post it notes around the house to remind you to pay attention to his "wanted" behaviour so that he repeats it instead of the unwanted behaviour (digging) when he wants attention.

Also make sure that he has an outlet for all his breed specific behaviours. If he is a digging breed he may need a sand pit outside. If he is a running breed he may need to go somewhere safe to run etc.

Thanks for that.  We've started putting blankets down when he;s left alone now and that seems to have stopped the problem.  For now  

 

[gypsysmum2]

You will not have cured it until you find out why he does it. The blankets are just masking the problem. So keep an eye out to see if there is a pattern. Does it happen when you focus on something else and take attention away from him? Does it happen when he is tired? Is it after eating? Those sorts of things.