Hello dog owner,
There is nothing unusual about your dog's habit of digging the carpet. Dogs dig in carpets for the very same reason they dig up dirt. Below are some of the common reasons why your dog is addicted to digging in your carpet:
- Digging is nothing more than a mere physical and mental exercise for idle and bored dogs.
- Another reason could be that they want the carpet to become a little bit fluffier to enable them feel more comfortable while laying on it.
- It could also be that all they are trying to do is to build themselves a sort of den.
It is a bit easy to help your dog overcome the habit of digging in carpets; providing the dog with a thick and fluffy bed very close to the very spot where the digging normally takes place will go a long way to help the dog overcome his digging habits.
Alternatively, your dog might have an underlying health issue. The fact that your dog is 10 years old and has just developed the digging habit calls for a visit to your vet. Once you notice an adult pet develop such sudden habits, it could well be a sign that a screening check to discover any hidden neurological problems is urgently needed.
Apart from the possibility of an underlying health problem, another major reason why your pet could have developed this sudden digging habit is as a result of a sudden change in your normal routines and lifestyle. For instance, changes such as moving home, having a new baby, acquiring a new pet, any new daily routine can induce anxiety in your pet and make him dig as a way of calming his nerves. Dogs engage in spontaneous acts once they are anxious or disturbed by anything intrusion or break in normal daily schedules they have grown accustomed to and one way they try to calm down is to find somewhere to dig and your carpet comes in handy.
To get rid of any anxiety-induced problem, it is important to first of all, discover the root cause of the issue at hand. Below are some tips you can adopt:
- If you are not doing this already, spend nothing less than 20 minutes of your serene social time with your pet. Pet your dog, massage him, talk to him, play with him, or anything he enjoys the most.
- Schedule a reward-based training with your dog daily to make sure he has an active mind. Your dog ought to learn a new thing at all times.
- Always remember that a dog needs his daily dose of physical exercises no matter how old he is.
For more help on how to help your pet overcome his carpet digging addictions, you can get in touch with the Animal Behavior and Training Department near you.