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When a dog digs at the ground, a lot of people think it's just making a mess. Actually, digging is how a dog talks. Dig in a different place, and it's saying something different. Place one: right after it goes to the bathroom. It kicks its back legs a few times, and the dirt flies.
A dog's paw pads give off its own smell. Each kick rubs that smell into the ground. It also leaves a few scratch marks. The smell is for noses. The marks are for eyes. It's like signing your name on a wall: I was here.
Scientists found that when other dogs can see, male dogs scratch even more. Place two: its own bed. Before lying down, it scratches a few times. It's making the bed. It pushes the cushion around into a little nest that fits its body.
Just like you fluff your pillow before sleep. Its wild ancestors dug little dens too, to stay warm in the cold and cool in the heat. Place three: the yard, where it digs a hole. This one can mean a lot of things. On a hot day, the top soil is warm, but the soil underneath is cool. Dig in and lie down, and it's cooler.
A bone it can't finish? It buries it to dig up later. Some dogs smell a little animal underground and want to dig it out. Terriers were bred for exactly that: digging small animals out of their holes. And some dogs are just bored, or anxious because their person isn't home, so they dig to pass the time.
Don't want holes everywhere? Give it one little spot where digging is allowed, and play with it more. But if it can't stop digging, hurts its paws, or still can't get comfortable afterward, take it to the vet. So next time you see a dog digging, don't scold it right away. Look at where it's digging: by the bathroom spot, it's signing its name; in bed, it's making the bed; in the yard, it has business to take care of.
Where does your dog love to dig? Tell me in the comments.
Digging isn't mischief.
It's a dog talking.
Same move, different place, different message. First, look at where it's digging.
Research found that male dogs scratch more after peeing when other dogs can see. The marks are meant to be seen.
Don't want holes everywhere? Give it one spot where digging is allowed (like a small sandbox), and play with it and walk it more.
From far away, dogs spot other dogs by sight. Up close, the nose reads a scent business card that says which dog it is.
All that circling isn't stalling. Before squatting, a dog runs four checks, and often lines up north to south.
Common, but not every dog does it. Three research-backed reasons, three vet explanations not yet studied, and when following can signal separation anxiety.
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