Scratching their bedding or turning round and round before lying down is just another bizarre thing that your pooch does and it is seemingly impossible to determine the reason, right? Well, not exactly.
In fact, there is a general consensus among dog behaviorists that both these oddities, among other weird things dogs do, are simply old habits inherited from their ancestors. So, let’s see why they do it and how to cope with it.
Vestigial Behavior
Charles Darwin talked about this behavior in domestic dogs as a perfect example of vestigial behavior – an inherited action that persists even after it has become useless or irrelevant.
Comfort
How many times have you smoothed the sheets, fluffed the pillows or rearranged them on your bed before going to sleep? Well, dogs have the same urge to make their bedding more comfortable before sleeping, so no need to be worried if your pooch does this. It is perfectly natural.
In Hiding
Another conceivable interpretation of this behavior is that his instinct is telling him to dig a den to hide in. In tall grass, going around before lying down would flatten the tall grass.
This way the dog would form a comfortable surface for resting and would make a nice spot to conceal from other animals. These actions are, of course, futile when done today, especially on a flat surface such as a modern dog bed, and are therefore characterized as vestigial.
How to deal with this behavior
If your dog starts seriously damaging your floors or ground in the backyard, it is time to step in. Give him an old rug or blanket and he’ll take it to his favorite spots to rearrange the bedding to suit himself. It is important to teach him to use only his bed and no other areas for sleeping.
How is vestigal behavior stored in the genes.