dog keeps scratching carpet

[zzxxee]

he does this at night my carpet is starting to get pull marks in it
why does he do this?
can i do anything to stop him??

[carmalee]

this is a perfectly natural things canines do - in the wild they would be fluffing up the bedclothes - try giving him a bed - you may have to experiment with different kinds but he isn't doing anything naughty. Really it's just like you plumping up the cushions.

[zzxxee]

he has chewed every bed we have ever got him lol thats why he sleeps pn the sofa he gets walked everday for half an hour x2 and has an abundance of chews ect

[boxtops]

It seems to be something in an animal's makeup. Rover will sit and pick at the soft covers instead of settling down to sleep sometimes, he has a perfectly good bed to lie on but pickety-pick-pick.

[zzxxee]

will lookk out for a spray or somthing

[Eve]

It might be different for cats but I have a rough mat and scratching post and some seagrass baskets which are more satisfying for them to scratch on than the carpet. Still doesn't stop them but they tend to go more mad on the scratching post and such than anything else.

Maybe something distracting? Is there anywhere he could dig or anything like that?

[boxtops]

jenna I've given up on them. scratch post - ignored, sisal toys - ignored with disdain. Bamboo weave table - climbing frame. Wicker chest of drawers downstairs - almost no front left on the bottom drawer. However if they just wreck one or two items which they keep coming back to, that's better than shredding the curtains (which I've had before!)

[carmalee]

what make of dog is he?

[woofgang]

by walked, do you mean sedately on a lead or a blooming good off lead run? Unless he's a small dog, IMO an hour out on the lead if that is the only exercise is not enough.
Having said that, it does sound like bedmaking to me...can you give him old sheets or towels or something he can wreck and see if that stops the carpet trashing?

[supersuezy24]

My dog always does this but I never knew why, having said that he doesn't damage the carpet

[Eve]

Mine are pretty good though they tend to go a bit mad in the bedroom sometimes leaping from my bookshelf to the top of the wardrobe and round again, I wish they would realise I have cheap furniture and I swear it's going to collapse one day!

My last mobile ended up with teeth marks in it!

[Meg]

How old is he? I think in younger dogs it's just a kind of bedding down thing. In older dogs it's a sign of distress. I assume he's young if he's still destroying his bedding but if he is an older dog I think you could do with having a word with your vet. Hope all gets sorted.

[zzxxee]

hes 4 and a jack russell pedegree patterdale x
we have had him 2 and a half years hes a rescue dog
we had a multitude of problems when we first had him wetting in the house have got him out of that nervous he ok socially now its just this carpet clawing thing thats the problem he did have a crap life before we got him

[divegirl]

If he's destroying beds give him an old blanket instead, get a supply from your local charity shop and then you can replace them when killed. One of my Danes will do this same behaviour if you give him a tea towel....it's hilarious watching him trying to fit his whole body on it!
Lisa x

[zzxxee]

tried blankets he eats them to lol

[woofgang]

If he is wound up, can i suggest trying a dap diffuser?

[zzxxee]

whats a dap diffuser???

[fredpuli47]

One of ours does this and we finally concluded that it was food, not bed, related. The dog can smell even the faintest trace of where something of interest has been. That may be a bone or a sweet wrapper or where some drink has been spilled at some time. He goes to the same places to scratch and, significantly, takes an intermittent quick sniff of the carpet. He wouldn't do that to make a bed. When the carpet has been shampooed he ignores the sites..

[zzxxee]

i hire a rugdoctor last weekend cos i thought that might be it that and hes still doing it !!!!!!
not all the time but 2 or 3 times a week

[woofgang]

Dap diffuser
http://www.doggiesolu...-pheromone-497-0.html

[Eve]

If he's a Jack Russell, he's a born digger. Can he have a spot in the garden to dig?

Word of warning though, they can dig deep and oven burrow under shallow fences and such so make sure he is supervised!