You’re just dropping off to sleep and you hear that familiar sound of the carpet being excavated by your canine companion. So, why do dogs dig the carpet and circle before grabbing some zzzzzs?
The most likely reason is an evolutionary one. While your dog might be used to luxuriating in a cosy dog bed or on a fluffy carpet, it’s a lot tougher out in the wild. Dogs are domesticated wolves. Their digging and circling behaviour reflects how wolves create a safe and comfortable bed by digging and pawing at the hard ground. Even if your dog looks nothing like a wolf, they’ve still retained some of their ancestral wolf-like instincts.