As the proud owner of two Siberian Huskies, I’m all too familiar with walking into destruction. Whether it’s a gnawed off baseboard, stuffed toys tore in two, or yes, holes in the carpet, the reaction is always the same: NOOOOOOOO!
Our two Siberian Huskies, Shadow and Peaches, are really good dogs… until they aren’t. Can you relate?
When Shadow was a puppy he desecrated the hardwood floors in our Chicago River North apartment (an unfortunate misdiagnosed recurring case of Giardia) and even as a housebroken good boy, he managed to dig two dinner plate-sized holes in the carpet of our Seattle high rise apartment.
After losing many a security deposit, we realized idle paws lead to no good and it was time for us to really understand why dogs dig carpet.
Why Do Dogs Dig and Destroy the Carpet in My House?
There are a lot of reasons why your pup may be digging his nails into your carpet – or digging in general. Here are a couple of explanations:
- Comfort. Dogs are just like us in the way that they experience emotions like stress, fear, and anxiety. Digging can be a self-soothing behavior for them.
- Entertainment. If you have a working breed like we do with our Huskies, chances are they innately WANT to dig just to dig. They may be bored and need something to do and they’re naturally good at digging, so why not dig?
- Attention. As we all know, our dogs are also training us a lot of the time. If your dog knows you will come running when they start digging inside, they will dig. They may dig for attention if you’re around but not interacting with them (i.e., working from home during the pandemic).
How to Stop Your Dog From Digging Inside
Regardless of the reason, when you hear that telltale sound of furiously fast-moving paws, consider it time for an intervention. This is a signal from your dog to “pay attention to me.”
Here are a few ways you can get your dog to stop digging and destroying your carpet:
- Distract your dog from the dig by getting their attention. You can do this by squeezing a squeaky toy, making an unusual sound, or tossing a ball in their line of vision. Once you have their attention, direct it elsewhere.
- Make sure your dog gets plenty of mental and physical exercise every day. This is particularly important if they’re digging out of boredom. They need exercise, training, active and interesting toys to keep them occupied.
- Put a rug over their favorite digging spot. If you have a hole in your carpet from digging, you can cover the crime scene with a small rug.
- Learn their stress cues. If you notice your dog getting stressed (pacing, whining, yawning, panting, etc.), look for other ways to calm them down instead of allowing them to dig. In our house, we’ve learned that the dryer causes a LOT of stress for Shadow, and whenever it’s running, he’s running to his digging spot by our bed. We’ve adjusted our behavior to make sure the dryer is never running while he’s home to not stress him out.
- If they’re digging for attention, rather than rushing to their side, you need to ignore the attention-seeking behavior. And then when they stop or return to normal behavior, praise and treat them. Positively reinforce good behaviors. Never punish your dog.
Now, every dog and digging dog digs for different reasons (say that 5 times fast). You know your dog better than anyone else. If you notice your dog digging more often or if it’s becoming a problem (ie holes in the floor), take some time to observe and better understand what’s going on.
We all want what’s best emotionally, mentally and physically for our dogs (and to not have to replace the carpet every year!).
Good luck!