Ancient History

• The ancient canine had to scrape up hard ground, dig sleeping dens for safety and kill bugs in order to make a spot to sleep. This "hard wired" behavior remains instinctive in your dog and is a reason why they turn in circles, scratch the carpet and rumple up blankets before lying down.
  
  

Positive Reinforcement

• Your dog may have gained a reward from digging or scratching in the past. This reward will move your dog to keep digging even if another treat is never discovered. For many active breed of dogs, having something to do is the actual reward. Perhaps at some point, a small animal jumped away and instigated a chase or the threads in the rug began to pull up. Any kind of action or change like these can encourage your dog to continue the behavior.
  
  

Emotional Messages

• Your dog may be trying to give you a message regarding its emotional state by scratching at the carpet. Dogs lack the ability to verbalize loneliness, boredom or separation anxiety. Scratching at the floor is sometimes a sign of a dog that is trying to let out some kind of emotion or anxiety. The repetitive behavior can provide a sense of release.
  
  A dog that feels neglected or bored may scratch, dig or tear up the carpet to get your attention. Even negative attention is attention, after all.
  
  If you have a high energy, outside-loving dog that is kept indoors too much, you may find yourself with a hole in your carpet.
  
  

Working Breeds

• Dogs that belong to the Working Group are genetically programmed to be busy. There are entire breeds considered digger dogs that instinctively use their claws. These dogs get a great sense of accomplishment from making a hole, pulling up a rug or driving grooves into a hardwood floor.
  
  Terriers and dachshunds were originally bred for their ability to dig after vermin. High-strung breeds like Chihuahuas and other toy dogs are prone to anxious repetitive behavior like scratching. Dogs that need to be busy include beagles, Jack Russell Terriers, shepherds and retrievers.
  
  

Tips To Prevent Scratching

• It may be impossible to change innate or instinctual behaviors in your dog. But for the most part, instinctual bed-creating behavior doesn't do much damage. Give your dog a pile of bedding, pillows or blankets of some kind to scratch and make a bed in the spot where it likes to lie down.
  
  If your dog is scratching to the point of destruction, this is more likely an emotional response and not an instinctual one. In this case, you need to be sure that your dog has plenty of stimulation during the day, a great deal of exercise, and some kind of "job to do" during the day, such as chasing a ball for 45 minutes, playing with other dogs or taking a long walk to tire it out.