Vet Question Of The Day
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Question
My dog (5yo female neutered Blue Heeler mix) is outside during the day and inside at night. I've only had her for 6 months- I got her from a friend. During the past month, she started scratching at our carpets ruining them. She only scratches them around the walls never in middle of the floor. Why is she doing this and what can I do to get her to stop?
Answer
I think what you need to establish is why your dog is actually digging in the corners. A clue as to what's causing this strange behavior is to watch when she does it. Does she do it just before bed ie dogs will often try to 'make a bed' and it will involve scratching to try to make it 'comfortable' before settling in? Or does she look like she's actually in search of prey ie is she all alert and excited and sniffs around then proceeds to dig in some spot? Unbeknownst to you she may have detected (through smell) something underneath the carpets (eg bugs, dead animal) and is trying to dig it out. Sometimes it's a neurological problem eg obsessive compulsive behavior where she 'thinks' she's digging for something but in reality is not. If she's digging to get out of a room ie you've locked her into a room and she's starting to get anxious, then it may be an anxiety problem. Some medical problems can result in behavior change in dogs eg hypothyroidism.
Some things you can try (this is a hit and miss because if you really want to get it right the first time, you'd get an animal behaviorist come in and watch your dog in action before starting any sort of 'treatment').
1. if you think it's a prey related digging behavior, then try sprinkling something like pepper in the edges of the carpets where she normally digs to see if that will deter her - she'll sniff, get some pepper up her nose and theoretically put her off enough to stop.
2. if it's a bed/den related thing, providing her with sleeping quarters in the form of a den will help. Throw old towels and blankets into it and encourage her to 'dig' there and not on your carpets.
Blue Heelers can sometimes get fixated on something and will keep at it until something gives them a disincentive to stop. They are working dogs and get bored easily if not given much 'to do' in life so sometimes they will start obsessive type behaviors eg herding neighborhood children, chasing cars, etc. If the above 2 doesn't help, you'll probably need to see a vet/animal behaviorist to check her out to see if there's anything medical that's causing her bizarre behavior and for other options including drug therapy to see if it will improve the situation.
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