7 Reasons Why Does Your Dog Scratch The Carpet

Author WDF Staff | Last updated: Dec 28 2023

Did you ever catch your dog scratching your new carpet? If you did, you know how frustrating seeing this can be. But why is this happening? Why do dogs like to scratch the carpet? There could be a few reasons your dog does it, and while some are closely connected to the breed and genetics, others will indicate some problems, especially in behavior.

We are here to teach you all about dogs and their habits of scratching the carpet, to understand why this is happening and how you can help your dog. Let's start.

Why does my dog scratch the carpet?

Carpet scratching is considered a behavioral issue your dog is showing, and to help him, you must understand why he is doing it. These are the reasons why you can catch your dog scratching your carpets.

1. Instincts

The first reason behind this behavior lies in their ancestors. In the past, dogs needed to hunt to survive; while hunting, some dogs needed to dig and scratch to find prey (little animals).

These dogs include:

different terriers
Daschunds
Beagles
Schnauzers, etc.

If you own one of these dogs and notice that he started to scratch, the reason behind it can be their instincts.

By scratching, your dog will try to find something, but the reality is there is nothing more than the carpet. If this is the reason behind the behavior, you will have to find a way to stop it because your dog will continue to scratch and will ruin your carpet, and we are sure you don't want that.

boxer on carpet

2. Boredom

In this modern time, dog owners oftentimes don't provide their dogs with proper mental and physical stimulation, resulting in dog boredom. This boredom will quickly turn into behavioral issues since the dog will try to entertain himself in many different ways.

One of them could be carpet scratching, and if your dog is bored, you must provide him with proper and regular exercise and stimulation to stop this from happening. Only this way can you be sure that this behavior will disappear.

3. Anxiety

Today, many dogs suffer from stress and anxiety. There could be a lot of different reasons why this is, but the main concern you should think about is to help your dog. Like every person that is under stress will exhibit this differently; the same applies to our dogs. While some could chew on furniture to ease their anxiety, others can start to scratch the carpet.

It would be best if you find the reason why your dog is feeling under stress and properly help him. If you are unsure how to do that, we advise you to seek vet help.

4. Smells

Dogs are excellent at detecting different smells, which shouldn't surprise us as they have much more distinguished smell receptors than us. If your dog started to scratch the carpet out of the blue and didn't show this behavior before, maybe he caught some interesting smell, and by scratching, he wanted to investigate.

The best thing you can do if this is the main reason behaved carpet scratching is to clean your carpet and to make sure that you don't walk over him with your shoes on because often time we will carry different debris and smells on our shoes and dogs can find them interesting.

dog on carpet

5. Seeking attention

Are you always in a hurry? How much time do you devote to your dog? If the answer is little, maybe your dog started to scratch the carpet to get your attention so you would start playing. Dogs are very intelligent creatures and will do all sorts of things to get your attention.

6. Nesting

Do you own a female dog that recently went through the heat process? If so, maybe she is experiencing a false pregnancy and is scratching to nest. Nesting usually occurs before the dog is ready to deliver her puppies, but it can also happen if your dog is experiencing a false pregnancy.

This behavior will go away soon and will not last, but there are ways to help your female dog battle false pregnancy. It is best if you talk to your vet about your next moves.

7. Health problems

Although it may sound weird that some health issue will bother your dog because he starts to scratch the carpet, it can certainly happen. Dogs deal with health problems differently than us and may exhibit weird behaviors to let us know something is wrong.

If you notice that your dog is starting to act weird or has any additional symptoms that can indicate health problems, you should contact your vet and schedule a meeting.

Should you stop this behavior?

Since we talk about carpet scratching, allowing your dog to exhibit this behavior will only leave you with a ruined carpet. We would agree that non of us wants that. That said, if your dog starts to scratch the carpet, you will have to stop this behavior, but it is important that you understand and find the possible reason behind this behavior.

That way, you can help your dog and prevent any future carpet scratching.

How to remove scratching carpets from your dog's life?

You can help your dog remove carpet scratching from his life in many different ways. Depending on your dog and the reason behind this behavior, for some, it could be easy; for others, you will have to put in extra work for this behavior to disappear.

These are the 4 things you can do to ensure this behavior won't happen

1. Talk to your vet

The first thing you should do is to talk to your vet. You need to rule out any medical problem that can cause this behavior. Your vet can help you and give you the best advice regarding your dog, and our advice is to listen to him.

2. Clean your carpet

Cleaning your carpet will ensure that no smells or dirt will remain that the dog might find interesting. For most owners, this trick has solved their problems, and the dog didn't exhibit this behavior in the future.

3. Stimulate your dog

Make sure that you regularly exercise your dog – both physically and mentally. Only this way can you be sure that your dog is happy and satisfied and that he will not develop any behavioral issues.

4. Use calming dog treats

If your dog is battling stress or anxiety, you should always talk to your vet and ask for his advice, but in the meantime, you can use some calming dog treats to help your dog with these problems. If you are not sure which one to choose, this article can help - The Best Calming Treats for Dogs

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