Why do dogs scratch the carpet before laying down?
Dogs commonly scratch at the carpet or turn around in circles before lying down. It has often puzzled people, but the answer is rooted in the dog’s genetic code. Dogs do this because their ancestors evolved doing it.HistoryPeople have observed dogs circling and scratching at the dirt or flooring as long as there have been dogs.FunctionWild canids are often seen stomping and scratching out a comfy place to lie down. Dogs have inherited this from their wild ancestor, the wolf.EvolutionSomewhere in their evolution, the wolves who stomped on grass passed along that behavior in their genes to their offspring. Those became the ancestors of the dog.Theories/SpeculationThe dogs with this edge somehow were more adapted than the dogs that didn’t do it. Either that, or somewhere in dog ancestry, a dog started doing it and others thought it was a good idea.ConsiderationsNowadays, dogs don’t need to make a cozy nest, but you can’t throw out several hundred thousand years of evolution. If your dog i
