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Why does my dog walk in circles before she lays down?
As silly as it may seem, many of the bizarre behaviors we see in our dogs are hard-wired leftovers from their ancestors of thousands of years ago, before they were domesticated. Circling in a spot before laying down is one such leftover ancestral oddity.
Circling before laying down is believed to have been done for a couple of reasons. First, for safety. Because wild dogs slept outdoors, in leaves and grass, circling an area would have forced snakes and insects nesting below the grass to scatter. And, because circling would flatted out the area, it created a visible signal to other wild dogs that the space had been claimed.
Of course, circling also makes the area more comfortable. By flattening out leaves, grass, and stems, and feeling the area with their paws for sharp objects or uneven spots, a dog could quickly tell if she and her pups would be having a good night’s sleep.
Up next, does your dog do an adorable head tilt when you speak to him or when he hears a unique noise? There’s a reason for it! Click NEXT!
