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Why do dogs scratch the floor?

Pet Knowledge
This article is provided by Veterinarian Dr. Benjamin Miller
Dogs scratching the floor may be caused by excessively long nails, nervousness and fear, buried food, bacterial infection, etc. It is recommended that owners stop their dogs in time when they notice this behavior, otherwise the dogs will develop bad behavioral habits over time. In addition, in the process of raising dogs, you should also trim the dog's nails in time to keep the dog in a comfortable state and prevent it from scratching the floor.

1. Nails that are too long

If a dog’s nails are too long, making it difficult to walk, they will scratch the floor to grind their nails. It is recommended that the owner first check whether the dog's nails are too long, and then trim the nails appropriately. When trimming, be careful not to cut to the blood line to avoid bleeding. At the same time, it is recommended that owners trim their dog’s nails once every one to two weeks to avoid excessively long nails that may cause inconvenience to the dog.

2. Nervous and scared

When dogs first arrive in a strange environment, they will be nervous and scared. If there is no better hiding place, they will want to dig a hole to hide in, resulting in scratching the floor. This situation requires the owner to properly comfort the dog. Generally, it will be fine after the dog's mood stabilizes.

3. Burying food

If the dog scratches the floor when the owner feeds it, there is a high probability that the dog is burying the food. This is the dog's fault. By nature, the owner does not need to worry too much. If you really don’t want your dog to scratch the floor, you need to stop the dog’s behavior in time and give appropriate punishment to make it realize its mistake. After it corrects, the owner can give appropriate rewards.

4. Bacterial infection

If the nails of the dog's paws have not been trimmed, resulting in nail rupture and local infection and inflammation, the dog will scratch the floor because of discomfort in the paws. In this case, it is recommended that the owner take the dog to the pet hospital for treatment in time to avoid bacterial infection and inflammatory symptoms becoming more serious and threatening the dog's health.

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