Guest RMarie Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I wanted to get other, more experienced owners' opinions as to why my guy digs at his bed. I don't see it as unusual, I knew that greys were known to dig at their beds, but I can't help wonder if James digs at his bed because he thinks it's uncomfortable. The only reason I'm asking is because James sleeps in our room on a flat, rectangular orthopedic dog bed from Costco (so digging will in no way re-shape the bed), and he digs all through the night, which wakes us up and makes for rather groggy mornings. I'm wondering if getting him a different bed, perhaps one with more volume, would make him more comfortable and, therefore, less likely to dig. Has anyone else tried switching beds and had success? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAJ2010 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 He's nesting I usually toss a few old quilts on top of their beds for that. You might want to try jammies. The colder it is the more Sunshine will nest in the middle of the night vs just sleeping. Whenever she starts digging at 3am I just get up pick up an extra blankie, wait for her to lay down, and cover her up. I'm very trainable Quote ------ Jessica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rascalsmom Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) He might prefer a softer, fluffier bed. You could try the suggestion of old comforters, or get a softer bed. I believe Costco usually has those, too, for a very reasonable price. Or get a bed from Elaine. Elainespetpillows.com--and she is probably not far from you. I still have two beds we got from her in 2001, when we got our first greyhound. I have replaced the covers, but the "innards" are still good. Edited October 17, 2012 by rascalsmom Quote Phoebe (Belle's Sweetpea) adopted 9/2/13. Jack (BTR Captain Jack) 9/28/05--11/2/12Always missing Buddy, Ruby, and Rascal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time4ANap Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Yup - he's probably chilly and trying to fluff the bed so he can nest into it. We have one bed like you describe and Rocket almost never uses it because it's solid and he can't nest in it. The other beds that are soft and moveable are the ones he moves and re-shapes a dozen or more times a day to get them the way he wants. Once it starts getting chilly at nght, we either cover him with a blanket or put a light coat or pajamas on him depending on how cold it is. A light housecoat is often enough until Winter really kicks in, then we switch to heavier pajamas. When he's wearing those, he sleeps straight through the night without getting up. Quote Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan. Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket, Allie Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonya Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Cinnibuns has 4 beds and they are all "nestable". She can spend 5 to 10 minutes digging and turning it over and around and up and down until she finds the PERFECT spot to lay. Sam's Club had a nice sale not too long ago and I got her a nice Serta bed - but IT IS NOT "nestable". I tried it out for one day and it was not to her liking. It was not as big as her other beds. She got on it, roached out and when she rolled over......she fell off.. You should have seen the look on her face, What a hoot. She jumped up and looked around like, "what the hell just happened"? She didn't get on the bed after that so it now belongs to my grandaughter who thinks it's just way too cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RMarie Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Hmm, interesting. We have blankets on the bed so that he can nest in those, and we were actually covering him with another blanket before we laid down. But, in the morning, the blankets are off the bed, so we assumed he got too hot during the night and was digging to get the blankets off the bed, which led us to stop covering him up at night at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Celestrina Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Regardless of the temperature, Angie will nest. The worst is after she has the zoomies. She's had expensive, fluffy beds and destroyed them. Now she has two cheap beds and DS's old comforter, all are very nestable. She tosses them around like crazy and no tears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KPS915 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Ours will nest anything. She has a flat foam mat in her crate that she'll bunch up and fold over. We tossed an old comforter in there to make it a more "nestable" environment. Upstairs she has a dog bed/dog pillow and a few blankets to nest in, some mornings they're all stacked together, others they are strewn about the room. She's a funny houndie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Dogs at the track used to sleep on shredded paper. Some tracks still use it. Greyhounds would "fluff up" their paper beds by nesting. All breeds may do this, I don't know but during my times at the track I loved watching the dogs fluff up their paper beds. I have some nesters that I actually have to tell them to stop because they will tear up their beds. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2dogs4cats Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I think some dogs just do it more than others. I even have a non-Grey that does it and he tries to nest the carpet too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1229 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 sometimes my girls get a wild hair and will next like there is no tomorrow. So I went to a couple of the local thrift stores and bought a couple of cheap comforters and have them on top of the dog beds..life is good for them Quote Isis, Always in my Heart Bijou, My Sweetest Angel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zombrie Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Dogs at the track used to sleep on shredded paper. Some tracks still use it. Greyhounds would "fluff up" their paper beds by nesting. All breeds may do this, I don't know but during my times at the track I loved watching the dogs fluff up their paper beds. I have some nesters that I actually have to tell them to stop because they will tear up their beds. That is very interesting, I never thought about it like that! Doolin is my nester, Minerva rarely does and I know she had carpet at the track (I don't know if Doolin did or not) But I noticed that when I put blankets on the beds and couch, it seems to encourage him to nest. He doesn't really do it when there are no blankets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandiandwe Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Paige nests as well, though she will nest so that things end up in an uncomfortable looking pile and then lie on top. Or dig things around for five minutes before wandering off to lie on the floor beside them Weird little dogs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_daerr Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Ours are both nesters (my AKC boy is actually worse than my retired racer). We buy Orvis Dog Nests with bead fill. They're the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitycake Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I don't know if it is tied to temperature or comfort or anything else, because both of our dogs are nesters. You can always tell where Allie (the nongrey) has been lying down because of these "rays" in a circle pattern (think of a child's sun picture) on the carpet. She doesn't nest when she's in the dog beds, but Monty will only nest on his bed and not the floor. I believe that he learned this from the puppy we were babysitting, Spud, because he did it all the time on Monty's bed and now Monty does it. Darn you Spud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianamac Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Boo will nest things that aren't even nestable. Like our couch and the outdoor couch. He just digs and digs and then gives up. Our bed and his bed (with a couple comforters) are different stories. It's so cute! Quote Bri and Mike with Boo Radley (Williejohnwalker), Bubba (Carlos Danger), and the feline friends foes, Loois and Amir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 This is perfectly normal DOG behavior. I don't think it has anything to do with the track etc. You have a nester. As so I. It doesn't matter what his bed is like or how many things he's given to choose from. It's just some sort of instinct thing, and he does it a lot. Victoria Peak makes an awesome bed with a very heavy duty denim cover that thusfar has held up beautifully to the nesting. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I used to hate it when Soul would nest on ME when sleeping bed with me. I'd wake up to this 80+ lb greyhound digging at me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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