11 Reasons Why Schnauzers Dig On Your Bed + 4 Tips

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At first your schnauzer digging on your bed can be quite amusing to watch. That’s until their digging becomes a frequent habit where your sheets and mattress get ruined. Is it normal for schnauzers to dig on their owners bed?

Why Do Schnauzers Dig On My Bed:

Schnauzers will dig on your bed for instinctual reasons, learned reasons as well as amusement. Your schnauzer may have seen another dog behave this way which started the behavior. Or, they’re either bored, want your attention, have too much energy, or are coping with anxiety.

In this post you’ll discover the top 12 reasons why a schnauzer will dig on your bed, what they could be telling you by digging on your bed as well as 4 helpful tips to stop it from continuing.

A combination of tip #2 & 3 will likely be the most effective.

Let’s jump right in!

Table of Contents

Top 11 Reasons Why Your Schnauzer Digs On Your Bed

1) Boredom

One of the more common reasons why your schnauzer is digging on your bed is simply that they’re bored!

Maybe they aren’t getting as much attention as they’d like and to deal with their boredom they decide to dig.

While digging may not seem like a super fun activity to you, anything is better than nothing in their mind.

And if it’s been a while since you’ve thrown their toy, played some tug-of-war or cuddled with them, their boredom could be what’s driving their digging behavior.

2) Overly Excited/Too Much Energy

Has your schnauzer ever had ‘the zoomies’?

If not, I’m sure you’ve heard of them.

It’s when a pup gets so overstimulated they aren’t sure what to do with all their energy so they start running around acting crazy.

They have too much pent up energy and need some form of outlet.

And digging on your bed could be one of their outlets when they have too much energy or are overly excited and not sure what to do about it.

They dig to get rid of the energy or show their excitement.

Little do they know they’re absolutely destroying your sheets!

3) Wants Your Attention

Sometimes schnauzers can be outright childish.

They want your attention but aren’t getting it so they decide to act out.

And last time they dug on your bed you either yelled at them and went over to get them to stop.

Or, you lovingly called them a weirdo and gave them some quick affection while getting them off your bed.

In either situation they got what they wanted.

Your attention.

Many times dogs aren’t too concerned about whether it’s negative or positive attention.

When you aren’t paying attention to them and they want you to, they’ll think back to what got a reaction out of you in the past and repeat it.

Clever little buggers.

4) Temperature Regulation

Your schnauzer may be digging on your bed in an attempt to warm themselves up or cool themselves down.

If this is the case for your pup, it’s instinctual behavior.

If it’s a hot day and a dog wants to cool off, they may dig into the ground to feel the cold ground underneath the surface.

If it’s cold outside, while it may take quite a deep hole to start feeling warmth, what a moderate hole can provide is shelter from chilling winds.

So if your pup is feeling overly warm or cold and wants to adjust their resting spot, they may dig on your bed to try and make it more comfortable for them.

5) Copied Behavior

Believe it or not, your schnauzer may have learned the behavior from one of their other furry friends.

If digging on your bed is new for them, they may have seen another dog do it and thought, “Hey, that looks fun!” then proceeded to take it for a test drive on your bed.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they decided to copy good behavior?

Unfortunately, dog’s are more likely to imitate instinctive behaviors rather than trained behavior.

VetStreet says you are more likely to see a dog mimic natural behavior like barking or chewing certain objects than shaking a paw or rolling over.

One can assume this is probably because the instinctive behavior feels good and ‘right’ to them.

Whereas trained behavior is mostly reward based and doesn’t feel good. Only when they get a treat afterward does it feel good.

6) Anxiety

This might seem like an odd way for your schnauzer to deal with feeling anxious, but it can serve as a distraction and self-soothing in a way.

When people get nervous or anxious, many will do things like bite their nails or rub parts of their body (legs, arms, etc.) as an unconscious way of self-soothing.

Young kids may suck on their pencils or thumbs.

So if your pup is feeling anxious they may dig on your bed to make themselves feel better.

You may also notice them excessively yawning, licking their lips, whining or shivering/shaking if they have high levels of anxiety.

7) Found An Interesting Scent

When it comes to scent, a dog’s smelling section of their brain is said to be 40 times larger than peoples.

In a very real way, your schnauzer’s sense of smell is even better than your ability to see!

So if they find an interesting smell on your bed, they may dig in an attempt to get to that smell.

It could be because you used a new laundry detergent, new shampoo or another dog had the audacity to sleep in THEIR human’s bed!

And your pup’s digging could be them wanting to burrow until they find the scent.

8) They Find It Fun

Unfortunately there are some things your schnauzer does, that you wish they didn’t, because they simply enjoy it.

And digging on your bed may very well be one of those things.

Digging on your bed allows them to forget about the world and burn off some steam.

It also likely gets a rise out of you and they probably find that pretty fun too.

How childish!

9) Claiming Their Territory

Another reason why your schnauzer may dig on your bed is because they’re attempting to mark their territory.

Dogs don’t sweat all over their bodies like people do. But they do have sweat glands in their nose, mouth and paws.

And when your pup uses their paws to dig, they’re leaving their scent behind.

This is why you may notice your doggo or other pups scratching the ground or trees.

They’re communicating with one another through their scent.

And when your schnauzer digs on your bed, they may be attempting to communicate to you or to other animals that this is their bed!

10) Making It Comfortable Before They Lie Down

Just like when you fluff your pillow to make it more comfortable before resting your head on it, your pup may dig to make it more comfortable before they lie down.

It could also be a part of their routine before finally relaxing and falling asleep.

Dig for 6 seconds (no more, no less).

Spin 2 times counter-clockwise.

Spin once clockwise.

A couple sniffs.

Then, and only then is their spot prepped and ready for sleeping.

11) If Female: Preparing Nest

If your schnauzer is a female as well as pregnant, they may dig to ensure their puppies have a comfortable spot to rest once they’re born.

It could also be a sign that they’re close to being ready to give birth which is something to watch out for.

If your female schnauzer isn’t pregnant, there’s such things as false pregnancies that make female dogs behave as though they are pregnant.

This can sometimes happen recently after they’ve been in heat.

Top 4 Tips To Stop Your Schnauzer From Digging On Your Bed

1) Mentally Stimulating Dog Toys

Schnauzers are one of the smartest dog breeds.

Out of 131 different breeds, they rank 18th.

Which means these smarty-pants dogs need frequent mental stimulation.

Because without it, they’re more likely to behave destructively.

So by getting them a few different mind stimulating dog toys that they enjoy playing with, they may no longer feel the need to dig on your bed.

2) Don’t Make a Big Deal Of It

Do your best not to make a big scene when you catch your schnauzer digging on your bed.

Odds are you’d only be teaching them to continue the behavior.

Which might not make a whole lot of sense, but it’s true.

Dog’s will often do things that get a reaction out of their owner because they want their attention.

Good or bad attention isn’t as important to them as attention in general.

And if they’ve learned that you make a big deal when they do something, they’re more likely to continue to do it to get a reaction out of you.

3) Redirect The Behavior

If they simply enjoy digging too much to stop, you might want to get them their own designed dig spot.

This would mean getting them their own bed for them to dig on and redirecting their digging behavior to this bed whenever you catch them digging on your bed.

This obviously won’t stop the behavior entirely. But, it should help stop them from digging on your bed and instead do it on their own.

4) Visit The Vet

Sometimes your pup’s digging behavior can be a mystery or start to get out of control.

If you’re not able to find the reason for their digging to help them stop, or it’s starting to happen far too frequently, it’s best to see a vet.

They’ll be able to identify if there’s any health issues going on as well as ask questions that may help you find out what the root of the problem is.

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