Why does my dog sit in the corner?

If your dog has been sitting in the corner, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you common reasons why dogs do it and what you can do about them.

So, why does my dog sit in the corner? Possible reasons why your dog sits in the corner are that it feels safer there, it is anxious, it finds it more comfortable there or you might have inadvertently encouraged the behavior.

Since there are a number of possible causes, it would help to consider what would make each of them more likely. Once you have a better idea of the main cause, it should become easier to decide on what you should do about it.

Why your dog sits in the corner

Below are a number of possible reasons why your dog has been doing it and what would make them more likely to be the main reason.

It feels safer there

The reason why it does it might be that it feels safer there since the walls provide it protection from behind. This would be more likely if it was mistreated in the past or if it does it more when there are other people or animals around that bother it sometimes. In this case, it would help to try to figure out if something might be causing it to feel insecure and to stop it if possible.

It is anxious

The reason why it does it might also be that something has been causing it to be anxious. This would be more likely if it does it more at a certain time such as when a certain person or animal is around, when there are noises outside or when you are away. If it does do it when you are away or when you are about to leave, it would be a sign that it is due to it having separation anxiety.

It finds it more comfortable there

It could simply be the case that it sits in the corner because it is more comfortable in the corner. This would be more likely if it leans against the wall, if the wall is cooler and if it does not show any signs of being anxious. In this case, you could try giving it another, more comfortable, place where it can sit or lay down and to train it to sit there as shown below.

Encouraging the behavior

It could be the case that you have encouraged it to sit in the corner by giving it rewards when it does it. Instead of giving it things it wants, when it sits there, it would help to train it to sit elsewhere and to reward it when it sits where you want it to sit.

It feels threatened

The reason why it does it might also be that it feels threatened. This would be more likely if it sits in the corner at a certain time such as when a certain person or animal is around and if it shows signs of being submissive such as hiding its tail, making itself appear small and crying.

A new environment

If you recently got your dog, it might be the case that it does not feel comfortable yet in its new environment. In this case, it should begin to feel more comfortable over the course of a few weeks. However, you could help by giving it training and another comfortable place for it to lay down. If it does not begin to improve, it would help to get help from a vet or dog behaviorist.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider when figuring out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.

What else happened when your dog first started sitting in the corner

If it did not always sit in the corner, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it.

If it did start doing it suddenly it could be due to things such as learning that it gets rewards when it does it, the weather getting hotter and the walls being cooler or new people or animals being around causing it to feel anxious.

What is different when your dog does not sit there

If it does not always sit in the corner, it would also help to consider what is different when it does not sit there.

For example, if it does it more when it hears noises outside or when a certain person is around, it might be doing it due to having some anxiety.

What to do about your dog sitting in the corner

Below are things you can do in order to get your dog to stop sitting there.

Train your dog to sit elsewhere

One thing to do would be to train it to sleep in a different spot with the use of positive reinforcement training. This is where you encourage it to behave the way you want by rewarding it when it shows signs of behaving that way. To use it to get your dog to sit or lay in a certain spot, you would reward it when it shows signs of sitting there as shown in the video below.

Give it a comfortable area to sit or lay

It would also help to encourage it to sit somewhere else by giving it another spot to sit in that is comfortable, cool, secure and quiet. One option might be to use crate training which will give it an area it can go to where it can feel secure.

Avoid encouraging it to sit in the corner

As mentioned above, a part of the cause might be that you have encouraged it to sit there, which would be more likely if it gets excited when you go near it when it is in the corner. Instead, it would help to train it to lay somewhere else as shown above and to reward it for sitting there.

Get help

If you cannot get your dog to stop doing it or it is often anxious, one option would be to get help from a dog behaviorist. By doing so, you should be able to see what has been causing your dog to behave that way and how you can get it to stop.