Why does my dog sleep or lay in the corner?

If your dog has been sleeping or laying in the corner, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you common causes and what you can do about them.

So, why does my dog lay in the corner? Possible reasons why your dog lays in the corner are that it feels safer there, it feels threatened, it is anxious, it is more comfortable there or you might have encouraged it to do it by rewarding it when it does it.

Since there are a number of reasons why your dog might be sleeping there, it would help to consider what would make them morel likely. Once you have a better idea of the cause, it should be easier to figure out what to do about it.

Why your dog sleeps or lays in the corner

Below are reasons why your dog might be doing it and what would make them more likely.

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 could 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 feels more comfortable

It could simply be the case that it does it 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 lay down and to train it to lay there as shown below.

It feels threatened

The reason why it does it might also be that it feels threatened. This would be more likely if it sleeps there 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.

You have inadvertently trained it to do it

It could also be the case that it has learned that it gets rewards when it does it. If you tend to give it extra attention, treats or other rewards when it sleeps there, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards. Instead, it would help to train it to lay somewhere else and to reward it when it shows signs of laying down in that spot.

Things to consider

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

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

If it did not always sleep in the corner, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it. An event might have occurred that caused it to start sleeping there.

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.

If it always lays in the corner

If it only does it sometimes, it would help to consider what is different when it does it since the timing could have something to do with it.

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 sleeping or laying in the corner

Below are some options you have when getting your dog to stop sleeping in the corner.

Positive reinforcement training

One option 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 sleep or lay in a certain spot, you would reward it when it shows signs of laying there as shown in the video below.

Avoid encouraging the behavior

As mentioned above, a part of the cause might be that you have encouraged it to sleep 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 laying there.

Avoid punishing it

Instead of using punishment based techniques to train your dog, it would be better to reward it for showing signs of behaving the way you want and to avoid rewarding it when it does not. If you punish your dog, it might be contributing to it feeling insecure around you and it might be why it has been laying in the corner.

Give it a comfortable place to lay down

It would also help to encourage it to sleep somewhere else by giving it another spot to lay 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.

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.