Why Does My Dog Sleep In The Closet? 4 Reasons

Why Does My Dog Sleep In The Closet? To know the answer, read our full article.

Possible reasons your dog sleeps in the closet are that your dog finds it safe and comfortable there, he is afraid of things like noises, and it could also be nursing an injury.

If your dog has been sleeping in the closet, you might be wondering why and what it means. This post will show you a number of possible reasons responsible for this behavior and what you can do about it.

There are actually a number of possible reasons for this behavior, and it might be due to a combination of reasons. Read on below to fully understand the reasons for this particular behavior.

Page Contents

Reasons why your dog smell your ears
- Comfort
- Confinement
- Fear
- Injury or Illness
Other things to consider
- Does your dog always go to the closet when you are away?
How to stop
- Get him a comfortable place to sleep
- Examine him

Table of Contents

Why Does My Dog Sleep In The Closet?

4 main Reasons why your dog Sleep In the Closet.

Often times, our dogs do weird unexplainable things, but they probably have their reasons for it. Below are a number of possible causes and what would make each of them more likely to be the main reason.

Comfort

Dogs, like humans, like comfort and seek it by all means.

The first thing to check once your dog starts this behavior is if it’s more comfortable than the sleeping place you assigned your dog.

This could mean your dog is finding a colder or hotter spot than other areas.

For example, if it’s in the winter, your dog could opt to go and sleep where you keep your laundries to feel cozy.

And if it’s in the summer, your dog is likely to seek a colder spot or even a cold floor to cool off.

Confinement

While dogs were domesticated several thousands of years ago but they haven’t lost all their instincts.

When in the wild, they are vulnerable to all sorts of attacks by predators especially when asleep. They preferred to sleep in caves or dens – someplace that is safe, dark, and quiet.

So, if your dog has started sleeping in a closet or doing it all of a sudden, it’s probably because your dog finds it secure and gives them a sense of safety, and your dog has discovered that it suited him better than sleeping out in the open.

After the first time, your dog might have just had a really good sleep and made it his new preferred spot.

Fear

Fear is also another factor. Your dog could get afraid like you too. So, what can get your dog afraid? You ask.

Your dog could be afraid of things like noises, thunderstorms, the presence of another animal in the house he is not comfortable with, or unfamiliar faces, especially if he is a puppy. All these can bring fear to your dog, making him feel insecure and vulnerable.

Injury or Illness

You may be wondering why your dog would hide in the closet when injured or sick. Well, one thing is for sure, you can’t separate your dog from his instincts.

Right from the wild where the fittest survived, showing signs of weakness is counteractive to their survival as this makes them vulnerable.

Therefore, a dog in pain will instinctually hide and sleep in the close when they are sick or injured because he cannot protect himself to his full ability.

Rather than stay out in the open and be vulnerable to all sorts of dangers out there, he’d rather withdraw himself and removes himself from being an easy target.

Other things to consider

Here are some other things you can consider when trying to get to the root of this behavior.

Does your dog always go to the closet when you are away?

If your dog always goes to the closet when your away and you have other people living with you, then you should not rule out the possibility of maltreatment. It’s possible that your dog is being abused when you are not with him.

Another reason he may be going to the closet could be because he’s not used to other people living with you. This is possible if he is familiar with their faces but just doesn’t get along with them except you.

How to stop

The ways to adopt to stop this behavior will depend on the reason. First, you need to find out the reason for this behavior to know how to stop it.

Get him a comfortable place to sleep

If your dog is sleeping in the closet because of the comfort he derives there, then provide him such comfort.

If you notice that he goes during the winter seeking warmth, you can get him a heated dog bed like this one.

Another way is to close the closet door and provide him with another comfortable but private, quiet place to sleep that’s free of noise, and other pets (apart from him) can’t access.

Examine him

This is crucial. If the reason behind the behavior is due to injury or sickness, you want to know this asap. It’s really important that dog owners recognize the signs that signify their dog is suffering in silence.

Best Dog Treats (to use for training)

Milk-Bone MaroSnacks Dog Treats (on Amazon) with Real Bone Marrow and Calcium – Great for puppies
Rachael Ray Nutrish Real Meat Dog Treats (on Amazon) – Great for adult dogs

The Best Dog Training Program

Our favorite: Brain Training for Dogs. If you want an obedient dog and wants to learn how to successfully develop your dog’s natural intelligence and eliminate bad behaviors even if you are a first-timer, then check this out. I hope you have known about this topic: Dog Sleeping In The Closet in details.

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Why Does My Dog Sleep In The Closet? 4 Reasons