If you are new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed to get the latest updates to Ask Spike Online. Thanks for visiting!

I am sure you know your friend’s favorite hang outs in the house and outside, and he probably only sleeps in a couple of them.  Not too long ago, some one asked me via Twitter about some strange behavior he had noticed about his dog, now that he was advancing in years.  In particular, his dog likes to lie in front of the window with the curtains over him to sleep.

My first reaction was “What is the problem?”  Since this caught your attention, I am assuming that this behavior is something new for your dog, since he mentioned that his dog is older now.  The first thing to consider is if he is lying down in a spot where the sun can warm his body.  If this is the case, then consider that his age is the main factor in this change.  As he gets up there in age, he will be craving a warmer environment to reduce some of the pains he is starting to feel in his aging joints and muscles.  The heat from the sunshine may be helping that problem.  If this spot in front of the window is inconvenient for your household, consider purchasing a heating pad for dogs, available at your local pet stores, probably in the larger ones.  Plug it in wherever you would like for your dog to lay, and he probably will.  Especially as the weather gets colder, you will probably find him in that new space a lot.

Keep in mind when you have questions about some of the things your dog does, especially when it comes to their surroundings and “special spots,” that dogs are denning animals and will seek out small, safe, enclosed areas.  I think that your dog is showing part of the denning aspect by using the curtains to cover himself.

It was not mentioned whether the dog prefers to sleep in this place at night, during the day, or all of the time.  If he does use it at night, look around the spot to see if he is attempting to hide anything.  This is explained by the denning that dogs crave.

My brother, Tax, is the biggest denner I know.  I think he keeps an inventory of his toys, and he knows when something is out of place at bedtime.  He also likes to spread his blanket out like a rug to sleep on.