Hello there
I am posting this for a friend who can't seem to register at the moment.  She was going to ask a question for a woman we both know from walking the dogs who has a small problem with her dog at the moment.  I do hope I get the story right!  This lady has just had a new carpet fitted and her dog insists on digging it whenever he can.  When she hears him doing this she rushes in to stop him but this has absolutely no effect on him and he just does it again later.  Has anyone any idea why he is doing this - is it just because it is new - and what would be best to do to prevent this.  As a bit of background Teddy is a small mixed breed, I would guess part Jack Russell but not sure what else.  He is a lovely, friendly, obedient dog and has been with the same owner since he was a puppy.
Many thanks

Not that this is what you want to hear but my long departed Labby did just that. Two parts were ruined at the topof the stairs is a small hole.
By the front door is a mess...This was her favoured spot for laying down when we were out. She always had the run of downstairs and upstairs by day. We never found a solution, as we went for the lesser of the evils.

nips occasionally attempts a dig to australia through the carpet in one of our sitting rooms. this digging usually occurs just before he settles down for a snooze and i find that a quick reminder of the "oi! pack it in"! variety works a treat in stopping him. however, he doesn't have unsupervised access to every room in the house anyway - i see no reason for him to be wallowing around on the sofa and chairs like lord muck in that sitting room - and this makes it easier to control the digging.

it may well be that the newness of your friend's carpet has encouraged the digging and if the new carpet has a longer pile on it then it may be that Teddy is treating it like any other "diggable" surface and trying it out! but basically, he needs to be stopped almost before he starts digging so i'd recommend supervised access only for a while!

This is normal - the carpet is a fun new toy to the dog - he doesn't know it's his owners new valuable possession.

I would try to give him some cardboard boxes to dig in, so he has an outlet for his digging behaviours which isn't the carpet.  Work on the Leave command when she's in the room with him, and prevent him from having access to the carpet when she's out of the room and can't give the Leave command.

Hmm...it's only the new carpet, is it? 

My old, much-missed GSD had a thing about new shoes.  He never chewed anything else on the 'forbidden' list and old shoes were as safe as houses but new shoes - he just couldn't help himself. I always put it down to the smell; perhaps they didn't smell like they belonged to us or he just found the glue irresistible.  Whatever it was we never cured him, just learned to vigilant until the shoes were 'worn in'. See if your friend's friend can keep the dog out of the room until the newness has gone - which won't take long by the sound of it.

Linda

My dog had a habbit of doing this without us realising, must have been when we weren't in the room only noticed when shreds of the carpet were pulled up, however he did stop after we saw him doing it and told him no. Cardboard boxes are a good idea as someone else has said. Tyler loves to shred egg cartons and lager boxes!! It does make a mess but is easily cleared up.

Many thanks.  I will pass all ideas on and hopefully Teddy's mum will be able to keep her new carpet looking new for a little longer.
Best wishes