Why do dogs spin around and around before settling down?

[cocolepew]

DD says it's to check there is no snakes or dangerous things, I thought it was to make the sleeping place comfy,

Is it an old instinct when they lived wild and turned round and round to flatten grass and make a nest to lie in?

I thought it was an 'in-built from wild dog' era, flattening of rushes/grasses before settling down.

Ha! I'm right! DD will be gutted

Cats do it as well. I thought she was just being a bit indecisive about her direction of sleep.

My dog does it because he catches sight of his own arse and decides to try and bite it

I have one that spins round (only in an anti-clockwise direction) at least 3 times before every poo and occasionally for a pee. He can also spend ages spinning and "digging" to get his bed/sofa comfy.

My lab cross is like that too.

DD says you're all wrong because in her science book it says it's to check for poisonous snakes, so ner.

My friend was told the snake thing too on her training course.

Only our grund does that. She must turn a minimum of three full turns before she can sleep, heaven forbid if there is something in the way preventing this. You'd think someone had shot her the way she wails if there is a coat/book/remote on the sofa preventing her comepleting her neccessary turns.

The only exception to this is our bed, if she manages to get on there she simply dives and flops mid dive

I have no idea why they do it. Our Terrier never does it. Perhaps he si 'ard as nails and not scared of sbakes?

Whippy doesn't do it, she has to rub where she intends to sleep with her head in a cat-like manner I keep telling you she is not a real dog, she is some kind of oddly shaped feline hybrid

My JRT jumps up onto my bed, pulls down one of our large square pillows and then does the curly twirly thing on top of it! Sometimes, if she can't be arsed to do it herself, she gives me the hard stare until I put the pillow onto the horizontal for her. I wonder how it came to this ...

Ooooh Sprocket does this too, and digs his bed. Drives me mental at 3am