The Three-Turn Habit Has a Number for a Reason
Most dogs circle two to four times before settling. A 2011 study published in the journal Anthrozoös, conducted by researchers at the Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, found that dogs given a soft, deformable surface to sleep on circled significantly more than dogs placed on a hard floor. The behavior was not comfort-seeking in the way we usually mean it. The dogs were performing a motor sequence their nervous system had inherited, and the soft surface simply activated it more fully.
