HELP, why dog is all of a sudden scratching up carpets

Our 3 and a half year old rescue JRT/Staffie cross, whom we've had nearly 6 months and up until now has been a dog with almost 'Model Behaviour'

The dog has always had the roam of the kitchen and lounge when we are out and can walk between both and he never touchs a thing.

Came home friday to find he had clawed up the carpet in one corner of the room next to the door, clawing so hard that he's pulled the carpet out of the gripper rods that join the carpet to the one in the hallway.

He had only been left 2 hours when normally he's left for upto 4 hours, there's no dog poo or wee, so it wasnt that he needed out for the toilet.

Anyway disiplined him, and sprayed some of this stuff that stops dogs touching stuff, anyway cutting this short came home this afternoon and he's done the same at the same part of the carpet, why????

hiya my dog also a terrierx did this the one time i left him for only 30mins.

i saw it as he felt closed in and was desperate to get out, maybe he heard a noise and was frightened?

you shouldnt have come home and disaplined him, he would have had no idea what it was for also if he has dome it again, when you came home and told him off to him you could have been saying 'well done' for all he knows so he did it again for attention?

and unless he knows that the smell means 'dont touch' my dog used to still try it on anyway lol!

he could also be bored and frustrated, do you leave him with any entertainment? liek a kong filled with his fav treats? a speical toy that he only gets when his alone? the tv on low for noise?

do you walk him before you go out so his a bit tired? does he have a safe place to go in? like a crate?

i leave him only after a brisk 45 min to 1 hour walk, when i leave, i put the radio on for him, 2 different kong toys,
a sterilised bone a rubber bone and a plastic bone type toy. a fresh bowl of water.

He knew he had done wrong when i came in as his head was low and was looking at me with that guilty look

he has his bed in the kitchen which is his safe place, which he has free access too

Hi
My Meg always does this frantic scratching at the carpet, just before she is settling down at night to go to sleep, always the same spot, in the hallway at bottom of stairs, she used to do it in living room until we had the wood floor down.
Its like she is marking her bed out before she settles down.
The carpet where he is scratching, is this where he usually likes to sleep?
I read, that when dogs lived outside, they would dig and scratch into the ground to make a den for them to sleep in
If he has is own bed, try putting that where he is pulling the carpet up
Margaret

his bed is in the kitchen which he has free access to when we are out, its in the adjoining lounge behind the door which leads into the hallway where he's doing it and unable to put his bed there as its behind the door.

You are sure there's no reason for the scratching, like mice under the floorboards or something spilt there which he can smell. Hope you get to the bottom of it.

Or have you changed the central heating clock so it comes on at a different time. Could the pipes under the floor be making a noise?

Thanks for all the kind sudgestions, The floors are concrete, the central heating aint been put on yet, tho very close too it.
nothing has been split on the carpet, its a very light cream colour and it would show anyway its only myself and partner in the house and neither have spilt anything.

Anyway since last post he is now kept in the kitchen which is a fair size and he does tend to sleep alot when we are out, however we are going to set up a video cam to watch his behaviour and keep an aye on him

I`d put a piece of furniture there personally.
A bizarre remedy which might just work is to (with the dog watching) kneel down and slap the carpet a few times saying something along the lines of Naughty naughty carpet! For some reason this seems to keep a dog away from it. (A friend tried and it worked)
Best not do it when you have guests though.

I came back to this. There were bits of ripped up carpet every where. I can only assume they were bored. I lock them in the kitchen now.