There may be several reasons why dogs turn around several times before they lie down. Since dogs are intelligent mammals with varying emotional states and levels of awareness, the behaviour of circling before lying down may depend on the individual dog and its situation.
According to many sources, this behaviour in domestic dogs is a holdover from the days before their wolf ancestors were tamed. Circling may have evolved in wolves as a means to check the locations of other pack members, to check for predators, or to point their noses upwind to better detect the approach of other animals. Circling not only tamped down vegetation and smoothed the ground to create a comfortable bed, but it also drove away or crushed insects and other potentially harmful creatures. And by probing the ground with their feet, wolves could detect and remove protruding rocks, sticks, and thorns in the soil. Wolves, like their domestic descendants, marked their territories with excretions that could be seen as well as smelled. Similarly, after they rose and left their beds, the flattened vegetation and smoothed soil could serve as a visual cue to other wolves that the areas were claimed.