As the pups get older, she prefers to find a resting spot at a distance from the den to avoid the pups' constant attention. Once the pups have left, she may spend the late summer and fall above ground. By early winter, she moves back into the den to claim it as her own. The male fox usually beds above ground throughout the year. Bedding places can be located anywhere that offers sufficient cover, protection from the weather, and an escape route.
Favourite spots are overgrown ditches, thick hedges, tangled tree roots, and long grass.
During the winter, the fox prefers a location in the sun where it can soak up warmth. A fox bedded down in the daytime will usually cat nap. It will sleep from 15 to 30 seconds, wake up and look around, and then sleep again. It sleeps soundly only when well hidden in heavy cover and wake once every hour or so to check its surroundings.