[citation needed] The preferred substrate material of the dog whelk is solid rock and not sand, which adds to its problems at lower levels on the shore where weathering is likely to have reduced the stability of the seabed.

The upper limit of the range in which the dog whelk is generally found is approximately coincidental with the mean high water neap tide line, and the lower limit of the range is approximately coincidental with the mean low water neap tide line, so that the vast majority of dog whelks are found on the mid-tidal zone.

[citation needed] Tidal pools and comparable microhabitats extend the vertical range of organisms such as the dog whelk as they provide a more constant environment, but they are prone to increased salinity because evaporation concentrates dissolved substances.

[citation needed] Metabolic processes within cells take place in solution, and a decrease in water content makes it impossible for the organism to function properly.

[citation needed] Its adaptations include a modified radula (a toothed chitinous structure) to bore holes in the shells of prey, complemented by an organ on the foot which secretes a shell-softening chemical.

When a hole has been formed paralysing chemicals and digestive enzymes are secreted inside the shell to break the soft body down into a 'soup' which can be sucked out with the proboscis.

The plates of barnacles can be pushed apart with the proboscis, and the entire individual is eaten in about a day, although larger animals such as mussels may take up to a week to digest.

Feeding only occurs when conditions are conducive to such an activity, and during these times the dog whelk consumes large quantities of food so that the gut is always kept as full as possible.

If waves are large or there is an excessive risk of water loss the dog whelk will remain inactive in sheltered locations for long periods.

[citation needed] Many predators cannot smash the strong shell of an adult dog whelk, but juveniles are vulnerable to attack from many predatory species.

[citation needed] In the winter they endure more predation from purple sandpipers and similar wading birds, but in the summer crabs represent a greater threat.

"[9] In Ireland, on the island of Inishkea North, Co. Mayo, archaeologists found a whelk-dyeing workshop, dated to the 7th century AD, complete with a small, presumed vat, and a pile of broken-open dog-whelk shells.

This manuscript dates to the late 8th or early 9th century AD, and the whelk dye occurs as a background panel to white lettering at the beginning of St John's gospel.

Efforts have also been made to find whelk dye on surviving fragments of Anglo-Saxon textiles, but the chemical analyses so far carried out have proved negative for bromine.