Dog Digging: How to Stop
a Dog Digging in the Yard
Dog digging behavior can be frustrating especially when your dog digs up your favorite flower bed or perfect lawn.
While digging is a natural tendency in many dogs - especially hunting dogs, Nordic breeds, and terriers - it's unacceptable behavior when it starts ruining your yard or your dog starts digging under your fence.
Dogs dig for several reasons:
(1) Looking for food or quarry. This is particularly evident in hunting dogs or when you have moles in your yard.
(2) Boredom - if your dog is bored it will look for something to do to pass the time.
(3) Loneliness - your dog may be seeking company or feels the need to provide his own entertainment.
(3) Separation Anxiety - digging could be a sign that your dog wants to be with you. Separation anxiety is a complex problem that requires patient retraining.
(4) Lack of exercise - a dog with lots of energy will dig to burn off energy.
(5) Rewarding - digging is rewarding to a dog especially if it finds food or something else of interest.
(6) Curiosity - some dogs are curious and want to wander away from your yard so they will dig under a fence.
(7) Enjoyment - some dogs just love to dig in the soil and get their paws dirty.
(8) Protection from the weather - your dog might be hot in the summer and digs a hole to lie in and cool down.
There's no reason why your dog and your flower bed or lawn can't co-exist - it just takes dog obedience training and ingenuity to make it work.
How to stop a dog from digging:
There are several things you can do to stop a dog from digging:
(1) Exercise your dog more often to tire it out. If your dog is lacking exercise, burning off excess energy could help.
(2) Give your dog toys and safe chew toys to keep it interested in something other than digging.
(3) Limit access to the yard. If your dog doesn't have access to your lawn and garden except under strict supervision, there is less likelihood of it digging in your yard.
If your dog is a natural digger then here are a few solutions:
(1) Confine your dog's digging to a specific area of your yard. Designate a specific area where the dog can dig and train it to dig only in that area.
(2) Bury a bone or toy in a specific area of the yard. This will reward your dog every time it goes to that particular spot in the yard.
(3) Firmly embed chicken wire in the hole or lay the chicken wire an inch or two underneath the turf.
This is an effective way of stopping your dog from digging. However, you should supervise this method to avoid having your dog injured.
You might also try this method if your dog is digging under the fence.
(4) Create a "digging sandbox" specifically for your dog. Fill it with sand and soil and train your dog to go to the sandbox when it wants to dig. You can also bury toys or treats in the sandbox to reward your dog when it digs in its sandbox.
(5) Let your dog splash around in its very own pool in the summer to cool down.
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