Most dogs really enjoy digging around in soft dirt. You want to have a nice yard and a nice garden and your dog comes along and destroys it all. It is a big mess that you can hardly keep up with. You want a beautiful yard but your dog wants to have fun digging around. What is the best way to handle this difficulty?
Dogs dig naturally. In fact some breeds are actually born to dig out prey and they are born for digging. This of course, makes it all the more challenging to control but in order to have the beautiful yard that you want you must try your hardest to contain the nasty behavior of digging.
Digging can be good for your dog. It is crucial for him to explore and engage his curiosity, however, it is important for you to have a decent yard also. You must both be able to find a happy medium in regards to his digging. That may well mean that you want to stop the behavior completely and that is fine.
Dogs dig excessively for many reasons. Your dog may be bored and wanting some entertainment. He may be lonely and be having separation anxiety. He may want to create an escape route to get out of the yard! Or it may even be as minor as a temperature issue, as he is too hot and needs to cool off or he is too cold and wants to warm up.
There are ways to prevent your dog from digging. First off, make sure that you have plenty of together time and that your dog is getting plenty of playtime and exercise. This can prevent boredom. You can also make sure that he has enough stimulating dog toys to play with. If you give your dogs bones to gnaw on they will usually try to bury them so replace bones with chew toys or rawhide bones.
You can use a clicker to train your dog not to dig. Watch your dog and when he starts to dig just use the clicker to distract him and give him a command that means “no”. When he stops digging give him a treat. It will take persistence but clicker training can be very effective for dealing with digging.
You can also try to fill his hole up with undesirable things. You can fill the hole that he has been playing in up with garden mulch, sticks, pine needles and so forth. When he comes back he will dig and find the undesirable things in his hole and he will stop digging. You can also bury a balloon that will pop in his face as he digs. This will not hurt him but it will scare him and he may stop the digging. Some trainers also recommend putting dog poop into the holes as the dog will no longer want to play after he finds his own poop!
You can try to make a spot in your yard specifically for his digging. This will take the most time and patience but it may be the best answer if your dog is just a natural digger. You can lessen your dogs digging behavior with some time and patience but be gentle because he is just being a dog.
