Stop dog digging

barbiegirl

Hi guys,
Sindy is now nine months old and has taken to digging the lawn up :-(. She is walked everyday, for about 35 minutes, and we invested in Kongs which if I'm away for any length of time we put out stuffed with food. These worked for about a week, but yesterday she dug, the hole is nearly to China, and this morning, I was inside working, she went outside and came back in with mucky pawas again where she was digging again.
Does anyone have anyway to stop this? We only have a small, standard semi detached garden, so holes are very noticable. I was thinking of placing twine around the lawn, kind of like you would if you had just planted seeds, this might keep her off the lawn and break the habit, plus allow it to recover a bit.

andreac

Sorry, but has no one ever told that you cant have a dog and have a nice garden? lol

Unfortunately dogs will dig, esp puppies. The only way to stop the dog digging is to fence off the area or put up a dog run so they cant get access to the grass.

Oh i wouldnt put twine up, the dog will only end up eating this which could be dangerous esp if you arent around. It could also get itself tangled up in it which again could be very dangerous so i would avoid anythign like string or rope.

Anyway string would not stop a dog of that size from going through it.

Sigma Force

Yeh the twine would be dangerous, could catch on the dogs legs and puppies eat anything.

About once a week fill the holes back in perhaps buy a bag of compost or topsoil and have it to hand as well as some grass seeds and just patch it up as you go along. The dog will probably grow out of it and in the summer the grass will grow quickly so it should all fill out again.

Although some dogs are diggers anyway since she's a lab expect a lot more digging..lucky any plants haven't been eaten too.

As she's a bit older now she needs two walks a day don't have to be for miles but an hour to an hour and a half a day working up to two hours a day, broken up into two or three times.

barbiegirl

I though that about the walks ok. Maybe a morning walk will help reduce it somewhat, tire her out :-)

TooManyDogs

What about giving her a digging pit? It can work really well to divert them from digging in the lawn, some dogs just don't stop digging, my 9 year old has been digging since I got her at a year old. If you get one of those kids plastic sandboxes, fill it with sand and soil and bury treats and toys in it. Then bring her over to it and dig with her the first couple of times, she'll very quickly get the idea. You can then tell her a sharp 'No' if she digs elsewhere and bring her back to the sandbox. Refill the sandbox with new treats regularily.

I did one for my sister's dog and it worked really well, he was a devil for digging, once dug beside the fence and discovered the roots of a bush belonging to next door and dragged it under the fence! Sister mortified and neighbours amused to discovered missing plant!!

barbiegirl

That sounds like an excellent idea, just a quick question will Cat's pooing it in be any way dangerous for her??
We don't have one, but there are some about??

TooManyDogs

It wouldnt bother your dog as long as your dog is regularily wormed. If you've kids in the house maybe get one with a cover you can put on when the dog isn't using it so cats can't poo in it, in my experience if there's a digging pit, kids and dogs will happily dig together!!! I picked one up when I saw it on a skip! Or try www.jumbletown.ie, they sometimes come up there and it's all free!

Blueprint

The sandpit idea is a good one and if you teach her to dig on command as well, you can then catch her when she's in the wrong spot, move her to the right one and ask her to dig there.

cruizer101

Digging is what doggies do

Let me tell you about our dog might make you feel a bit better though I can't say if same thing will happen for you.

When our dog was about 6 months he started digging up the lawn, he'd just go out and dig for fun. But when he got to about a year he stopped, that was it he had learned how to dig holes and didn't need to practice anymore.

From then on the only holes he dug we in the flowerbeds, not digging up flowers or anything just digging in the softer ground, and this was purely for the purpose of burying bones, that was the only time he dug.

So you may be lucky and she may grow out of it

I do like the advice of having a dig area, not sure if you even need sand a bit of well turned soil might do the job in an obscure corner of the garden.

TooManyDogs

cruizer101 wrote: »

not sure if you even need sand a bit of well turned soil might do the job in an obscure corner of the garden.

That's true, any area will do as long as it's well defined so the dog can clearly see the difference between where they can and can't dig.

kylith

I'm lucky that mine aren't big diggers, but I managed to train Tegan to dig on command last spring; a great help when you're planting bulbs!

tk123

This was our solution to the puppy digging the place up! The state of the wall lol! :rolleyes:

My dog tends to dig quite a good bit, although most of the time he has a toy beside the hole so I assume he's trying to bury the things outside. Another time when he didn't have any toys beside the hole he hadn't been walked yet so I assume it was just him wanting to expend energy. Have been just filling back in the holes but yeah, since he's a very quick digger your back could be turned for a second and he'd be halfway to China!

Last time he was digging I only noticed since I heard something hitting the window so he's managing to get soil a good 8m now.

padi89

She should grow out of it in time, my fella tore the place apart when he was young too, the sand pit is a good idea. You will need to start walking her more too though, she should be getting at least two a day at least 30-40 mins each in the future. 2 x 15/20 min walks per day is what my dog gets and that's only because he has very bad arthritis.

theghost

What breed of dog is Sindy? I've never been able to stop the two JRT's digging (or eating Michaelmas Daisies :mad:) but the Lab/Collie cross has never been interested

boodlesdoodles

Digging spot is the way to go. My Westie is allowed dig in two small holes in the back garden. 2 years later he still hasn't copped on to the fact he can't dig through the carpet. There's one spot on the carpet that's missing a 6inch length of thread. Its obviously his guilty pleasure and thank God we didn't buy an expensive carpet

TooManyDogs

padi89 wrote: »

She should grow out of it in time.

Unfortunately some dogs don't grow out of digging, IF a dog is going to grow out of it you'll notice a difference when they're about 18 months old. Some don't, I have 2 that love to dig holes, one does it when she's cross with me for something!

fishfoodie

TooManyDogs wrote: »

Unfortunately some dogs don't grow out of digging, IF a dog is going to grow out of it you'll notice a difference when they're about 18 months old. Some don't, I have 2 that love to dig holes, one does it when she's cross with me for something!

I think in some breeds it is more instinctive than anything else.

My sister had an Elkhound that dug holes on opposite sides of the garden I wondered about this until I realised he'd pegged the direction of the prevailing wind.

In the snow his breed digs holes to sit in and then allow the snow to cover them to insulate them from the cold.

Steve30x

My four month old tends to dig a small hole on the edge of the footpath at the same spot. He doesnt do it all the time though. What I found him doing is burying a Rawhide bone I got him. I had another Border Collie and between 6 and 9 months old he used to dig trenches but he grew out of it after 9 months old.