Digging in the yard... Help!
So, short of taking him out on a leash for all potty breaks, anyone have suggestions or advice? (btw, I have tried to cover up and block the areas that he was digging in, but he seems to find new ones.) |
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| I feel your pain.......
I have been having the same problem with Heart  (9 months old)....
I put flower pots on top of the places she likes to dig...and she finds new ones... NOW... I go out with her and if she begins to show the slightest interest in a spot I (try) to redirect her attention to a toy or one of the other dogs. I am hoping,,,,,like you.....she will eventually grow out of it!!!!!  |
| sorry guys - mine were 2 in september and october and I have mesh fencing laying on thir favorite holes, pavers over some other ones etc. they get bigger and so do the holes. |
| My sister used a spray with her terrior. I can't remember what kind, but I'm sure it was from a local pet supply store. It worked pretty good. Now if she could just stop him from eating her Indian Grass... |
| At one time I had up to 7 adult OES and an occasional litter of pups. One of the females decided to dig by a bush when she was pregnant (like I was gonna allow her to have them there!).
I had three bushes in a row. I filled in the first hole and she (they) dug that one back up and moved on over to the 2nd bush. Repeated the action until they had a small hole by each bush. I'd refill, they'd redig. So, I decided, "What the heck, it's not hurting anything so I left them alone. I figured thats what I get for having bushes in "their" yard." But, NO more digging!!! And, it didn't hurt the bushes at all, UNTIL they started laying on them! |
| I did the same thing as mouthypf...gave up. In the Fall and Spring the dogs are digging maniacs. Everyday I used to go out and fill in the holes. In my Flower gardens I even layed mess then put soil over it which worked really well. The dogs have a couple of holes that they lay in and since I have stopped covering their holes they have stopped digging more. I think we've come to a compromise. They won't dig new holes if I don't fill in the old ones. lol |
There are a lot of reasons for digging! If you can find out why they dig you are halfway through fixing the problem. 
Here are the reasons for digging: 1. Boredom 2. To cool off 3. Escape 4. Genetic 5. Hunting 6. Hiding food 7. Separation Anxiety Digging is a natural behavior, a self rewarding behavior. They need to be taught that an alternate behavior is more rewarding than the "problem" behavior. If your dog doesn't get enough mental and physical exercise than he/she is bored. Same thing with separation anxiety. When it's hot outside, they are obviously too hot, so they need a shady place or a baby pool for them to cool off. To avoid escape digging you can bury chicken wire fencing about 1-2 inches below the surface. Some dogs don't like to smell or touch their own poop so you can fill the wholes with their poops and cover it with 1-2 inches of dirt. Lava rocks are very uncomfortable for their nails so fill up the wholes and cover it with 1-2 inches of dirt. Don't let them see you gardening, which shows them that digging is allowed in the yard. Use a spray bottle, shaker can, etc. Whatever makes them move away or stop the digging works. If they dig lets say to about 3 inches down and the wholes are 2 feet apart from each other in a row than they are hunting. You need to get rid of that vermin to stop the digging. And with genetic digging they need to taught that digging is okay but in a certain area. Give them a digging pit where they can dig. Every time they dig in the yard, say "No digging" and than take them to the digging pit where you can reinforce digging. They are very fast learners!  |
Prof. Boni wrote: There are a lot of reasons for digging! If you can find out why they dig you are halfway through fixing the problem.
Here are the reasons for digging: 1. Boredom 2. To cool off 3. Escape 4. Genetic 5. Hunting 6. Hiding food 7. Separation Anxiety okay smarty pants, you left out number 8----Digging to China! |
| You could try supplying a safe area to dig.
Excavate a bit of a pit, maybe wall it up internally, fill it with sand/gravel etc, construct a lid for foul weather. Then train the hound that this is the spot where it is okay to dig (place toys or treats in their) At least you can control what medium the hound is digging in. You don't have moles do you? maybe he can hear something interesting? |
| This was a point of frustration for me too. I have and OES and a hound-mix. Needless to say my hound did most of the diggin. Eventually we decided to leave the side of the patio as the "dog pit" and they are allowed to dig there. Once we did this they stopped digging elsewhere. Also, my hound used to dig by the fence when we left him outside during the day but a few well placed pavers seemed to redirect his digging elsewhere. |
| Nope, but it slows with age.
Try putting their feces in the holes.......so they can go dig somewhere else. I've tried everything under the moon and then some and none works forever. To this day they still dig to make a comfortable spot for their old bones.....gotta move those stones. It's akin to their circling before they lie down......impulse. They dig under shrubs for shade. Some dig because it is fun or they are bored. Dogs and gardens don't go together. They need to be kept separate or well supervised. |
| My first oes was a digger too, I gave up trying to train her out of it and gave her a sandbox. Eventually she would dig in that more and the yard less with positive reinforcement. |
| So, I've gone though all the posts (thanks!) and a disturbing thought occurred to me. Someone suggested digging for vermin and while this is possible (we live next to 200 acres of untouched forest)...
He's digging right on top of the septic tank. 
I guess I knew this, but just figured it was because it was the only place where the the ground wasn't frozen. Now I'm wondering if the hears the water (and other, more disgusting things) going into the tank!! I'll have to try burying the chicken wire when we're seeding the lawn this spring and see if that keeps him away. I can only imagine what will happen if he reaches the source of the noise!! Thanks for the list Prof. Boni - it was a great check list!! |
| maybe you could try a similar product to one of the items listed on this site
http://www.netlon.co.uk/_turfsystems/prod-netpave25.htm |
| The sandbox idea really does work. Try putting landscape timbers in a box shape around the base of a tree and fill it with sand. Then play there often and keep chew toys in it. It soon becomes a favorite spot for diggers. |
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