How to Stop Dogs Digging
If you have a dog who loves to dig in your yard then you know just how frustrating it can be. Digging isn’t an easy behavior to stop, especially is you have a terrier or a Dachshund. However, there are some effective ways to stop dogs digging. Here are some tips.
Why Dogs Dig
Digging is a natural behavior for dogs. Left on their own, wolves and dogs dig to create dens, to bury food, to roll in the dirt, and to make cool spots. They can even dig to find some kinds of prey. This is instinctual behavior that goes back hundreds of thousands of years. So, when your dog digs in your yard, he knows what he’s doing and how to do it. That’s why it’s so hard to discourage this behavior.
When your dog digs in your yard it may not always make sense to you but it probably does to your dog. If he digs a nice big hole in the middle of your lawn for no reason that you can see, chances are that your dog, with his superior nose, may have smelled a mole underground. Or he could have heard something moving underground. But your dog had a reason for digging.
Dogs will also dig to make tunnels and to escape. If you have soft spots around your fence it’s possible that your dog will find them and try to dig out.
And, when your dog has a bone or rawhide that he wants to save for later, he can dig a hole to hide it in. You may not like the spot he chooses but your dog thinks it’s a great place — until he decides that the object needs to be dug up and moved to another hole. Soon you may have holes all over your yard.
If you have bushes in your yard, you may find that your dog likes to dig around them to make a nice cool spot to lie in during the summer. This isn’t always so good for your bushes.
Stop The Digging
You can stop your dog from digging in several ways.
1. Fill in the holes your dog has dug with gravel or dog poop (yes, dog poop). Your dog doesn’t like to dig in either of these substances. You can then put a layer of chicken wire over the filling to further discourage the digging. Dogs don’t like the feel of the wire on their paws. Then place a new layer of grass sod over all of the filling.
Of course, once these old holes are filled in your dog will likely go on to dig new holes in the yard so try this option:
2. Use sprinklers in your yard set on a manual sprinkler. When you see your dog start to dig a hole, turn the sprinklers on. This works in some cases but not all. If you don’t see your dog starting a hole you won’t be able to turn the sprinklers on.
3. Provide your dog with his own digging place. Give him a sand box of his own to dig in. Place the sand box in an area of your yard where you don’t mind your dog digging. Use 2 x 4s or landscape timbers to make the box. Fill it up with sand several inches deep. You can encourage your dog to dig here by placing some of his favorite toys in the sand, half-buried. Take him to the sand box and help him get started. Let him know that he can dig here all he wants and he won’t get in trouble. A sand box often solves the digging problem for owners and their dogs.
4. If you have a garden you may need to fence it off to keep your dog out of it. You should try to keep your dog out of the garden since you may be using chemicals that could be harmful to your dog. Cocoa mulch can also be harmful to dogs. Tulip bulbs and daffodil (jonquil) bulbs are also poisonous to dogs. If you’re planting bulbs in your yard you may want to plant them in a wire container so your dog can’t dig them up and eat them.
5. If your dog tries to dig under your fence then try filling the fence line with gravel and placing chicken wire over it to discourage digging. Chicken wire is nearly invisible from a few feet away so it’s not unsightly but dogs don’t like the feel of it on their paws.
If your dog continues to try to dig under the fence you may need to take further steps to fill in the fence line with concrete or to bury the fence below ground level.
These solutions do work to stop dogs digging. You can also work on the Come command to teach your dog to come to you when he’s digging. You will have to be persistent. Start by distracting your dog when he’s digging to get his attention. Then you can work on getting him to come to you just as you normally would.