I have a four month old puppy that has started digging holes in the lawn. He's not digging a lot but he does have about six small ones now. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Betty from Fond du Lac, WI
Answers:
Training a Dog To Not Dig
Some breeds are natural diggers. For example, Terriers. (03/27/2006)
By brenda thompson
Training a Dog To Not Dig
I am an obedience instructor at a dog club in Australia and one of the methods we teach is to bury a blown up balloon in the hole and cover it with the loose dirt. When the pup goes to dig there again, the balloon pops and gives him a start. Works well with most dogs. Another idea is to bury some of his own droppings in the hole. Good luck. (03/29/2006)
By Dog lover
Training a Dog To Not Dig
Found this through ArcaMax email newsletters.
How To Stop A Dog From Digging
Whenever you are trying to change any behavior in your dog the golden rule is be consistent! Make it very clear to your dog what is, and is not acceptable behavior.
Depending on the reason you believe your dog to be digging, you can apply some of these proven techniques:
- Give your dog lots of exercise, including heaps of physical and mental stimulation.
- If your dog is always digging in order to bury a bone, don't give bones! Substitute with chewing toys like rawhide bones.
- Confine your dog when you can't supervise him. Place him in a crate or kennel run whenever you aren't around to spy on him. You'll need to do this until you have fixed the digging problem.
- Blow up some balloons and bury them in the area your dog likes to dig. When he strikes a balloon, the noise of it popping startles your dog. In some cases the negative association this produces is enough to stop your dog from digging in the future.
- If you are able to be around your dog for a couple of days, you could achieve some success with this method. Whenever your dog starts to dig, reprimand him and spray him with the hose. Again this method produces a negative association to your dog each time he digs. You must be perform this reprimand every time your dog starts digging holes.
- If your dog has a favorite spot he likes to dig you can bury some chicken wire just under the surface of this area. When your dog starts to dig he won't like the feeling of his paws scraping along the wire. I've used this method myself and found that it worked well for my dalmation puppy.
- This one doesn't sound very nice but is a very popular and effective way to stop your dog from digging. What you do is fill up the holes your dog has created, adding some of his poop (feces) to the filling. Most dogs are really put off by this and won't attempt to dig again. Some trainers advocate feeding your dog pineapple before performing this technique. Apparently the pineapple smells terrible when mixed with the poop.
- Some dogs just copy what they see their owners doing. So if you're working away in the garden, suddenly your dog may be interested in doing the same! Such dogs may need to be confined while you are working in the garden.
- If you've got the room a great solution for both you and your dogs is to provide them with a digging area. You can actually encourage your dog to dig in this designated area. Fill it with nice soft sand and bury some of your dogs favorite treats in it. Most dogs figure out that if they want to dig, they must go to this area.
- If your dog is digging under the fence it may be worth filling in all the holes in and under the fence. This takes away the visual temptation your dog may be trying to get at.
- If none of the above methods work for you and your dogs, you may wish to try a remote electronic training collar or e-collar. This method does work, although I realize many dog owners don't like the sound of using such a device. In reality it works the same way as many of the other techniques in that it provides a negative association to the act of digging.
- If you take a trip down to your local Pet Shop you will find many commercial products that claim to help digging problems. They are effective for some dogs and may be worth a try.
Good luck with stopping your dog from digging, and remember that basic dog obedience training is the key to correcting any dog behavioral problems. If your dog respects and trusts you, he will be eager to please you in all situations.(04/04/2006)
By verue
