How to Teach Your Dog Not to Dig

So your little furry friend discovers the joy of digging up your backyard and returns to you with a great fat smile on his face. You are obviously less than pleased since you didn't know your furry friend had it in him to exhibit this rogue behavior. Before you get upset about the castaway flower bed, you must understand why the little canine exhibited such juvenile behavior. Dog seem to like to dig for a variety of reasons. Most will say dogs like to dig simply because they are bored. Dogs may like to dig (depending upon the season) because they would like to cool down. Dogs may also like to dig because they have picked up a scent of another animal. Regardless for the reasoning, it is imperative to get the dog to cease digging immediately.

Boredom

Try and rectify the boredom issue by spending more time with your dog. This may require just doing a little more with your dog such as taking a little longer walk or playing fetch for an additional five to ten minutes. There is nothing wrong with tiring out the pooch since they will most likely sit in the grass and chill out after your marathon fetch session.

Another cure for digging would be to provide your pet with his or her own sandbox to play in. If kids are entitled to little sand play why not allow the dog to have their own sand box? The dog will actually learn to like their play area. You can even throw in a toy or two into the box for the dog to enjoy. The real trick is to convey to the dog that you hold this play area as the only spot in the yard for which digging is permissible. It might be prudent at this stage to revisit obedience lessons if the dog returns to digging outside the designated area.

Treating the Digging Area

One of the best ways to combat puppy digging is to backfill the hole with dirt and feces. The dog will strongly dislike revealing his or her own feces and move on to something else. Hopefully the dog will go back and play in his or her own sandbox or simply lie down in the grass.

Another effective way to stop digging is to inflate several small balloons and place them in areas where there are holes dug by the dog. Cover the balloons with a thin layer of dirt. Once the dog re-visits the area and starts digging, he or she will get spooked by the balloon pop. This method works well and should stop the bad behavior.

Finally, if you do not want to place balloons or feces throughout the yard, consider burying a chili pepper in the refilled holes. The dog will not like the scent of the pepper and move on to greener pastures.