Redirecting Your Dog's Digging Behavior

Dogs love digging! It's a good way to make a den to hide in. It's a great way to make a cool spot to lie down. It's a nice pass-time when you're bored. It's just an all-around fun activity for dogs. That's why it's an activity you are probably not going to be able to stop. The way to manage it is with a technique called redirection.

With redirection, you direct your dog's inappropriate behavior to an appropriate one or redirect the behavior to an appropriate setting. In this case, you redirect your dog from digging in the wrong place to digging in the right place.

If you are able to, give your dog a designated area in your yard. Make it his play area. Under a big tree is a good idea since it will have ample shade in summer and sun in winter when the leaves fall. Put his toys and his outside water dish there. If you are able to, make a sand or dirt box as a specifically designated digging area. Show your dog that it is alright to dig in his dirt pit or box and praise him when he does so. Be sure to add fresh dirt or sand from time-to-time so that he will always have something soft to dig in. You might add leaves and lawn clippings as well since they are highly "diggable" and will compost into dirt in time.

Because digging is a natural behavior and lots of fun, it is a hard behavior to address. Understand that you will need lots of patience and frequent (probably ongoing) redirection to address it. Every time your dog digs a new hole in an inappropriate place, tell him "No!" and redirect him to his own area. Fill in new holes with rocks if you can so that is will be hard for him to re-dig them.

Don't tempt your dog! If you are establishing a garden or planting a new tree, you would be a fool to think he is not going to come along right after you and dig in that nice fresh dirt. Keep these areas safe by erecting simple fences. Keep a roll of inexpensive fencing wire and some metal electric fence stakes on hand to erect temporary fencing as needed. You can just shove the stakes into the ground and attach the fencing with wire. Remove the fencing when your gardening season is over or your new tree is established.

By providing your dog with an appropriate digging area, you can prevent most inappropriate digging behavior.

For more about dog training and behavior, you may enjoy:

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