Dog Digging in My Backyard

Sophie:  My dog is destroying our backyard. She is digging holes all over the yard. Anywhere that we have grass or exposed ground she digs holes.  Sometimes she lays in them and then comes in the house filthy.  What can I do? Carmen,  San Diego, CA

Carmen, a digging dog can be very frustrating. There are multiple reasons why your dog may be digging.  In order to stop the digging you will need to determine why she is digging.  If she does this mostly in warm weather, she may be digging to cool off.  Sienna often does this when she is hot and will dig until the ground is cool and then lay in it.  However, if she is digging and destructive to plants or other items left outside, she might be bored and need more toys or interactive toys to keep her occupied while you are away. It is also possible that your dog is trying to uncover something that makes noise underground (drip system, pipes, etc.) and you may need to bury these items further or place larger rocks over them. 

The problem may be that she simply likes to dig.  Dogs like to dig and if you want to keep her from destroying your yard, your best bet may be creating an area where she can dig and training her as you would with potty training – positive reinforcement when she digs correctly and a lot of watching her constantly until she understands where she is allowed to dig. You can also make some of her favorite areas less fun by placing heavy items, such as planters on the area or by using scented pet sprays and granules that are supposed to keep dogs away (this doesn’t work for me and my housemates, but it does with some other dogs) .  Good luck!

 

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