Digging Dog

We have had Alf for a few months now, and today FIL discovered a hole in the back yard. I have done a quick search and the only thing I saw in here about digging is the myth about putting dog poo in the hole. For lots of dog this does work but I need another option ready to go if it doesn't.

So - How do we prevent a repeat offence? We do not want him digging.

If you have an old clam shell you could provide him with a digging pit.
Just dump a pile of dirt or sand in there and put a toy or two or a chew in there and it might encourage him to dig there not the garden.
If you stash something in it every now and the it should keep him interested.


Get him a kong or two to keep him busy or whatever toy he's into.

A bone provides hours of chewy pleasure.

We put our dogs biscuits scattered on the patio so she forages for her food instead of scoffing it all from the bowl.

I saw a toy a while ago that hangs from a tree and drops a bit of food when they jump up to it - it looked like hours of fun.

what type of dog is it?? usually you need to catch them digging and rub thier face in it immediately otherwise they dont understand what theyve done wrong
it depends on the dog too, my parents have had 2 boxers, the previous one they did what i mentioned above and she never dug again, the current one theyve had to fence off thier lawn!
usually its boredom so make sure your dog has plenty of toys and gets walked lots
GL

He has plenty of toys and goes for a run with DH every night. He is a sharpei x terrier.

hmmmm.....sharpeis r so cute but u dont wanna be cleaning dirt out of his folds :rofl:
maybe just try and catch him digging and do the head in the whole technique
it really depends how outlandish the dog is, my parents dog looks like its laughing when its been caught digging a hole...GL

I feel for you Ali!! Our yard at the moment looks like a minefield...we've been putting bricks in the holes, but he'd just go and dig elsewhere and eventually we ran out of bricks! Our dog has a clam shell, half is filled with water and half sand, but of course the lawn is more fun to dig in! I'm hoping that he'll just grow out of it as he never used to dig holes. It's probably a bit of a boredom thing too, and he seems to do it in phases. I also caught him the other day jumping up at the peg basket hanging on the washing line, trying to knock the pegs out so he can chew on them!! Little bugger!

I would try the poo in the holes if you want to, it's supposed to have good results. I would try it only I can't be bothered putting poo in all the holes he's dug and it seems a bit gross to me...maybe he's just going through a bit of a rebellious stage and will grow out of it?

Google home alone toys - that's the hanging one.

TM - He looks more terrier than sharpei, only a couple of rolls thankfully ;)

As much as I would love to catch him in the act, I can't get out there fast enough any way and he is very strong (16kg of pure muscle) so I can't hold him without him hurting me. Mum used to put a 2 litre bottle of water on top of each hole when they had dogs, but I was kind of hoping Christy would pop in with some tips.

That's terriers for you....it's what they're bred for! Digging! I have a really good toy...it's a ball you put biscuits in, and you make the hole in it small...they have to nudge it around and the biscuits fall out..keeps them interested for ages....or even a Kong with Peanut butter or something yummy in it.

The only other thing you can do is catch him in the act. There is no use once the damage is done. I don't think that rubbing their face in it does it (but that's just me) but a good firm NO does the trick. You don't want to make the dog afraid of you! If catching him in the act is difficult, then maybe cordon off the dog into a smaller area, then gradually make it bigger.

I'm lucky my pooch isn't a digger. He isn't allowed in the garden beds, but has free reign of the garden. I know it's difficult when kiddlies take up most of your time, but do try and spend time training your dog too....it will work wonders :)

Good luck

We did the poo in the hole thing and it seemed to work for us. Good luck!

The poo-in-the-hole trick worked for my dog too, and it's the trick that we most recommend in our puppy classes at my clinic. Another trick (which seems a lot of work to me) is to get little water balloons, fill them with water, put them in the holes and cover over with dirt. Then when the dog goes back to dig there the balloon bursts and scares the dog. It probably doesn't work too well for water-loving dogs though because they probably think it's a hoot! :ROFL:

He doesnt like the hose so the water bombs might work :think:

if it's a terrier, it could be scenting something. My parents' dog used to dig holes .. turned out she kept finding white ants.... when they got the pest terminator in, the problem was solved.