Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Digging Dogs – How To Stop Your Dog From Digging

When your dog starts digging up your flowerbeds, it is frustrating, whether you’re more concerned about the begonias or the state of your muddy canine chum. Although it’s tempting to scream and shout, consider why they do it to find the best way to tackle the problem.

Some breeds were born to dig. Terriers, for example, were bred partly for this purpose and love digging. The winter breeds, like Siberian Husky dogs, have an instinct to bury themselves in the snow. Wild dogs would bury their food to save it for later or to hide it, so it’s a natural instinct.

In a modern world, the most common reason is boredom or isolation from society, so when a dog is left alone in the garden then chewing or digging is a natural tendency. Primarily, it’s important to keep him busy and distracted so he doesn’t learn to love digging.

What to do

Let your dog indoors and encourage him to become part of the family through playing, walking, obedience training and exercise. Sometimes walking isn’t enough and obedience training gives them something else to focus on and an outlet for his energy

Keep his nails trimmed

If he does start digging, tell him to stop and reward him when he comes away

To deter him from favourite areas, you can fill existing holes with water as most dogs won’t like to play in mud. You can sprinkle or spray citronella in the area. The lemon scent is off-putting to the majority of breeds. Alternatively, put peppers in the ground before you refill the hole. I did hear of someone putting chicken wire under an inch or two of topsoil, as dogs hate the feeling of their nails going over the wire.

If the dog really is a born-to-dig breed, such as a terrier, then another solution is to fence off part of the garden where the dog is allowed to dig or build a ‘digging pit’ of sand. You could even bury a few toys in it. If he starts to dig elsewhere, take him to his pit. They soon get the idea.