The Digging Dog

One of the challenges many dog owners face is trying to keep a well groomed yard. While your dog may seem to be well behaved otherwise, you may want to pull your hair out because of the holes in your yard.

Why Does Your Dog Dig?

To be effective in getting your dog to stop digging, you must first understand why she is digging. There are as many causes as there are options for dealing with the problem. Here are a few:

• Your Companion is Bored
• You dog feels a need for shelter
• He is trying to clean up, and is trying to bury the "extra" food
• Your dog is lonely and trying to find companionship
• Your Companion is curious and desires adventures (the ground is full of new smells and attractions)
• He is seeking your attention, and you’ve given it to him, even if negative.

How to Stop Your Dog's Digging

Although we may want to, yelling at your companion is not the best solution for your digging problem First, attempt to identify why your companion digs, then try an appropriate solution like:

Try getting more socialization for your pooch. One reason why your dog may be digging up your yard is because she sees the neighbor dog doing it or it could be he's trying to get to the neighbor's dog. Either way, adding more socilization to your companion's schedule can be an effective solution. If you have some time, take your pet to a dog park a few times a week; otherwise, try finding a quality doggie daycare.

Try interactive toys. Sometimes dogs dig because they're bored and they are looking for entertainment and adventure. Interactive toys will help provide this entertainment. While this can help, you'll probably need to couple this with other strategies to be highly effective.

Look for burrowing animals Your dog may actually be looking for rabbits, ground hogs, gophers or other burrowing animals. Be sure to call a live animal catcher or pest control specialist to take care of these animals, both for the sake of your lawn as well as the health of your pet.

Get a dog house. Adding a dog house or outside shelter can help meet the felt shelter need a dog has, especially female dogs.

The chicken wire trick. If you've tried everything else, and there's a specific spot your dog keeps going back to dig in, try burying chicken wire 1-2 inches under the surface of the soil. When she digs, the sensation when he hits the wire will discourage her from digging there again.

Taking time to fully understand why your pooch is digging will save you time, money, and your sanity...not to mention your dog's happiness.