how to prevent dogs from digging in yard?

Answer 1

How To Prevent Destructive Digging


Inactivity and long periods of isolation in a yard, garage or other enclosure can contribute to a variety of behavioral problems, including destructive digging and chewing, nuisance barking, hyperactivity, extreme neediness for attention, and indiscriminate and inappropriate aggression (ie: towards children, innocent passers-by, and other dogs).


Causes of Destructive Digging

* Inactivity and insufficient exercise.
* Boredom and lack of stimulation
* Isolation and loneliness
* Frustration, and prey-drive or territorial aggression.
* This is a common reaction to seeing dogs, other animals, or people
(including children that tease or run by) on the other side of fence.
* Attempts to escape, in order to roam or play with neighborhood dogs
* Genetic propensity. Terriers are especially prone to dig
* Prey drive and hunting instint (digging for moles, rats, gophers, rabbits, etc.)
* Digging into the cool earth in order to escape hot temperatures
* To explore or find something new or interesting
* Natural denning instinct
* To bury bones, toys, food or other objects.
* To look for "hidden treasure", good smells, etc.
* Because digging is fun.



Solutions for Destructive Digging

* At least 1 to 2 hours of active outdoor exercise (yard exercise is not enough!)
* At least one long (45-90 minutes) leash walk per day
* Play dates with other friendly dogs (unless your dog is dog-aggressive)
* Create a digging pit (at least 5' x 5') filled with dirt or a sand-clay mixture.
* Sufficient daily companionship
* Other contructive outlets such as: obedience training, agility, flyball,
flying dics, trick training, retrieving, tracking, Schutzhund, SAR, etc.
* Filling holes with dog feces to discourage your dogs from enlarging holes.
(This will not prevent your dog from digging new holes however.)
* Squirting a light water spray (with a water pistol or hose) towards dog just as s/he begins to dig a hole. (Obviously, this is NOT recommended during winter or cool weather.)



Filling in the holes: Put charcoal in the hole. Then try refilling the holes with junk. Dogs quickly lose interest and pretty much stop digging. Fill the hole with whatever is at hand - dead leaves, sticks, pine needles, rocks or even dog feces. Fill the top 2 inches or so with dirt. The dog finds the stuff, gets discouraged and often quits digging. They seem to get the idea they'll never know where they'll find junk, and it's not worth the effort to dig only to find junk so they quit.


I've tied this bury a water balloon in one of the holes which will pop in its face when it starts digging (surprise).

A sandbox: Try to remember that digging is a natural tendency for dogs. So, if there is any place where your dog may be allowed to dig, you should encourage it (and only in that place). Designate an area where the dog can dig. Many people build a sand box for their dog. Place the box in an area that is cool in summer and warm in winter.

To teach the dog to dig only in the box, place or bury toys or treats (sliced hotdogs, for example) in the box. Encourage the dog to dig up the toy or treat. Praise the dog. Repeat until the dog willingly jumps in and digs. Watch the dog. When it starts to dig in any other place, quickly go out and take your dog to its box. Show it (by digging yourself), that it should dig in its box.

To deter boredom, place several toys/treats in the box before you leave for work. The dog will spend its time digging in the correct place rather than digging up your roses. You can also sprinkle animal essence (available at hunting supplies places).

Remember that dogs like to dig in freshly turned earth. So get out that shovel and turn the dirt over in the sand box every now and then. Toss in some fresh dirt. Keep a close eye on freshly planted areas, as they will be very attractive (bury some extra hotdogs in the sandbox when you are putting down new plants).

Put a cheap wooden deck over the area of the backyard. Or get a roll of rabbit cage wire (Home Depot) and lay flat over ground, stake it down. Section off your yard with the wire leaving enough room for a toilet area.

Line the yard. for extreme cases you can line the yard with chicken wire and put a layer of sod over that. Use paving bricks or blocks around the edge to prevent the dog from injuring itself on the edge of the chicken wire.

We have 4 dogs and had a similar problem. Our vet told us to fill the holes with the dogs' feces and cover with dirt. Sounds disgusting, but guess what - it worked! Seems the dogs can smell it, and so they won't dig it up.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

If you want to stop your dog from digging, your first step must be to find out why he is doing it. Once you’ve determined this, you need to provide an alternative to his digging behavior. You may stop him from digging in one area, just to find that he begins digging somewhere else.

If your dog is searching for prey, you must get rid of whatever he is after in order to stop him from digging. If your dog is creating a cool place to rest, provide him with shade and water. If temperatures soar, bring him inside where he can take advantage of the air conditioning.

Possibly your dog is digging because he’s bored. Be sure he gets lots of exercise. Walk him morning and night and add a play time to the walks. Give him lots of affection and stimulation. Buy a variety of toys for him to play with while you’re absent and he is alone.

Does your dog stay outside in the yard while you’re away? If so, this gives him a great opportunity to dig. Try leaving him inside when you’re not home. This will also alleviate the problem of him digging his way out of his dog run or the yard.

Answer 4

Whenever I see a dog in my yard, I grab a baseball bat, run outside, and charge toward them screaming like a banshee. Believe me, they run like hell and don't look back. They keep running until they're all the way home.

Edit: you don't mean your own dogs, do you? If so, I guess there's nothing you can do about the damn digging.

Answer 5

dogs usually dig holes to bury bones the next time you see it dig a hole smack the dog point at the dog then it should learn that it is a bad idea if it doesnt workdont give it a teat or a bone

Answer 6

it might sound mean but something that i remember doing when i was little is that my mom and i refilled the hole with the dirt but added red pepper to the dirt. I am not sure how to prevent them from doing it but i can tell you that this brakes the habit.

Answer 7

I think telling them no everytime you see them doing it, they would catch on and stop. They're probably like little children in the sense of, a child/ toddler has to be told 100 times to stop doing something before they are able to modify their behavior. I'm going through this with my 15 month old son, he loves to push the buttons on the TV and so i go over and say No and move him to another spot...just about 76 more times of saying no and he should get it :) But I'm not very stern when I say no, so it's probably not working!

Answer 8

Don't, whats the point in curbing the natural tendencies of an animal? i t's the same as preventing you from doing what you want to do.

Answer 9

Handcuff them.

Answer 10

bored....bored...bored???...i had the same problem....the person above answers it perfectly......