How To Stop Your Dog From Digging?
Dogs often dig to pass the time – it’s a perfect distraction from their day-to-day activities and it gives them a new exercise. It also lets them fully explore their environment and sometimes find new toys to play with.
However, this fun activity can quickly turn into a problem for the owners, especially if the dog digs out a freshly mowed lawn or flowerbed. In today’s guide, we’ll take a look at a few tips on how to stop your dog from digging.
Understand The Reason Behind Your Dog Digging.
There can be many reasons why your dog digs holes, and not all of them should be alarming. For example, if your dog is just looking to amuse itself or to gain your attention, then digging is not a big problem. But if they do it to escape your backyard or catch underground prey, it can be worrying.
Make sure to always keep an eye out for where and when your dog is digging. Try finding patterns in their behaviour – are they often digging by the fence, or just in random spots throughout your yard? Once you get an idea of why your dog is digging, you can start figuring out a solution and working on obedience training.
Find A Solution According To Your Dog’s Behaviour
There are as many ways to solve the digging issue as there are reasons why your dog is digging.
Is Your Dog Looking To Escape Beneath The Fence?
Work on securing the perimeter and make your backyard a better place to play with them.
Is Your Dog Digging Because It’s Bored?
Make sure to provide them with enough exercise and mental stimulation in the form of dog training or doing some nosework training.
If your dog is properly stimulated mentally, they won’t need to constantly dig and find new things to amuse themselves. If you don’t have the time to spend teaching your dog new tricks, you can try going to a dog obedience school.
In addition, going on long walks ensures they spend most of their energy, meaning they will be less likely to dig around.
Is Your Dog Looking To Find New Activities?
Try buying new toys for them. If they have new and more interesting toys, they will be less likely to dig since they have a new distraction. The only downside to this solution is that it’s only a distraction, and they might get back to digging eventually.
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Digging Is Natural For Dogs, So You Might Not Need To Stop It.
According to experts in dog behaviour, digging is a natural response for your dog because they have the instinct to do it. What this means is that stopping them from digging all together may be cruel. To work around this issue, it’s best to encourage your dog to only dig around in their own play area, and not around your flowers or fresh lawn.
If kids can have big sandboxes to dig around in, why shouldn’t dogs have one? Introduce your dog to this area, and reward them every time they dig there while discouraging them from digging anywhere else. This will signal to your dog that digging is acceptable behaviour but only in certain places, all without denying them of an enjoyable activity.
Conclusion; How To Stop Your Dog From Digging.
It’s very important to remember that you may never fully stop your dog’s drive to dig. Even the easiest dogs to train sometimes like to dig and can’t stop themselves.
However, you can find an effective solution around it. Make sure to spend some time understanding where your dog’s desire to dig comes from, and find some simple ways – like exercise and mental stimulation – to make digging less appealing for them.
Also, remember to always use positive reinforcements when they listen to you and adapt their behaviour like you want them to.
