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Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 8:06 am
by dugger13
I have a fenced area and the dogs are digging holes under the fences. I am thinking about getting some railroad ties and buring them around the perimeter.

Will the creosote affect them? If anything i would think it would deter them from digging.

Any other ideas to stop digging.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 8:13 am
by Karen
I have invisible fence (radio fence brand) attached to my physical fencing to prevent digging/climbing. Works like a charm and isn't very expensive if you install yourself. You wouldn't even have to bury it. I have mine weaved into chain link and stapled to wood stockade fencing.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 8:44 am
by gar-dog
karen, stringing some wire along the bottom of the fence seems a heck of a lot easier than burying a couple hundred feet of railroad ties. Knowing dogs, they'd probably end up loving to chew on the ties. We tried bitter apple once on furniture for a teething beagle. Beagle's new favorite food? Bitter apple.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 8:54 am
by natetnc
digging is my dogs favorite past time. i think she is a little intimidated by our new 6' privacy fence so she hasn't attempted to get under it.... yet. she does dig random spots around bushes next to the house. i keep her in a kennel with some flooring i put down so nothing happens while i am at work, i swear she could dig her was out in less than an hour, she is like a freakin gopher. before the kennel flooring, i tried bricks, she just dug down to them and worked her way back to get under the bricks. i feel for you, diggers suck.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 9:13 am
by mit
I too have an invisible fence & it works like a charm. I even put it around the perimeter of my gardens to stop the digging in my flower beds.
gar-dog, you cracked me up!

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 9:52 am
by dugger13
my area is only 8 feet wide by 72 feet long.

My question. With a electric fence. is 8 feet wide WIDE enough? Isn't there a buffer zone that beeps or buzzes when the dog gets close to the wire. I don't want this thing going off and shocking my dogs all day long.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 10:20 am
by bobman
forget the invisible fence go to your local feed store and buy a standard electric fence unit the wire for it and a bunch of insulators and then run it around the fence about a foot from the bottom one or two zaps and they will never go near it again. Mines been turned off for years and you couldn't drag one of my dogs up to that fence. :D

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 11:00 am
by natetnc
general digging question: my dog digs in a couple favorite locations, not trying to dig out of anything just digs. i have read of putting their own poop in the hole and covering with dirt and it will stop them. i have also read of mixing a little of the top dirt with cayenne pepper. have any of you tried this? i am thinking of comboing these two this afternoon to see if it works.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 11:32 am
by topher40
Sounds like it may be time to invest in some hobble! :lol: Seriously though what Bobman said about the electric fencer is the best way to do it. I did that years ago with some problem dogs that didnt like the yard and it worked so well that I took the fencer back to TSC the next day and got my money back for it. All I was out was the cost of the insulators and the wire.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 11:36 am
by Dave Quindt
Make sure their nails are trimmed back as far as possible and keep them that way. Short nails make for tough digging.

FYI,
Dave

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 11:43 am
by Karen
I agree with Bobman. 8' isn't wide enough to effectively use invisible fence. The hot wire is probably your best, least expensive and least labor intensive option.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 2:11 pm
by fire angel
My dog had a couple of favorite spots to dig and lay in but one was up against the foundation of my house. I filled it back in and planted grass, then covered it with a scrap piece of chain link. She wouldn't even walk over it. It worked well because I could just pick it up and move it when I needed to mow and it kept her away from that area.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 6:34 pm
by Equismith
bobman wrote:forget the invisible fence go to your local feed store and buy a standard electric fence unit the wire for it and a bunch of insulators and then run it around the fence about a foot from the bottom one or two zaps and they will never go near it again. Mines been turned off for years and you couldn't drag one of my dogs up to that fence. :D
Ditto. They have great memories of how close they can and can't get. Mine's been unplugged after about day two.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 6:07 am
by markj
Concrete or use pavers or use the 2 in blocks. A fencer can be had at Tractor Supply for about 20.00 wire is cheap, insulators cheap too keeps the steers in line :) altho they havent started digging :) they do come when I go out and will eat from my hand now... I wonder if they will fetch? wont be around long enuff to find out I suppose....

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 6:11 am
by BarkRidge
i swear she could dig her was out in less than an hour, she is like a freakin gopher
I am still laughing.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:13 pm
by nlgordaz
The way you stop a dog from digging is by giving him/her lots of exercise to tired them out.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:50 pm
by AZ Brittany Guy
I have an acre under no-climb fence and my kennels are in that area. I allow my dogs the run of the exercise area about 10 hrs a day. I have had digging problems and I solved it with two things. I strung a hot wire about 8" off the ground inside the exercise area and also laid down 2' wide chicken wire folded in a L -shape with 1' wired up the side of the fence and the other laying flat on the ground around the interior perimeter. I covered the chix wire on the ground with rocks and that has pretty much done the trick. I do believe my escape artists will eventually find another area to penetrate but after about 4 months, so far, so good. :mrgreen:

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:35 pm
by tommyboy72
I borrowed my dad's Galagher fence charger he had for keeping horses. The result was it knocked the heck out of each of my 3 dogs 1 time a piece and it has been turned off for about 8 months and they have never tried to dig again. Good suggestion Bobman.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:26 pm
by birddogger
I use some type of flooring in my kennels now, but before I was using flooring, I simply cut strips of 2x4 welded wire fencing about 2' wide and laid them on the ground around the bottom of the kennel fencing and wired them in various places to the bottom of the kennel.

The hot wire idea is still probably the easiest and most cost effective. I have used it myself. It works!!!!!!!!!

Charlie

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:05 pm
by JasonW77
Weird I see a lot brittany answering this post :lol: Mine doesn't dig under the fence she likes to dig right where I spent two weekends laying drainage lines in my back yard so that it drains better (i live in northern WA state). I'll fill the holes and she'll dig them out again. For what ever reason she only digs where I laid the pipe. And of course has dug all the way down to them in five different spots. Any suggestion on help with this would be great.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:28 pm
by wems2371
Jason, we bury residential utilities (tile, phone, etc) and do run into dogs that want to dig up the line as soon as we turn the machine off. I don't know if it's curiosity, the smell of fresh turned earth, or just plain easier to dig where someone else already has. Someone might've mentioned this earlier, but I always had good luck putting dog poop in a dog's dug holes. Course I don't know how much tile you laid.....so that could be quite a load. :mrgreen: If she sticks to those 5 areas, maybe you could put some brick in, next time you backfill the holes.

For a fence issue, I'd do what others have suggested with a fencer or buried mesh.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:02 pm
by AZ Brittany Guy
JasonW77 wrote:Weird I see a lot brittany answering this post :lol: Mine doesn't dig under the fence she likes to dig right where I spent two weekends laying drainage lines in my back yard so that it drains better (i live in northern WA state). I'll fill the holes and she'll dig them out again. For what ever reason she only digs where I laid the pipe. And of course has dug all the way down to them in five different spots. Any suggestion on help with this would be great.
I suggest that you dump their poop where ever they dig. They hate to dig in poop although some of mine like to eat it.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:18 am
by TEX-X
i got so fed up with it....i just took a weekend and laid about 6 to 8 inches of concrete at the bottom of the fence....i don't have any problems now....but i'm still going to get the hot wire set up...cause my shorthair is an expert fence jumper...

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 8:29 am
by JasonW77
The poop thing would work but my brittany likes to eat it.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:25 am
by grant
I've tried the wired hot wire, solar hot wire, and invisible fence. So far, I like the solar hot wire best. Its easy to setup and you don't have to run power to it...

Image

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Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:40 am
by TEX-X
that solar hot wire....is it pretty good on charging...we don't get a lot of sun during the winter months up here...just wondering if it would still do okay up here

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:47 pm
by birddogger
nlgordaz wrote:The way you stop a dog from digging is by giving him/her lots of exercise to tired them out.
No matter how much exercise, dogs are going to dig. It is the worst in hot weather. They dig, trying to find a cooler spot.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:14 pm
by tommyboy72
You are absolutely right birddogger. I have gotten rid of a Pointer and a Weim pup for digging huge holes in my yard. The pointer dug an underground cave, no lie, she could fit her entire body into it and go back up under the opening, it looked like a badger hole. I do not have a nice yard by any means but I can't stand the digging. Even my older dogs dig shallow holes to get to the cool dirt and lay in it. They are not normally diggers in cool weather but when it reaches 100 as it does her quite often they do even though I have a kiddie pool set up for them to cool off in.

Re: Stop dog from digging under fence

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:32 pm
by mountaindogs
nlgordaz wrote:The way you stop a dog from digging is by giving him/her lots of exercise to tired them out.
I wonder if anyone ever tried that with wolves, foxes, coyotes etc. Seems the instinct to dig is pretty strong since every member of the Canindae family does it regularly. I know David Mech , a guru wolf researcher, found that after hunting for over 15 miles, they would still return home and work on the den, and/or bury their food. Dig dig dig... it's in their nature. Some not as strong, like all instincts.

I have the same solar hot wire. The battery did great and was west facing so only had sun for a half day on a good day. They really don't go at it much after a few tries. Still my guys will test it every so often and I had to replace the battery after about 1.5 years. Mine is around the kennel base. I'll try to get some pics up. Since it overlaps in some areas I have to "fix" it and keep it taunt and re insulate (sun damage breaks down the plastic over time) some spots maybe every 6 months... Interestingly my older dogs know when it is on and not. If I turn it on they immediatly look at the line almost as if they can hear it.