Digging holes

[Adawg762]

My dog is digging holes in the yard and even after extensive exersise if I leave him unattended for too long he begins to dig holes. What would you recomend on how to break him of this habbit (without scolding the heck out of him if at all possible) thanks again!!!!

[RoostersMom]

I know this is going to sound simple, but why leave him unattended? Dogs that are left to their own devices generally get into trouble - whether that be climbing, chewing, digging, or getting stolen. They generally don't do anything good. My personal opinion is that nothing good comes of leaving a dog outside alone... I do it with my beagles, but they dig and chew and bark. They (and my birddogs) don't exercise themselves when outside, so I don't have a real reason to leave them out except the beagles have a very small kennel for all 4 of them.

[cutty72]

What kind of helped with my lab was "teaching" her to dig.
I took her somewhere she could dig easily (plowed field, or snowbank in the winter) and encouraged her to dig. She then associated the action with a command, and now does it on command, but not so much on her own.

It's not foolproof, but it worked for me for this dog.

[Adawg762]

I know this is going to sound simple, but why leave him unattended? Dogs that are left to their own devices generally get into trouble - whether that be climbing, chewing, digging, or getting stolen. They generally don't do anything good. My personal opinion is that nothing good comes of leaving a dog outside alone... I do it with my beagles, but they dig and chew and bark. They (and my birddogs) don't exercise themselves when outside, so I don't have a real reason to leave them out except the beagles have a very small kennel for all 4 of them.

Well he is extremely hyper and needs to be played with ALL the time but I don't have time until i get off work and when i get home for lunch I let him out to do his business and when he's done he starts to dig I honestly would tend to him constantly if I could but I just can't right now...... he does have a kennel but i hate to leave him in there all the time with all of that pent up energy you know.

[Adawg762]

What kind of helped with my lab was "teaching" her to dig.
I took her somewhere she could dig easily (plowed field, or snowbank in the winter) and encouraged her to dig. She then associated the action with a command, and now does it on command, but not so much on her own.

It's not foolproof, but it worked for me for this dog.

hmmmm well thats pretty "bleep" smart actually, I've never thought of turning into a command thanks cutty I might give this a try!!!!

[DogNewbie]

My dog is digging holes in the yard and even after extensive exersise if I leave him unattended for too long he begins to dig holes. What would you recomend on how to break him of this habbit (without scolding the heck out of him if at all possible) thanks again!!!!

Why don't you want to scold the heck out of the dog? I would try to think like a dog next time you see the pup digging, run out there and grab it by the scruff of its neck and put it on its back while giving a deep NO! Dogs communicate physically with one another and need physically reinforcement, both positive and negative. I'm not saying beat the dog, but make it uncomfortable enough that it thinks twice before digging again.

Tim

[Sharon]

No dog digs like a Jack Russell. Always a vole , rabbit , skunk, or mouse to dig up. The dog can smell them above the ground. It helps not to be too committed to a nice back yard. The dog has his area and sticks to that. It's called compromise.

PS Is your dog a terrier?

[Stoneface]

This is an incidental post and I'm not recommending it, but thought it was interesting. I read William Koehler's books on dog training when I was younger. He was the man that did the animal training for all those classic Disney movies. He had a real extensive background in training all sorts of dogs from obedience to behavior to protection and so on. When he was to break a dog of digging, he would wait until the dog dug a hole then he'd fill it with water, pull the dog over to it, grab the dog by each ear and dunk his head under the water until the dog thought he was drowning. To this for a couple minutes and with every hole until he stops digging.

Just to restate, I'm NOT recommending this... unless you really, really don't like your dog.

[Sharon]

Best be doing that in the dark when the neighbor's aren't watching. I'd be surprised if that dog would ever retrieve in water.

[nitecapt]

This is an incidental post and I'm not recommending it, but thought it was interesting. I read William Koehler's books on dog training when I was younger. He was the man that did the animal training for all those classic Disney movies. He had a real extensive background in training all sorts of dogs from obedience to behavior to protection and so on. When he was to break a dog of digging, he would wait until the dog dug a hole then he'd fill it with water, pull the dog over to it, grab the dog by each ear and dunk his head under the water until the dog thought he was drowning. To this for a couple minutes and with every hole until he stops digging.

Just to restate, I'm NOT recommending this... unless you really, really don't like your dog.

I tried this and it worked on a dog I had. 2 or 3 times and the digging stopped, but I had to catch her in the act. She still retrieved in 4 foot seas.

[Benny]

Toss their poop in the hole.

[AzDoggin]

This is an incidental post and I'm not recommending it, but thought it was interesting. I read William Koehler's books on dog training when I was younger. He was the man that did the animal training for all those classic Disney movies. He had a real extensive background in training all sorts of dogs from obedience to behavior to protection and so on. When he was to break a dog of digging, he would wait until the dog dug a hole then he'd fill it with water, pull the dog over to it, grab the dog by each ear and dunk his head under the water until the dog thought he was drowning. To this for a couple minutes and with every hole until he stops digging.

Just to restate, I'm NOT recommending this... unless you really, really don't like your dog.

My wife's former neighbor did this. "bleep" near killed his dog, but as I recall, he did eventually stop it from digging. He had been a motorcycle cop, forced into retirement after a brain injury from a wreck on the job. I always thought it was the brain injury...but heck, maybe he read Koehler?

[britspan]

I put the e-collar on my brittany for a few days until I caught her in the act of digging a hole.. Had the collar turned up pretty high and burned her a** on continuous stimulation.. Never seen another hole in the backyard again. Now she just keeps figuring out ways to unlock and open the gates!

[DonF]

What kind of helped with my lab was "teaching" her to dig.
I took her somewhere she could dig easily (plowed field, or snowbank in the winter) and encouraged her to dig. She then associated the action with a command, and now does it on command, but not so much on her own.

It's not foolproof, but it worked for me for this dog.

I would have loved to have watched that!

[jcbuttry8]

Toss their poop in the hole.

+1. This is how I broke Kona of Digging. She doesn't dig anymore. She had three good holes going and now won't scratch the dirt.

Joe

[nooblet]

You know what stops a digging dog? A crate when left unattended.

[AzDoggin]

You know what stops a digging dog? A crate when left unattended.

Best point yet.

Crate (or kennel). Also prevents eating sticks, rocks, poop, chewing lawn furniture, dismantling irrigation systems, jumping out of the yard, and a the whole gamut of stuff unsupervised young dogs can get into.

[Sharon]

quote="nooblet"]You know what stops a digging dog? A crate when left unattended.[/quote]

x2-- cat poop in the hole works even better

[nooblet]

Thats interesting Sharon. For some reason, cat poop is like some kind of treat for my dogs. It's sick...

[AzDoggin]

Thats interesting Sharon. For some reason, cat poop is like some kind of treat for my dogs. It's sick...

Mine too. Kittie crunchies.

[goldenpatch29]

Thats interesting Sharon. For some reason, cat poop is like some kind of treat for my dogs. It's sick...

Mine too. Kittie crunchies.

+1 Mine eats it like there not going to make it anymore!!

[BigTub]

quote="nooblet"]You know what stops a digging dog? A crate when left unattended.

x2-- cat poop in the hole works even better [/quote]


My dogs think cat poop are just treats! And the younger digs holes all the time. Give the wife something to do filling them up!

[goldenpatch29]

This maybe something that you cant do or may have to wait till winter is over, but Im also from NC and the winter has been kinda mild to say the least, and you may not want to do this either, but if you have access to a water hose and you could catch the dog in the act, you could squirt a lil cold water on the dog and reinforce it with a stern NO.
It is just a suggestion and it maybe a bad idea or it may not work at all, but it sure does sound better than drowning them.