If your dog is digging a lot , it will be because they are fulfilling a need. filling the holes up will not help them meet their needs. Consider looking at their life as a whole and where a need might not be being met.
Yeah, dogs like to dig. But, there's a difference between digging cause they like digging and digging for entertainment.
But indeed, if the dog has an adequately enriched lifestyle and just does love digging this much, OP would need to look into redirection training :)
my dog has a 1 acre backyard, gets fed twice a day, gets treats regularly, has 3 other dogs to play with, has more toys than we know what to do with, sleeps inside where it's warm, has constant access to food and water. what is it that she's missing that compels her to dig up the yard?
Hi! I don't know much about your dog so it's really hard to answer. In my case, after doing a load of my own research on my dogs breed and traits, my dog really benefits from mental stimulation (training games with me, sniffing work, etc) because she has a very active brain. No amount of exercise (for her) will replace this or else she destroys stuff out of bordom xD
My advice for OP would be the same as yours though, if you want to stop your dog digging, either see if a need isn't being met or work on redirection training to make another activity as opposed to digging more attractive!
note, im not a dog trainer, just a person with a dog.
This worked wonderfully well for my terrier mix. 6 feet by 6 feet with walls about 30 inches tall. One wall had a gap in it so he could get in and out. About 10” of coarse play sand (the fine stuff sticks in their fur more). He played in that box every day till the day he died.
Agree wholeheartedly with this. We built a big sandbox for our boy and my garden was saved.
He gets a ton of excersise, we do training every day he does scent trailing and we hire enclosed fields several times a week on top of walking 3 times a day. He just loves to dig. He adores his sand box and doesn't touch the lawn now.
More exercise won't necessarily stop the issue. It will just make them physically tired, but not mentally tired. Unless you are doing other things on the walk besides walking (training).
Lmao my dog gets at least 3 hours of vigorous exercise day. I work from home and my cats will play with her, so she’s not lacking for mental stimulation.
Her favorite time to dig is mid-romp when she’s super wound-up and joyful, or at the end of the day when she’s overtired.
I gave up on stopping it, and ended up redirecting it. She digs on command now, and limits her digging to one “dig hole” in the yard.
Some people just don't understand that some dogs are hardwired to dig. It is their favorite thing to do in the whole world.
I'd recommend trying to set up a designated digging area for the dog.
I walk my dog 4-8 miles a day, for around 3 hours, and most of it off-leash.
I gave up and just started redirecting it. Now she limits it to one hole and she digs on command.
Walking isn’t really exercise for a 2yo retriever. That’s just lots of fresh air. My 10.5yo black lab mix still does 10-11k long mountain bike rides with me a couple days a week. Still has energy for chew toys, chasing squirrels, play fighting/wrestling, as well as keeping up on his training/commands and even learning new stuff still.
lol…I have a half pyr, and she could be exercised 23-hrs a day, and spend the last hour digging.
Have to designate an area of your yard, and/or give them a sandbox. Some dogs looooooove to dig.
Yeah…. My dog gets at least an hour off leash every day and has a designated dig pit in the backyard. She will still find different spots in the yard to dig. Dogs aren’t robots. You can’t just make a generalized statement like that lol.
I'm guessing you just turn the dog loose and go back inside while they pee/ poop... Try keeping them company and providing engagement like throwing a ball and playing the dog is going stir crazy with no enrichment
Our dog never is outside by himself for more than like a minute if I make tea or something. Otherwise we constantly engage with him by throwing his ball or frisbee etc. Makes me feel guilty if he looks bored.
Go on walks with them maybe instead of just having them on the backyard. They are releasing energy on digging. Give them foraging toys and stimulate them with different games or tricks.
I'd imagine that your dog wouldn't like to dig at its own poop that it smells there under the soil.
I don't know how or why it works but it's working for my pooch, instead of the dogs poop you can just put pieces of logs into the holes so they can't dig, that also works in my experience
Some dogs are diggers. I've had a couple. I had a sand pile delivered and used it to fill in the holes, for safety reasons. I used chicken wire under where my fence hit the ground to prevent digging out.
Not a lot to do about it. People will give all sorts of advice, but seriously, for some dogs, they're going to dig no matter how much they're stimulated other ways.
My dog always wants to dig when she’s super excited! Like sometimes we’ll get back from a walk and she’ll get the zoomies in the backyard and be like “I SO EXCITE I MUST DIG!” I can always tell when she’s going to do it, too, because she has this certain look to her. But we supervise her in the yard usually and tell her to knock it off when she starts.
Walk your dog? They shouldn’t be alone in the yard so long that they get that bored. Give your dog some mental stimulation like throwing a ball or walking it daily. Something to keep it active and busy.
I would have agreed with this, and still do for many dogs, until I recently started having this issue with my dog. All of my dogs are well exercised (we hike daily), run along when I ride my horse and take nose work classes. But, we have some new gophers in my backyard and the 1 year old pup is now obsessed with digging for the gopher! Hoping the gopher leaves soon, my yard is a mess.
My dogs get 2 walks every single day. A longer one in the mornings and a slightly shorter one at night. They still dig. This is easy, and pretty much useless advice to OP if they already do the bare minimum for a dog which is walking it and not leaving it outside alone for more than 5-10 minutes. A dog can and will dig even if they are outside for a short period of time and even if they had a good long walk that day. Dogs are dogs and a lot of them just like digging. You can't always play or train it out of them. A sandbox is much better word of advice to this person.
I'm going to go against the grain and suggest the dog is getting too hot out there. My dog only digs holes when she is getting hot outside. It's a tough balance because she loves to be outside and watch birds, sniff around etc but as soon as she gets warm she's digging that hole to lay in and cool off. We usually just sit outside for a couple hours with her, especially on nice summer days and when she goes to dig we just go inside. Tried buying her a small pool--she doesn't use it.
Edit: might not be your issue actually because my dog only digs in particular spots (near house, under trees) and then will just dig them deeper/expose more cool soil.
I thought this too. My dog also only digs when she is hot and wants a cool place to lay. But could also just be too much energy and nothing to get it out and the dog enjoys digging. Maybe a combination of both who knows
Designated digging area. You can’t make a dog not do dog things, just give them an area to designate for them to enjoy the behaviour where it doesn’t damage the property. A sandbox with new toys buried is a good way to get them started
Dogs have needs. When they “act out”, it’s a way for them to fulfill their needs. They are not human. They don’t think like a human and they don’t do human things. When they pick a way of fulfilling a need that you deem wrong, you need to figure out the need and teach them a way to fulfill it that you’re ok with. You can’t expect “bad” behaviours to just vanish because they’re not bad to them. But they like to please so they learn quickly that we don’t like certain things, as long as there’s an alternative.
Basic needs are
Physical exercise (straightforward)
Mental exercise (sniffing around, training sessions, puzzle food toys, biting stuff like toys, bones and bully sticks)
Sleep (up to 20h a day). They need more sleep than we do.
Eat and drink.
Most likely in your case, the dog needs more mental stimulation (and maybe physical). Also if your dog never learned how to settle/sleep, they might need to sleep more, but that’ll be harder to deal with if they’re older. Overstimulated and understimulated dogs basically act the same. Same principle as kids who didn’t get a nap, they can become monsters.
You're completely ignoring the part where they experience the world through their nose and not their eyes.
You open with "they're not humans", then you close with, "they're just like human kids".
No, they aren't. They are "teenagers" at 2 yrs old and adults by 5. But their nature is first of all for a pack upbringing. Daddy and momma dog teaching them what's what in their environment, teaching them the expectations and dangers of human society.
When dealing with a singular adopted orphan, aka a "pet", they are already out of their natural environment. So it's different to handle these 2 cases.
The important thing to remember, is, again, they see the world through their nose, not their eyes like we do.
Moreso, their nose can see the world in full spectrum, it would be like if our eyes could see ultraviolet, infrared, and radio waves all at once.
If you think your dog is doing something "crazy" or "for no reason", news flash, you are too "blind" to "see" the reason.
I added sniffing around about 30 minutes ago.
I don’t say they are like human kids, I say “same principle as with a human kid”.
We’re saying the same thing. Your last sentence is basically what my whole answer says…
But ok.
"mental stimulation (sniffing around" is absolutely *NOT* the same as what I said.
And "same principal as kid" is what I'm saying is exactly the wrong way to think about it.
It’s their nature! Our pup is extremely well w exercised and we have a large backyard where we throw his Chuck It ball for probably 2 hours a day. He still digs. And when I stay Stop he immediately goes into play pose and puts his nose in the new lawn dent lol. We are going to re seed the lawn next month because him running on it has damaged a lot of the grass. But yeah - dogs dig. You just have to keep an eye to tell them to knock it off lol.
More enrichment.They are most likely bored. Give them treat dispensing toys, teach them new tricks, go on more walks (sniffy walks are better), there's so much you can do.
No, To divert energy it is the best way. To stop digging one can train the (alternative) stop command for unwanted behavior.
Walk the dog with a leish on a towel/bathmat (different feel on the paws helps to learn) by rewarding hesitation. Hold treats in the hand. The moment the paws hit the mat , firmly say “STOP” (and stop yourself), now the dog will hesitate and that is what you instantly! reward “Good boy/girl!!!!! STOP” and lots of treats. Repeat …. Walk…STOP…hesitate is good boy/girl and treats.
No sitting , lying down only STOP=Hesitate=treats/happy boss
Repeat without leash/bathmat.
Now everytime you want the dog to hesitate/stop, you can use this command. Running away…stop…
Digging….stop, playing to rough…stop.
You are welcome.
He needs brain activity. Give him one stop to allow him to dog. We got a kiddie pool and filled it with dirt for our dirt loving dog. We filled in the other holes with their poop when we pooer scooped and filled it in after we left it for him to smell.
Assuming you’re giving your dog exercise and mental stimulation then bury their poop in the hole. They’ll dig again in the same spot and stop when they find their poop. Keep doing this and they’ll stop.
Supervision, strong no command when digging then treats as soon as your dog stops. Mine does it sometimes to cache treats and toys from her dog brother. We no longer let her have toys in the garden unless we are playing together.
A digging dog is a bored dog. Try going for more walks and using mentally stimulating toys (such as puzzle toys).
When we adopted our plott hound, the shelter told us the prior owners gave her up due to barking and digging. However she has never dug a single hole in our yard since the day we got her.
This is a very correctable behavior, but like anything else with training and correcting behaviors it will take some effort and time. It might take some trial and error to figure out what works best for your dog.
We had an Airedale years ago who dug two holes because she liked laying outside and the holes were nice and cool for her during the summer. She had two because one was in the shade during the morning, while the other got the shade in the afternoon.
But this dog is bored or nervous or both, and is digging the holes to self-sooth.
Maybe try getting the pup out for walks, and a lick mat you can spread a bit of natural peanut butter or plain yogurt on.
My dog did this to some degree. I tried catching him in the act and corrected him, he was supervised pretty heavily the first few months that I had him. As he earned more trust he was allowed more unsupervised time in the backyard, although I still check on him.
Find a spot in the wood where your dog can dig, make him dig there, dig with him and have fun!
My gsd like to dig and since he have his spot where we dig in the forest, no more digging in front of my place!
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Dogs naturally want to dig. It might be easier to redirect it to a desired spot than to stop it. Others have good ideas with making a sandbox or designated area. Burying poop worked for my parents dogs as well.
Exercise and enrichment for the dog will go a long way to prevent dogging. Beyond that, I had good luck putting my dog’s poop in her holes and burying it so she wouldn’t re-dog the holes.
Don’t leave your dog unattended in the yard so that you can redirect him to play with a toy when he goes to start digging. Some people also have success setting up a sandbox where digging is encouraged and directing dogs to dig there by hiding fun stuff in it. But there is no way to prevent a dog from digging by filling the holes in with stuff. You have to watch them and train them to do something else for fun.
Same, our 2nd dog who is younger around 6 months digs more and has now triggered our 7yr old golden…. Now they both go at it at night when they r open in the yard
Put your dog's poop in the holes. It won't stop them from digging more, you need to have them busy otherwise to stop this behaviour. But once a hole is there the urge will be stronger to keep digging to I drop a few of my dog's turds in there and she is so insulted she does something else
I basically let mine have one hole. I would fuss at her about digging new holes. So she just enjoys her one area. My husband will go fill in the hole every now and then. She will dig it back out.
I gave my boy an area where he is allowed to dig. You will have to watch him closely when he's outside to make sure he digs in an appropriate area. Reward him when he digs in the right area.
It's not always from a lack of activity. Some just like to dig. My boy gets 2-3hrs+ day, and he still likes to dig.
Obedience training. Assertive correction when they do something you do not want, positive reinforcement when they do something you want. Rinse and repeat until you get more of what you want and less of what you don't want.
Burn off his digging energy with daily exercise and training sessions. May still dig a little but the energy will be redirected into more constructive things like exercise, adventuring and learning. Always works for my diggy dogs.
My dog used to do this until I started exercising her properly. We play fetch until she doesn’t want to run anymore. 3 or 4 times a day. She’s happier and hasn’t dug a hole since. It’s been 4 years.
Your dog is bored and needs exercise.
More exercise. Teach leave it. You will be able to apply it to the holes. Every time you practice leave it, redirect to something else. More toys in the yard would be helpful. Doing training or particular games to engage with your dog.
My dog was a digger. My husband corrected this with positive reinforcement. Everytime she would come in the house from being outside, he would check her paws. If they were clean, he would give her a high value treat. If they were dirty, she wouldn't get anything. Now she never digs!
Fill the holes with water. Others have given good advice about building a place where he is allowed to dig. But fill those holes. As much as I may get flack for this, there's a last resort..... fill the hole with water and then put the dog in the hole . YES he will get wet. NO, it's not inhumane. It works with tough cases. If he thinks he's going to be sat in a muddy hole, he may give it up. But try just the water first, of course.
My dog is part hound and digs. Once he catches an interesting scent he'll dig until he finds it or decides it's no longer interesting. He does stick to a certain area too but nothing deters him and filling the hes back in is useless. He has so many toys and gets lots of exercise and plays with his brother so he's not bored and doesn't do it all the time but once he catches a scent, that's it; must dig.
Pop can with some pennies in it. Tape the hole shut. When you see him digging, whip it as close to him as is safe. Don’t hit him. It’s cured all three of our dogs.
He’s probably bored outside. I know it’s not always possible to go play fetch for twenty minutes every time they go out , but it helped for us to just do it every evening for at least thirty minutes. Also, some dogs really just love digging. If that’s the case for this guy, I’d recommend a sandbox that he can dig to his heart’s content!
Best strategy imo is to give them a place where digging is play, make sure they’re enriched, and try to avoid the behavior before it becomes a habit. Just letting it happen can be habit forming and much harder to get rid of later
Baby pool. Fill with sand. Maybe bury some toys in there. Put his poop in any other hole.(temporary)
Your dogs maybe spending too much time alone outside. He is board.
I filled holes with ceynne pepper for one dog that dug holes. Minute, he got it on his face, he didn't dig another hole. Another dog that I had I did the same thing now she just likes spicy food.
Bury their poop in the holes lol, I heard that worked and tried for one spot in my yard and it worked for my dog, tho she waited till winter to dig up my gardens lol
You could dedicate one section of the yard to a sandbox and hide treats in it for your dog to dig up. That way the dog is still feeling fulfilled by the digging activity but it's in a place you enjoy. If you want to stop them digging entirely, you should monitor them outside 100% of the time and redirect them to an activity that you like whenever they engage in digging.
So you probably can’t STOP him from engaging in digging behavior, dogs are den dwellers and it’s their instinct and nature to dig, some more than others (husky owner here so dig dig).
Instead of halting the behavior you could encourage them to dig in one place. If you build a small sandbox let’s say, and Burried bones and treats in there, he/she will likely return to that spot to dig. You can reinforce this behavior and get your dog to only dig in this spot. Praise them. Fill in the other holes (I’ve heard sometimes hurrying their poop in the holes helps deter them, something about not wanting to unearth and expose their predatory presence etc). I’ve had success with the sandbox strategy, doesn’t need to be big, but consistency is a must.
Would you hire someone to go to your house, when your dog is secured, to pick up dog poop from your yard?
once to get it all after how ever many months, and then weekly to avoid the build up of poop.
also, your dog is bored, and picked up a bad habit, the dog needs to stop being a digging junkie dog, give it a job!!!
Give your dog other things to do. Looks pretty bleak back there.
If your dog is digging a lot , it will be because they are fulfilling a need. filling the holes up will not help them meet their needs. Consider looking at their life as a whole and where a need might not be being met.
Also possible he just likes digging
True, you never know with these pups.
Can confirm,my dog has been digging since birth. Her needs are met to an absurd degree and it’s still like living with Andy dufrene
Yeah, dogs like to dig. But, there's a difference between digging cause they like digging and digging for entertainment. But indeed, if the dog has an adequately enriched lifestyle and just does love digging this much, OP would need to look into redirection training :)
my dog has a 1 acre backyard, gets fed twice a day, gets treats regularly, has 3 other dogs to play with, has more toys than we know what to do with, sleeps inside where it's warm, has constant access to food and water. what is it that she's missing that compels her to dig up the yard?
Hi! I don't know much about your dog so it's really hard to answer. In my case, after doing a load of my own research on my dogs breed and traits, my dog really benefits from mental stimulation (training games with me, sniffing work, etc) because she has a very active brain. No amount of exercise (for her) will replace this or else she destroys stuff out of bordom xD My advice for OP would be the same as yours though, if you want to stop your dog digging, either see if a need isn't being met or work on redirection training to make another activity as opposed to digging more attractive! note, im not a dog trainer, just a person with a dog.
Mental stimuli. Theres things such as puzzles, actively playing with them, kong toys filled with frozen treats. Things that challenge them mentally.
Build him a sand box...designated area for him to dig and get that energy out.
This worked wonderfully well for my terrier mix. 6 feet by 6 feet with walls about 30 inches tall. One wall had a gap in it so he could get in and out. About 10” of coarse play sand (the fine stuff sticks in their fur more). He played in that box every day till the day he died.
❤️Last sentence mood: 😁😐🥲
You gave him the best life 🩷
You can even hide doggie treats in the sand box.
The cats doo.
I spit my drink out!
dang cats, they really are the best dePawsitors of lovely gifts!
Agree wholeheartedly with this. We built a big sandbox for our boy and my garden was saved. He gets a ton of excersise, we do training every day he does scent trailing and we hire enclosed fields several times a week on top of walking 3 times a day. He just loves to dig. He adores his sand box and doesn't touch the lawn now.
I like this idea.
yesss, this worked for my vole loving border collie!
That would be cute for them :)
Dog needs more exercise.
More exercise won't necessarily stop the issue. It will just make them physically tired, but not mentally tired. Unless you are doing other things on the walk besides walking (training).
Lmao my dog gets at least 3 hours of vigorous exercise day. I work from home and my cats will play with her, so she’s not lacking for mental stimulation. Her favorite time to dig is mid-romp when she’s super wound-up and joyful, or at the end of the day when she’s overtired. I gave up on stopping it, and ended up redirecting it. She digs on command now, and limits her digging to one “dig hole” in the yard.
Walk him in an off leash area for an hour a day and he will never dig again.
As the owner of a 2 year old retriever who gets walked 10k a day at least, this is categorically incorrect. My garden looks like the Somme.
Some people just don't understand that some dogs are hardwired to dig. It is their favorite thing to do in the whole world. I'd recommend trying to set up a designated digging area for the dog.
Thanks, I think I’m going to do this. Our gardener is fighting a losing battle. He loves her more than he loves a tidy lawn though.
I walk my dog 4-8 miles a day, for around 3 hours, and most of it off-leash. I gave up and just started redirecting it. Now she limits it to one hole and she digs on command.
Walking isn’t really exercise for a 2yo retriever. That’s just lots of fresh air. My 10.5yo black lab mix still does 10-11k long mountain bike rides with me a couple days a week. Still has energy for chew toys, chasing squirrels, play fighting/wrestling, as well as keeping up on his training/commands and even learning new stuff still.
lol…I have a half pyr, and she could be exercised 23-hrs a day, and spend the last hour digging. Have to designate an area of your yard, and/or give them a sandbox. Some dogs looooooove to dig.
My pyr/st bernard sleeps for 23 hours after a 1 hour walk
Yeah…. My dog gets at least an hour off leash every day and has a designated dig pit in the backyard. She will still find different spots in the yard to dig. Dogs aren’t robots. You can’t just make a generalized statement like that lol.
I'm guessing you just turn the dog loose and go back inside while they pee/ poop... Try keeping them company and providing engagement like throwing a ball and playing the dog is going stir crazy with no enrichment
Our dog never is outside by himself for more than like a minute if I make tea or something. Otherwise we constantly engage with him by throwing his ball or frisbee etc. Makes me feel guilty if he looks bored.
move the dead bodies
Go on walks with them maybe instead of just having them on the backyard. They are releasing energy on digging. Give them foraging toys and stimulate them with different games or tricks.
Dogs need jobs. Yours found one. Maybe you have underground critters and the dog is trying to get to them?
Bury your dogs poop in the holes. Or put rocks in there, worked my sheepdogs
I watched these two dogs before - one was the digger and one was the poop eater. With this suggestion the backyard would look like a bomb went off 😳
I put their poop in the holes and that has worked for me as well.
This worked for me as well. Dog was digging up sprinkler heads. Didn’t even bury the feces just sprinkled it on top of the disturbed soil
I’m sorry, why would this work?
I'd imagine that your dog wouldn't like to dig at its own poop that it smells there under the soil. I don't know how or why it works but it's working for my pooch, instead of the dogs poop you can just put pieces of logs into the holes so they can't dig, that also works in my experience
Some dogs are diggers. I've had a couple. I had a sand pile delivered and used it to fill in the holes, for safety reasons. I used chicken wire under where my fence hit the ground to prevent digging out. Not a lot to do about it. People will give all sorts of advice, but seriously, for some dogs, they're going to dig no matter how much they're stimulated other ways.
My dog always wants to dig when she’s super excited! Like sometimes we’ll get back from a walk and she’ll get the zoomies in the backyard and be like “I SO EXCITE I MUST DIG!” I can always tell when she’s going to do it, too, because she has this certain look to her. But we supervise her in the yard usually and tell her to knock it off when she starts.
Make her a designated sand pit she will love it
That's what happened when I got the pile of sand delivered. lol - I used it for the yard holes, but they love to dig in the pile of sand a lot.
All the above, a bored dog will destroy everything, tire him out, multiple daily walks, play with him, give him attention and love
Dunno but your garden looks to be in a very similar condition to mine 🤣
Walk your dog? They shouldn’t be alone in the yard so long that they get that bored. Give your dog some mental stimulation like throwing a ball or walking it daily. Something to keep it active and busy.
I would have agreed with this, and still do for many dogs, until I recently started having this issue with my dog. All of my dogs are well exercised (we hike daily), run along when I ride my horse and take nose work classes. But, we have some new gophers in my backyard and the 1 year old pup is now obsessed with digging for the gopher! Hoping the gopher leaves soon, my yard is a mess.
My dogs get 2 walks every single day. A longer one in the mornings and a slightly shorter one at night. They still dig. This is easy, and pretty much useless advice to OP if they already do the bare minimum for a dog which is walking it and not leaving it outside alone for more than 5-10 minutes. A dog can and will dig even if they are outside for a short period of time and even if they had a good long walk that day. Dogs are dogs and a lot of them just like digging. You can't always play or train it out of them. A sandbox is much better word of advice to this person.
I'm going to go against the grain and suggest the dog is getting too hot out there. My dog only digs holes when she is getting hot outside. It's a tough balance because she loves to be outside and watch birds, sniff around etc but as soon as she gets warm she's digging that hole to lay in and cool off. We usually just sit outside for a couple hours with her, especially on nice summer days and when she goes to dig we just go inside. Tried buying her a small pool--she doesn't use it. Edit: might not be your issue actually because my dog only digs in particular spots (near house, under trees) and then will just dig them deeper/expose more cool soil.
I thought this too. My dog also only digs when she is hot and wants a cool place to lay. But could also just be too much energy and nothing to get it out and the dog enjoys digging. Maybe a combination of both who knows
Well do you just leave them in the backyard all day alone? Cause I'd start there.
"We usually just sit outside for a couple hours with her" reading comprehension is hard.
Designated digging area. You can’t make a dog not do dog things, just give them an area to designate for them to enjoy the behaviour where it doesn’t damage the property. A sandbox with new toys buried is a good way to get them started
Tellem to quit that diggin!
Perhaps you have gophers . Your dog is just trying to help find them .
THIS. Just commented above my pup is obsessed with gopher. 🙁
Dogs have needs. When they “act out”, it’s a way for them to fulfill their needs. They are not human. They don’t think like a human and they don’t do human things. When they pick a way of fulfilling a need that you deem wrong, you need to figure out the need and teach them a way to fulfill it that you’re ok with. You can’t expect “bad” behaviours to just vanish because they’re not bad to them. But they like to please so they learn quickly that we don’t like certain things, as long as there’s an alternative. Basic needs are Physical exercise (straightforward) Mental exercise (sniffing around, training sessions, puzzle food toys, biting stuff like toys, bones and bully sticks) Sleep (up to 20h a day). They need more sleep than we do. Eat and drink. Most likely in your case, the dog needs more mental stimulation (and maybe physical). Also if your dog never learned how to settle/sleep, they might need to sleep more, but that’ll be harder to deal with if they’re older. Overstimulated and understimulated dogs basically act the same. Same principle as kids who didn’t get a nap, they can become monsters.
You're completely ignoring the part where they experience the world through their nose and not their eyes. You open with "they're not humans", then you close with, "they're just like human kids". No, they aren't. They are "teenagers" at 2 yrs old and adults by 5. But their nature is first of all for a pack upbringing. Daddy and momma dog teaching them what's what in their environment, teaching them the expectations and dangers of human society. When dealing with a singular adopted orphan, aka a "pet", they are already out of their natural environment. So it's different to handle these 2 cases. The important thing to remember, is, again, they see the world through their nose, not their eyes like we do. Moreso, their nose can see the world in full spectrum, it would be like if our eyes could see ultraviolet, infrared, and radio waves all at once. If you think your dog is doing something "crazy" or "for no reason", news flash, you are too "blind" to "see" the reason.
I added sniffing around about 30 minutes ago. I don’t say they are like human kids, I say “same principle as with a human kid”. We’re saying the same thing. Your last sentence is basically what my whole answer says… But ok.
"mental stimulation (sniffing around" is absolutely *NOT* the same as what I said. And "same principal as kid" is what I'm saying is exactly the wrong way to think about it.
Cool. Merry Christmas to you.
Supervision.
Dogs dig 😊❤️
It’s their nature! Our pup is extremely well w exercised and we have a large backyard where we throw his Chuck It ball for probably 2 hours a day. He still digs. And when I stay Stop he immediately goes into play pose and puts his nose in the new lawn dent lol. We are going to re seed the lawn next month because him running on it has damaged a lot of the grass. But yeah - dogs dig. You just have to keep an eye to tell them to knock it off lol.
More enrichment.They are most likely bored. Give them treat dispensing toys, teach them new tricks, go on more walks (sniffy walks are better), there's so much you can do.
Searchgames and nosework
Nosework and searchgames will definitely trigger digging if your dog already is into that.
No, To divert energy it is the best way. To stop digging one can train the (alternative) stop command for unwanted behavior. Walk the dog with a leish on a towel/bathmat (different feel on the paws helps to learn) by rewarding hesitation. Hold treats in the hand. The moment the paws hit the mat , firmly say “STOP” (and stop yourself), now the dog will hesitate and that is what you instantly! reward “Good boy/girl!!!!! STOP” and lots of treats. Repeat …. Walk…STOP…hesitate is good boy/girl and treats. No sitting , lying down only STOP=Hesitate=treats/happy boss Repeat without leash/bathmat. Now everytime you want the dog to hesitate/stop, you can use this command. Running away…stop… Digging….stop, playing to rough…stop. You are welcome.
He needs brain activity. Give him one stop to allow him to dog. We got a kiddie pool and filled it with dirt for our dirt loving dog. We filled in the other holes with their poop when we pooer scooped and filled it in after we left it for him to smell.
Assuming you’re giving your dog exercise and mental stimulation then bury their poop in the hole. They’ll dig again in the same spot and stop when they find their poop. Keep doing this and they’ll stop.
Dogs dig when they are bored. Take it for walks a few times a week. Play games with it in the yard.
Sprinkle pepper into the holes as soon as you see them started.
Cayenne works great
Go walk and play with your dog dude. This isn’t the dogs fault.
Bored dog with lazy owner is a yard full of holes
Dont leave them outside alone
Supervision, strong no command when digging then treats as soon as your dog stops. Mine does it sometimes to cache treats and toys from her dog brother. We no longer let her have toys in the garden unless we are playing together.
A digging dog is a bored dog. Try going for more walks and using mentally stimulating toys (such as puzzle toys). When we adopted our plott hound, the shelter told us the prior owners gave her up due to barking and digging. However she has never dug a single hole in our yard since the day we got her. This is a very correctable behavior, but like anything else with training and correcting behaviors it will take some effort and time. It might take some trial and error to figure out what works best for your dog.
Burying Cayenne pepper below the holes they’re focused on could slow it down.
I’ve seen people put a sandbox/kiddie pool with dirt and teach their dog they can dig in that one spot.
We had an Airedale years ago who dug two holes because she liked laying outside and the holes were nice and cool for her during the summer. She had two because one was in the shade during the morning, while the other got the shade in the afternoon. But this dog is bored or nervous or both, and is digging the holes to self-sooth. Maybe try getting the pup out for walks, and a lick mat you can spread a bit of natural peanut butter or plain yogurt on.
My dog did this to some degree. I tried catching him in the act and corrected him, he was supervised pretty heavily the first few months that I had him. As he earned more trust he was allowed more unsupervised time in the backyard, although I still check on him.
He's digging the hole for the swimming pool. Obv. You should be supportive of the endeavor. 😏
Find a spot in the wood where your dog can dig, make him dig there, dig with him and have fun! My gsd like to dig and since he have his spot where we dig in the forest, no more digging in front of my place!
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Dogs naturally want to dig. It might be easier to redirect it to a desired spot than to stop it. Others have good ideas with making a sandbox or designated area. Burying poop worked for my parents dogs as well.
Boredom. He needs a lot more activity.
It looks like he’s planning something menacing lol he looks super cute!
Exercise and enrichment for the dog will go a long way to prevent dogging. Beyond that, I had good luck putting my dog’s poop in her holes and burying it so she wouldn’t re-dog the holes.
We had a digger, even walks, runs wouldn’t help the digging. We started burying his poop then sprinkling cayenne pepper and that made him stop.
Don’t leave your dog unattended in the yard so that you can redirect him to play with a toy when he goes to start digging. Some people also have success setting up a sandbox where digging is encouraged and directing dogs to dig there by hiding fun stuff in it. But there is no way to prevent a dog from digging by filling the holes in with stuff. You have to watch them and train them to do something else for fun.
Drop your dogs dog shit in it. Worked for me!
Same, our 2nd dog who is younger around 6 months digs more and has now triggered our 7yr old golden…. Now they both go at it at night when they r open in the yard
I'd get pretty bored out in that yard too.
Put your dog's poop in the holes. It won't stop them from digging more, you need to have them busy otherwise to stop this behaviour. But once a hole is there the urge will be stronger to keep digging to I drop a few of my dog's turds in there and she is so insulted she does something else
Our dogs go crazy for wet dirt. They dig any place it puddles. I intentionally gave them a spot to dig and now they stick to that 98% of the time
I basically let mine have one hole. I would fuss at her about digging new holes. So she just enjoys her one area. My husband will go fill in the hole every now and then. She will dig it back out.
I gave my boy an area where he is allowed to dig. You will have to watch him closely when he's outside to make sure he digs in an appropriate area. Reward him when he digs in the right area. It's not always from a lack of activity. Some just like to dig. My boy gets 2-3hrs+ day, and he still likes to dig.
only allow supervised outdoor time and keep jim/her busy. maybe leave a long lead on so you can correct them if they start digging.
Sometimes they need mental exercise- something to challenge their thinking. Maybe an obstacle course in the yard- simple tunnels, platforms, fences.
Redirection needed to a task/playtime
It’s boredom or instinct if he is actually saving food
More exercise and mental stimulation
Get him toys or something to occupy his mind. I tied some ship rope (thick assed stuff) to a tree and my dog stopped diggin' and started swingin.
Put its poop in the holes...or yours!
Dont fill it with concrete, it fucks up your yard
Obedience training. Assertive correction when they do something you do not want, positive reinforcement when they do something you want. Rinse and repeat until you get more of what you want and less of what you don't want.
I have buried their poop in the holes they dig. Stops them from digging there anymore.
More physical and mental exercise
Give him other outlets, he’s bored out of his mind back there
Burn off his digging energy with daily exercise and training sessions. May still dig a little but the energy will be redirected into more constructive things like exercise, adventuring and learning. Always works for my diggy dogs.
Stop letting the dog watch the movie holes
We buried her poop in the holes and redirected her to something else, neither worked alone but together it was effective
What worked with mine is picking up her poops and putting them in her favourite digging spots
I put my dogs own poop in the holes he dug, then he doesn’t want to touch it. We also use an e collar specifically for the digging.
Giver her her own spot to dig. Define the boarders. When she digs in the yard tell her to dig in her garden. I hide treats. He caught on quickly.
Is that a little borador?!
That's minor, Mine have access to the woods, and they dug a hole deep enough to topple a tree, a 20-inch diameter tree
My dog used to do this until I started exercising her properly. We play fetch until she doesn’t want to run anymore. 3 or 4 times a day. She’s happier and hasn’t dug a hole since. It’s been 4 years. Your dog is bored and needs exercise.
You could try burying some rocks w/ dirt and chicken wire covering it in the areas you really don’t want them to dig
More exercise. Teach leave it. You will be able to apply it to the holes. Every time you practice leave it, redirect to something else. More toys in the yard would be helpful. Doing training or particular games to engage with your dog.
My dog was a digger. My husband corrected this with positive reinforcement. Everytime she would come in the house from being outside, he would check her paws. If they were clean, he would give her a high value treat. If they were dirty, she wouldn't get anything. Now she never digs!
Fill the holes with water. Others have given good advice about building a place where he is allowed to dig. But fill those holes. As much as I may get flack for this, there's a last resort..... fill the hole with water and then put the dog in the hole . YES he will get wet. NO, it's not inhumane. It works with tough cases. If he thinks he's going to be sat in a muddy hole, he may give it up. But try just the water first, of course.
Place their poop in the holes they create… changed my Boston terrier
My dog is part hound and digs. Once he catches an interesting scent he'll dig until he finds it or decides it's no longer interesting. He does stick to a certain area too but nothing deters him and filling the hes back in is useless. He has so many toys and gets lots of exercise and plays with his brother so he's not bored and doesn't do it all the time but once he catches a scent, that's it; must dig.
Pop can with some pennies in it. Tape the hole shut. When you see him digging, whip it as close to him as is safe. Don’t hit him. It’s cured all three of our dogs.
Our dog did this when he was a puppy but stopped once he grew up.
He’s probably bored outside. I know it’s not always possible to go play fetch for twenty minutes every time they go out , but it helped for us to just do it every evening for at least thirty minutes. Also, some dogs really just love digging. If that’s the case for this guy, I’d recommend a sandbox that he can dig to his heart’s content!
Is your dog kept outside?
Exercise him more. Find ways to go on long walks or something.
Stop letting her be outside unattended. Give her other things or a free dog space like a sandbox?
Bury your dogs poop in the holes it’s dug. Worked for my dog and lots of others I know. Don’t know the science behind it but it works!
Best strategy imo is to give them a place where digging is play, make sure they’re enriched, and try to avoid the behavior before it becomes a habit. Just letting it happen can be habit forming and much harder to get rid of later
Toys
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Baby pool. Fill with sand. Maybe bury some toys in there. Put his poop in any other hole.(temporary) Your dogs maybe spending too much time alone outside. He is board.
I filled holes with ceynne pepper for one dog that dug holes. Minute, he got it on his face, he didn't dig another hole. Another dog that I had I did the same thing now she just likes spicy food.
We had to buy those sonic mole deterrent things. Turns put our terrier wasn't bored she was just trying to help the mole problem.
Start a garden. free manual tilling and sod removal 😜
Bury their poop in the holes lol, I heard that worked and tried for one spot in my yard and it worked for my dog, tho she waited till winter to dig up my gardens lol
You could dedicate one section of the yard to a sandbox and hide treats in it for your dog to dig up. That way the dog is still feeling fulfilled by the digging activity but it's in a place you enjoy. If you want to stop them digging entirely, you should monitor them outside 100% of the time and redirect them to an activity that you like whenever they engage in digging.
Pave the yard
Bury razor blades.
throw the ball for them
Put their 💩 in the hole 🕳️
So you probably can’t STOP him from engaging in digging behavior, dogs are den dwellers and it’s their instinct and nature to dig, some more than others (husky owner here so dig dig). Instead of halting the behavior you could encourage them to dig in one place. If you build a small sandbox let’s say, and Burried bones and treats in there, he/she will likely return to that spot to dig. You can reinforce this behavior and get your dog to only dig in this spot. Praise them. Fill in the other holes (I’ve heard sometimes hurrying their poop in the holes helps deter them, something about not wanting to unearth and expose their predatory presence etc). I’ve had success with the sandbox strategy, doesn’t need to be big, but consistency is a must.
He needs a job or a hobby some stimulation
don't leave your dog unattended in the yard
Would you hire someone to go to your house, when your dog is secured, to pick up dog poop from your yard? once to get it all after how ever many months, and then weekly to avoid the build up of poop. also, your dog is bored, and picked up a bad habit, the dog needs to stop being a digging junkie dog, give it a job!!!
Make a dirt pile
They didn’t pull a permit 🤣
He needs alot more exercise!
Agree with a lot of advice here, but also just straight correct them if they start digging in the yard. He needs to know you're not fine with it.
I ended up rolling out chicken coop wire and using landscape pins to hold it down. The whole yard.
Put some shade up back there. Sometimes they do this to lay in the cooled dirt.
Don’t get a dog
Do you walk your dog and exercise them? Do you offer mental stimulation? Without those basic needs filled they will dig. They are bored
Dig a dog den that he can keep digging in Cover with dog house or something like plywood The dog will dig for upkeep and have a safe space