Stop Your Dog From Digging

I have learned about an easy and effective way to stop your dog digging in the yard and garden. I went with my neighbor to run some errands the other day. Upon returning to his house, we couldn’t drive through the front gate. The crazy pack of dogs he keeps in his fenced in yard had dug an enormous hole, at least 2 feet deep, with a diameter of probably 5 feet. We live at the beach, so it is easy for his dogs to do a lot of damage digging in a short amount of time.  His dogs have done this every so often for years. My friend didn’t have a clue how to prevent his dogs from digging up his yard.

There are various reason that may be causing the dog’s digging behavior.  Some of the reasons for digging are boredom, an attempt to escape the yard, trying to dig down to cooler soil in times of hot weather, or because your breed of dog may have a predisposition for digging . I will mention some ideas for stopping your dog from digging in your yard or garden. Because my neighbor’s dogs had dug up right in front of the gate, it was probably a mass escape attempt.  His dogs are not picky where they dig their holes-probably just randomly digging out of boredom. His dogs would also dig up any recently watered areas of the yard because it is so hot at the beach. Finally my neighbor said enough was enough-let’s put a stop to this.

I used the techniques in the book Secrets to Dog Training to help him out  Learn more about Secrets to Dog Training by clicking here. Secrets to Dog Training Review This book is chock full of useful methods for stopping dog behavior problems, such as digging in the yard.

Using the advice in the book, we decided to build his dogs their own play area where they were welcome to dig all they wanted to. My friend’s yard is all sand, so it was only necessary to enclose the desired area with fencing to make the acceptable digging area. He also was thoughtful enough to his pets to provide shade cloth above for protection from the heat. My neighbor’s dogs even get to enjoy a little wading pool that he put in for them. These dogs get a lot of love. Since the dogs only dug up the yard when he was away he has now learned how to prevent the dogs from digging up his yard using a win-win type of solution.

Even if you don’t live at the beach, you can make the same kind of area in your own yard to prevent your dog from digging. You can find an area of the yard to enclose and create the substitute digging area for your pet by putting a sandbox filled with loose soil mixed with sand for digging. Inside the enclosed and partially shaded area with the sand box, you can also place some fresh water and some chew toys to play with, so he won’t get bored too much.

Not only have you stopped your dog from digging up your yard in your absence, you now have given him a fun place to be while you are away. If you later notice your dog is only digging in his new area, you can try letting him loose again even if you are not at home, and it is quite possible he won’t dig up the lawn. If your dog is digging to escape, though, he should probably stay in the enclosure while you are away. Once you’ve provided the special area, you’ve prevented your dog from any further digging in your yard.

You can read more about stopping dog digging and other dog training tips by clicking here-Stop Your Dog From Digging.

To get your copy of the best on-line dog training program for teaching your dog at home, click here to get Secrets to Dog Training.