6 Ways to help train your dog not to dig

6 Ways to help train your dog not to dig

Let’s face it – Dog’s love to dig, period. To a dog, digging ditches and holes is “a very natural, highly enjoyable behavior,” says Debra L. Forthman, Ph.D., a certified applied animal behaviorist at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia. Check out the tips below that we have compiled from several licensed veterinarians.

1. Give your dog more exercise. The more active your dog is the less likely that he will muster up the energy or the desire to spend hours digging in your yard. And try to choose the physical activities that your dog likes.

2. Be less scolding and more understanding with your dog’s digging habits during the winter months. During the winter time, you may notice that your Dog does more digging than the rest of the year. This is because dogs seem to have a natural instinct for earths warmer places and during the winter time the dog can sense that by digging he will get to a warmer area, and he is right. So the next time you notice that the digging is increasing more when it is cold outside then it would be wise to understand why your dog is doing what he is doing and not to scold him so much.

3. Refrain from doing any type of gardening work when your dog is around. When the dog sees you digging and playing in the yard then he also thinks that it is ok and will continue to dig those unwanted holes.

4. If you do not mind having your dog neutered or spayed then you may want to consider having the procedure done because it will reduce their drive to mate. And without the drive to mate, you will have far less holes in your yard.

5. When you scold your dog because of catching him digging in the yard then immediately replace the activity with another. The activity could be something as simple as playing fetch or chewing on his favorite toy.

6. Create a hole for the dog to call his own. Dog experts all agree that some dogs absolutely love digging so much that they will never quit. For those situations, it would be advisable to give the dog his own area to dig. The area does not have to be big, around 3-4 feet by 6 feet should do the trick.