How to stop your dogs digging

Article Headline: How to stop your dogs digging

Hours of work in the garden destroyed by your dog. So, what do you do?
Why is the dog digging?-- it may seem that way, but it isn't simply to annoy
you, or destroy the garden out of spite--that's not dog thinking, that's human
thinking.

Nothing more than Natural behavior. Dogs are fun loving animals and so many dogs will dig for fun. Younger dogs and puppies love exploring, investigating and having a good time in the soil, sand, mud, stones etc…it really doesn’t matter to them.
Reasons, such as they are to hot and are looking to dig into the cooler ground.
Or they could be cold and looking to build a bit of a den.
They could simply have too much energy. Before you simply start blaming
your dog as a naughty dog! You need to cover off all these things

Smelly fertilizers:
Fertilizer such as “blood and bone” or anything that has a
smelly element to it will drive your dog wild. Be careful where
you sprinkle your magic garden food and be very careful with slug pellets
can be deadly for dogs. Some products on the market claim to be safe
however if they do not say they are then you assume that they are deadly.
Do not use them!

Now that we've taken care of any buried bones, cleared away the smelly
products and provided a comfortable shelter--what's next?

Digging pits:
Excessive digging in not normal, but most dogs do dig. If you create
a small digging area for them with a spade, and bury a toy or bone…just a
couple of times, you will be amazed at how quickly your dog starts to
pay attention and get involved! Once your dog understand that they are
ok to dig in one area but not in the middle of the lawn
you are on your way to success.

Holes in the lawn:
The best solution for holes that have started is to put a small brick or rock at the bottom of the hole and wedge it in if your dog returns to that spot, he will not dig for long.
If it continues guide them back to the digging pit. If it doesn't stop, then a time out,
away from the area is needed. With repetition, they will learn not to dig.

Digging when you are not there:
This is a “pack” issue. The dog wants to bet to you to be protective and do
its job. When you are home they relax and are happy, when you leave they
try to find you. Bad behavioral problems, barking, chewing, digging, when you
leave them alone usually comes down to a Pack Leader problem.

The best site I have come across to understand how to become the
pack leader is Doggy Dan’s amazing website, more information on my site.

What tosh, most dogs don't dig, I've never had a dog that digs.
Some breeds are more likely to dig but to say most dogs dig is total nonsense.

My dog digs but he is a breed that loves to dig.
They love to dig big holes and lay in them. Not all in his breed dig though. My previous dog not the same breed never dug.
He also scuffs if he smells something interesting or does a wee or poop. Neither of my other dogs did this either. We do not try to stop him in the garden but we do when out in case he injures paws on glass or shredded cans.
He is a dog and we accept while he is with us our garden will never be as we would like it. .

If a dog is a digger, then that's it, he is a digger and short of banning him from your garden or keeping him tied up or caged there is little that can be done. Digging is natural behaviour and is extremely hard, nay impossible, to cure.

If a dog is a digger then yes - it's a digger - but I disagree that it's impossible to fix bar deneying them them the chance to do so.

We succeeded with them when it comes to fouling in the house - training and correcting. Same goes for chewing the furniture or leaving unattended food alone. Loads of things we manage to fix because they do it under our noses and we want to fix things.

Digging is something we tend to 'discover' in the garden after the event. Yes this makes it a more difficult habit to address but it's not impossible.

Positive reinforcement can work for things you see but negative reinforcement still works for the things you don't.