Your
yard was immaculate before you owned dogs but ever since you added two terriers
to your family they have been on a two-pup mission to excavate your entire
backyard.Now where there used to
be roses there are big holes and it has become quite hazardous to walk through
the yard.
Digging
is one of those things, like chewing, chasing and barking, that our dogs do
that we wished they didn’t.
Keep
in mind how natural of a thing digging is to dogs.Dogs dig for a variety of reasons; to make a cool spot to
lie down, to relieve boredom and release pent up energy, to hunt underground
rodents, real or imagined or just because it is fun.
Digging
is a natural canine behavior ingrained deep into all dogs’ DNA.Some breeds are more likely to have the
urge to dig excessively.Most
terriers as well as Dachshunds were bred to seek out underground rodents and
kill them.Arctic breeds like
Huskies and Malamutes dig through the snow to make themselves a warm place to
sleep.Any breed may have the urge
to bury a bone and/or dig up an already buried bone, real or imagined.
The
key to solving your dog’s digging problem I going to be management.You cannot train the urge to be a dog
out of a dog, no matter how hard you try.This is pure instinct you are fighting against.
“Management”
can mean a lot of different things.First of all you can try to determine why your dog is digging.If it is to relieve boredom or it seems
to be just for fun you can significantly reduce the urge by draining the dog’s
energy on a regular basis.Come up
with an activity or two that you and your dog can do together to drain energy
and to fulfill your dog’s need to be a dog.Possible activities like bike riding, roller blading or
pulling a cart or skateboard behind them.Inexpensive pulling harnesses can be purchased at
www.fordogtrainers.com.Even a
long game of fetch if your dog likes to play.
Next,
management means not allowing the undesired behavior to occur.Do not leave your dog unsupervised in
areas that you don’t want him to dig.The more he is allowed to do it the harder the habit becomes to
break.If he digs while you are
supervising you are able to correct him by distracting him with a loud noise or
verbal correction.
Finally,
management means to give your dog the opportunity to fulfill the need to dig in
an appropriate and acceptable manner.If your dog loves to dig, give him a place of his own where digging is
OK.Fill up a kiddie pool with
sand and bury your dog’s toys so he has to dig in order to find them.Praise him for digging in the right
spot.
