Help your Dog Stop Digging

What if your dog started digging and has torn up your yard. And no matter how you punish him, your dog still keeps digging. This can be a real problem, and how do you make him stop?

Dogs dig for a lot of reasons: to warm or cool themselves, to bury or uncover things, to hunt for an rodent, and to have fun. Unaltered dogs dig to escape, so they can heed the call to reproduce. Before you determine how to stop your dog from digging, you must determine why he digs.

A dog that digs a hole when the weather is cooler needs adequate shelter; keep it indoors or provide and wind tight doghouse with a door flap and plenty of dry, clean straw to burrow in. Dogs that dig in hot weather need plenty of shade and cool drinking water; a lawn sprinkler or small wading pool help cool them off.

If your unaltered dog digs, sexually intact dogs in the neighborhood may be causing it distress, and it might dig to join them. Altering helps relieve this stress.

Also, ask yourself whether you give your dog enough exercise and social attention. Don't expect your dog to sit quietly and do nothing all day. Even dogs in multiple-dog households get bored and lonely when left for hours on end. Walk your dog at least twice a day, and take it in the house with your family or spend time in the yard socializing. Take your pup to a dog park to play. Provide interactive toys and games.

If your dog truly seems to enjoy digging, provide a place for it to do so: a designated digging area with soft dirt and hidden toys and food. Encourage your dog to dig there, then give praise to encourage the area's use. Your dog will quickly catch on, especially if you routinely hide treats there when your dog's not looking.

Never use physical punishment to teach your dog not to dig; doing so only teaches fear. Digging is often a distress signal that tells an owner that the dog needs understanding and a humane solution.