Embrace Your Dog's Digging

Stop ripping your hair out every time your dog digs up the yard!  Dogs like to dig, it's what they do.  Some breeds are more prone to digging than others.  Terriers, for example, are champion diggers.   The name Terrier comes from the word Terra, meaning earth so it's no surprise they love to dig!

Icy used to scour the yard, digging holes everywhere!

Rather than lose your sanity over Fido ripping out every flower and shrub you've ever planted, embrace it!  Am I crazy?  Maybe, but that's beside the point.  When Icy was just a puppy she began digging all over the yard.  It looked like an army of Moles had invaded our yard.  I tried all the recommendations; 

• Bury her poop in the places she usually digs; it just made a giant mess and didn't even work.
• Bury large rocks where she likes to dig;  She started digging up & playing with the rocks!
• Bury wire mesh a few inches into the dirt; her nails got caught in the mesh and it frightened her.

Stop your dog's digging up the yard by letting them dig to their hearts content... in a place you designate!

Finally, some solid advice came my way - Let Her Dig!  Huh?  Yes, let her dig  to her heart's content, but only in a place you designate.  A sandbox or designated patch of earth to call her own.  So I looked around the yard for a good place to make a Dig Pit for Icy.  I decided that behind my husband's prized shed made the perfect spot!  She could dig to her heart's content there behind the shed, out of site.  Once I had chosen the perfect spot for a Dig Pit, here's what I did:

# I sectioned off the Dig Pit area behind the shed, about 6' x 4'. 

# I started digging it up, just to loosen the dirt and make it nice and inviting.  Dogs seem to love freshly dug up soil, which is probably why they love to dig up our plants moments after we've planted them!

# Now I  needed to let her know there was a Dig Pit just for her.  I took 2 or 3 chew sticks and placed them into the ground, with about 2 inches sticking out of the dirt so she could easily find them.

# I walked her over to the Dig Pit and showed her the first chew stick.  It was so exciting for her, she had found buried treasure!  She found and scarfed down all the chew sticks in minutes. 

# I continued to bury treats, rubber toys, and chew sticks in her Dig Pit once or twice a day.  She quickly learned that good stuff awaited her in the Dig Pit!  Before long, her preferred spot to dig was the Dig Pit, and eventually she almost never bothered to dig anywhere else in the yard!



Icy, enjoying her special Dig Pit behind the shed!

Finally, I had conquered my dog's annoying digging habit..... by embracing it!

Is your dog a DIGety Dog?  Have you solved the problem of your dog's digging in another way?  Please leave us a comment, we love to hear from you!!