Train My Dog To Keep Dog From Digging Holes
Before you train your dog to stop digging holes, you have to understand the motives behind this behavior.
Boredom
When your dog gets bored, it is a ticket to destruction. She will find anything to do to fight against boredom by barking, howling, chewing, destroying and digging. Digging is a great stress reliever. When your dog digs and finds something “treasures” it is well worth the effort and makes her repeat the behavior because of self-rewarding.
What you should do to improve the environment is by stimulating your dog physically and mentally:
-Provide a lot of safe and interesting toys. Rotate them regularly.
-Take your dog out and play with other dogs at the park.
-Teach your dog a new trick.
-If you have Stuff Kong toys, fill it in with dog cookies and let her figure out to get the food out.
-Create some agility equipment such as ramps, tunnels, jumps and teach your dog to navigate them.
-Playing fetch the ball
Frustration
When you leave your dog in a limited area such as your backyard, after a while she will feel confined and frustrated. She probably hears something but cannot get to where the action is.
Some actions to combat your dog frustration:
-Do not to leave your dog unattended for long periods of time. If you have to leave your dog for quite some time, stimulate her environment by hiding toys packed with her dinner or hiding chews in the area where she is confined.
-Playtime is the best distraction for your dog if she digs when you are around. It is a great stress buster and an important part of the day for the average active dogs.
-If your dog likes to dig out of the yard, you may want to bury ¼ inch mesh wire along the fence line. Most dog usually stop digging and discourage when they hit something that will not let them to dig any deeper.
Lack Of Exercise
When your dog is lacking of physical activities, she will do anything to release her energy. Average active dogs need at least 30 minute to one hour exercise a day. Providing your dog with enough exercise will save you time in the long run. The more opportunities your dog gets to run, chase, think, roll etc, the less energy she has to dig holes.
In a nutshell, digging is one of dogs’ advertisements for needing more of something. The best way to stop her is to spend more time with your dog and provide her with more things to think about and to do. Mental workouts are as important as physical exercise can keep your dog from digging holes.
