We got a Mixed Lab from the pound a couple months ago and
it has begun digging in the yard. It takes 15 minute breaks out
there so it's not a matter of long boring excursions (our fenced yard offers
plenty of entertainment besides...rabbits, squirels, etc.)
I've tried watching from a window to correct him immediately, but
of course it NEVER happens while I'm on duty.

What drives them to this behavior?
Any way to stop this besides babysitting him, which hasn't worked
yet?

Les

les said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Any way to stop this besides babysitting him, which hasn't
worked yet?

With the one digger I had, I encouraged her to dig in a mutually
agreeable area.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

les wrote:
We got a Mixed Lab from the pound a couple months ago and
it has begun digging in the yard. It takes 15 minute breaks out
there so it's not a matter of long boring excursions (our fenced yard offers
plenty of entertainment besides...rabbits, squirels, etc.)
I've tried watching from a window to correct him immediately, but
of course it NEVER happens while I'm on duty.

What drives them to this behavior?
Any way to stop this besides babysitting him, which hasn't worked
yet?

Les



I seem to recall reading it helps to mix up a portion of the dirt with
sand (for easy digging), and distribute chew toys through various layers
of the 'allowed digging area' (the sandbox, basically) so the dog is
rewarded for digging there, instead of elsewhere. Make sure some of the
toys stick out of the ground, so the dog has a hint to start there.

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 23:39:05 -0500, "les" wrote:

We got a Mixed Lab from the pound a couple months ago and
it has begun digging in the yard. It takes 15 minute breaks out
there so it's not a matter of long boring excursions (our fenced yard offers
plenty of entertainment besides...rabbits, squirels, etc.)
I've tried watching from a window to correct him immediately, but
of course it NEVER happens while I'm on duty.

What drives them to this behavior?
Any way to stop this besides babysitting him, which hasn't worked
yet?


Digging is FUN. It's great exercise. Moles, voles, all sorts of
things may intrigue a dog to dig.

Apparently, 15 minutes is as long as it takes for your dog to be bored
by the fun rabbits, squirrels, etc (they leave pretty quickly and then
there's nothing to play with!). I can't think of why I'd need my dogs
to be outside for 15 minutes without supervision, but one would get
really bored and bark to come in, the other would just hang out -
different dogs.

You can teach an approved digging spot, but that means you need to be
out there and training. General obedience training is a good idea as
well.


--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 07:35:04 -0400, Janet B
wrote:


I can't think of why I'd need my dogs
to be outside for 15 minutes without supervision, but one would get
really bored and bark to come in, the other would just hang out -
different dogs.

Statements like this have always confused me. Maybe it's a breed
thing, I don't know. My sighthounds aren't big on spending a lot of
time outside; they run around, race each other to the back fence, bark
at squirrels and neighbor dogs, and they're done. When the weather
starts to get nice, I make them stay outside for a while so they can
get some sun. The huskies, on the other hand, are another matter.
Snow or sun, they want to stay outside for hours. Am I supposed to
sit out there and watch them?

I don't get what's wrong with dogs being outside in a fenced yard by
themselves.

Mustang Sally

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 08:18:11 -0400, sighthounds & siberians
wrote:


I don't get what's wrong with dogs being outside in a fenced yard by
themselves.


Nothing, although I don't leave dogs out if I'm not home. I just
don't force them to stay outside "for their own good" - it doesn't
make sense to me.

When I was a little kid, we played OUTSIDE, period. If it started to
rain, we were told to stand under the overhang. Now, I see the
benefit in outdoor activity for all beings, but geez......

Lucy doesn't like being outside for long without humans. I don't make
her stay out to get "sun and fresh air". I like going out with her,
playing, training, doing yard work, whatever. She likes being inside
with me, and there's no reason for her not to be. Franklin OTOH,
loves being outside, prefers humans too, but is happy to stay out on
his own. *I* don't need him to though, so how much time he spends out
there varies.

One day, while having flooring work done, I had the cats shut in a
room and the dogs gated upstairs with me. It was a lovely day. so I
left the door to the deck open (since cats weren't on the loose - they
stay IN 24/7 BTW). Both dogs went out, then Lucy came back in, went
to my bedroom and napped. Franklin napped on the deck, came in once
in awhile to check on me, then back out of the deck. I check on dogs
in the yard if they're out on their own - not going out with them, but
look through the window.

To your question "why is there a problem with dogs outside on their
own?", I'd counter with "why is it a problem to have dogs in the
house?" A matter of personal preference on the part of dog and human.
If I had a dog destroying the yard, it wouldn't be a hard choice.


--
Janet B
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bestfr...bedience/album

on 2005-04-12 at 08:18 wrote:

When the weather starts to get nice, I make them stay outside
for a while so they can get some sun. The huskies, on the
other hand, are another matter. Snow or sun, they want to
stay outside for hours.

when it's warm and dry, harriet wants to live outside. she
would spend all day basking on the front deck if i let her.
in cooler weather, elliott's the one who wants to stay
outside.

Am I supposed to sit out there and watch them?

I don't get what's wrong with dogs being outside in a fenced
yard by themselves.

as long as someone is home, the fence is secure, and the dogs
are checked on regularly, i don't think it's automagically a
bad thing. it's a quality of life trade-off. my dogs are
often happier putzing around outside by themselves. it makes
them happy and they're reasonably safe doing it, so i usually
let them. under different circumstances, or with different
dogs, i might not.

--
shelly
http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette
http://cat-sidh.blogspot.com/
http://letters-to-esther.blogspot.com/ (updated 4/3/05)

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 08:43:12 -0400, Janet B
wrote:

Nothing, although I don't leave dogs out if I'm not home. I just
don't force them to stay outside "for their own good" - it doesn't
make sense to me.

I don't leave dogs out when I'm not home either. That's a safety
issue. And I don't force them to stay outside, but I didn't think
that was what we were talking about. You said you couldn't think why
your dogs would need to be outside for 15 minutes, and I'm having
trouble seeing why that's such a long period of time for dogs to be
outside.

Lucy doesn't like being outside for long without humans. I don't make
her stay out to get "sun and fresh air". I like going out with her,
playing, training, doing yard work, whatever. She likes being inside
with me, and there's no reason for her not to be. Franklin OTOH,
loves being outside, prefers humans too, but is happy to stay out on
his own. *I* don't need him to though, so how much time he spends out
there varies.

I don't need my dogs to stay outside either, including my huskies.
But if they prefer to be outside on a given day, I don't see a problem
with letting them have their way on that issue. When I'm home, those
that prefer to be inside with me are welcome to be inside with me.
Those that prefer to be outside for whatever period of time are
welcome to be outside. I don't see that preference as a measure of
how much they like humans, or of their devotion to me.

I check on dogs
in the yard if they're out on their own - not going out with them, but
look through the window.

Yeah, I do that too.

To your question "why is there a problem with dogs outside on their
own?", I'd counter with "why is it a problem to have dogs in the
house?"

Why is there an assumption that it's a problem for the dogs to be in
the house? If a person is leaving the dog out because the dog wants
to be out, then the person isn't putting the dog out because he/she
doesn't want the dog in the house, right? I just don't see why
there's an implication that dogs that choose to be outside are
necessarily put outside to get them out of the way.

Mustang Sally

Generally, I work at home, so if the weather is nice the dogs are outside.
The fenced in yard encompasses the shop and back of the house, so they are
not isolated. At the back door to my shop, I have a baby gate, and they
love to hang out there. If I'm in the house, they lie on the back porch of
the house. I have, on occasion, left the back door of the house open so
they could have free run...in or out. They literally lay on the threshold.
1/2 in and 1/2 out. I don't leave them outside when I'm not home...maybe if
I run to the store for a quick pick up, mostly because the husband insists
it's ok, but *I* really don't like them human unattended. I am doing
carpentry and design renovations as a sideline business now, so when I have
to leave for the bigger part of the day, I have a friend who comes about mid
afternoon, and lets them out to stretch and pee, etc. That's a tremendous
service...
Perry

"diddy" wrote in message
...
in thread : Janet B
whittled the following words:

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 23:39:05 -0500, "les" wrote:

We got a Mixed Lab from the pound a couple months ago and
it has begun digging in the yard. It takes 15 minute breaks out
there so it's not a matter of long boring excursions (our fenced yard
offers plenty of entertainment besides...rabbits, squirels, etc.)
I've tried watching from a window to correct him immediately, but
of course it NEVER happens while I'm on duty.

What drives them to this behavior?
Any way to stop this besides babysitting him, which hasn't worked
yet?


Digging is FUN. It's great exercise. Moles, voles, all sorts of
things may intrigue a dog to dig.

Apparently, 15 minutes is as long as it takes for your dog to be bored
by the fun rabbits, squirrels, etc (they leave pretty quickly and then
there's nothing to play with!). I can't think of why I'd need my dogs
to be outside for 15 minutes without supervision, but one would get
really bored and bark to come in, the other would just hang out -
different dogs.

I can. It was a gorgeous day outside yesterday. I left the kitchen door
open so the dogs could come and go as they pleased while I did some
painting. (Helps to fumigate paint fumes too)
The two elkhounds spent most of the day playing/wrestling and generally
sniffing around. They spent time basking in the sun. Had I forced them to
be with me, they would have been sitting on the floor with me. I feel
their unsupervised voluntary outside time was far more beneficial to them
than being forced to mommy sit while i tried to keep them out of the
paint.. JMO
You can teach an approved digging spot, but that means you need to be
out there and training. General obedience training is a good idea as
well.

Oh yeah, on topic..digging...the little wenches love to dig. And they love
to dig....did I mention that they love to dig?
Perry
"Perry Templeton" wrote in message
. ..
Generally, I work at home, so if the weather is nice the dogs are outside.
The fenced in yard encompasses the shop and back of the house, so they are
not isolated. At the back door to my shop, I have a baby gate, and they
love to hang out there. If I'm in the house, they lie on the back porch
of the house. I have, on occasion, left the back door of the house open
so they could have free run...in or out. They literally lay on the
threshold. 1/2 in and 1/2 out. I don't leave them outside when I'm not
home...maybe if I run to the store for a quick pick up, mostly because the
husband insists it's ok, but *I* really don't like them human unattended.
I am doing carpentry and design renovations as a sideline business now, so
when I have to leave for the bigger part of the day, I have a friend who
comes about mid afternoon, and lets them out to stretch and pee, etc.
That's a tremendous service...
Perry

"diddy" wrote in message
...
in thread : Janet B
whittled the following words:

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 23:39:05 -0500, "les" wrote:

We got a Mixed Lab from the pound a couple months ago and
it has begun digging in the yard. It takes 15 minute breaks out
there so it's not a matter of long boring excursions (our fenced yard
offers plenty of entertainment besides...rabbits, squirels, etc.)
I've tried watching from a window to correct him immediately, but
of course it NEVER happens while I'm on duty.

What drives them to this behavior?
Any way to stop this besides babysitting him, which hasn't worked
yet?


Digging is FUN. It's great exercise. Moles, voles, all sorts of
things may intrigue a dog to dig.

Apparently, 15 minutes is as long as it takes for your dog to be bored
by the fun rabbits, squirrels, etc (they leave pretty quickly and then
there's nothing to play with!). I can't think of why I'd need my dogs
to be outside for 15 minutes without supervision, but one would get
really bored and bark to come in, the other would just hang out -
different dogs.

I can. It was a gorgeous day outside yesterday. I left the kitchen door
open so the dogs could come and go as they pleased while I did some
painting. (Helps to fumigate paint fumes too)
The two elkhounds spent most of the day playing/wrestling and generally
sniffing around. They spent time basking in the sun. Had I forced them
to
be with me, they would have been sitting on the floor with me. I feel
their unsupervised voluntary outside time was far more beneficial to them
than being forced to mommy sit while i tried to keep them out of the
paint.. JMO
You can teach an approved digging spot, but that means you need to be
out there and training. General obedience training is a good idea as
well.