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#1
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Best way to stop digging ???
Hello all,
I have a yellow lab that is almost 2 years old. We just moved into a new home with a very nice backyard and he's been going to town on it since we moved in (about 5 weeks ago). In the old house there was an old flower bed that surrounded the yard that was nothing but dirt and he would dig in there. At the time it was okay so I never tried to detour him from it. Now that we're in the new home, he is digging up the grass and the yard is really paying the price. What is the best way to teach him it's not okay to do this? He's an indoor/outdoor dog that's in the backyard most of the day while I'm at work and my wife is running around town. I assume it's when he gets bored is when he starts to dig, but none of us are around to see him doing it (and try to correct him). Please help as we really want to fix this problem and have a backyard that looks nice. Thanks in advance for any help... |
#2
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Yep, it's possibly a bit of boredom, and wee bit of seperation anxiety,
and some curiosity. grin Do you have moles, voles or gophers in your yard? If you do, he may be hunting them. I have known a couple of dogs that have "mined" for earthworms for snacks. blech As he had a digging space of his own in your old yard, why not build him one in this yard? Mark off the area with landscape timbers. Remove the sod (can be used to repair his other divots if it isn't too cold already in your area.), and remove a few inches of soil (use as top soil elsewhere). Secure the timbers around the edge and 3 to 6 inches above the surrounding surface. Fill to bottom edge of the top timber with sand (doesn't have to be the super clean or fancy variety). Now, get in there and dig, yourself, with faithful fido with you. Partially bury a couple of chew toys, and some treats (Hey, every kid has to eat a peck of dirt before he grows up... Why not a dog?) for him to discover. Repeat later in the day and for the next couple of the days. If you catch him digging him elsewhere, take him back to his digging place and start over. Many dogs seem to find this to be quite cool.... even the major miners of the dog world, terriers. If it doesn't work, add some more timbers, add mulch and top soil and buld yourself a raised vegetable garden. grin Nah, you're gonna have SO much fun digging with your Lab that he's going to discover his new digging pit is terrific fun. Jo Wolf Martinez, Georgia |
#3
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Yep, it's possibly a bit of boredom, and wee bit of seperation anxiety,
and some curiosity. grin Do you have moles, voles or gophers in your yard? If you do, he may be hunting them. I have known a couple of dogs that have "mined" for earthworms for snacks. blech As he had a digging space of his own in your old yard, why not build him one in this yard? Mark off the area with landscape timbers. Remove the sod (can be used to repair his other divots if it isn't too cold already in your area.), and remove a few inches of soil (use as top soil elsewhere). Secure the timbers around the edge and 3 to 6 inches above the surrounding surface. Fill to bottom edge of the top timber with sand (doesn't have to be the super clean or fancy variety). Now, get in there and dig, yourself, with faithful fido with you. Partially bury a couple of chew toys, and some treats (Hey, every kid has to eat a peck of dirt before he grows up... Why not a dog?) for him to discover. Repeat later in the day and for the next couple of the days. If you catch him digging him elsewhere, take him back to his digging place and start over. Many dogs seem to find this to be quite cool.... even the major miners of the dog world, terriers. If it doesn't work, add some more timbers, add mulch and top soil and buld yourself a raised vegetable garden. grin Nah, you're gonna have SO much fun digging with your Lab that he's going to discover his new digging pit is terrific fun. Jo Wolf Martinez, Georgia |
#4
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Yep, it's possibly a bit of boredom, and wee bit of seperation anxiety,
and some curiosity. grin Do you have moles, voles or gophers in your yard? If you do, he may be hunting them. I have known a couple of dogs that have "mined" for earthworms for snacks. blech As he had a digging space of his own in your old yard, why not build him one in this yard? Mark off the area with landscape timbers. Remove the sod (can be used to repair his other divots if it isn't too cold already in your area.), and remove a few inches of soil (use as top soil elsewhere). Secure the timbers around the edge and 3 to 6 inches above the surrounding surface. Fill to bottom edge of the top timber with sand (doesn't have to be the super clean or fancy variety). Now, get in there and dig, yourself, with faithful fido with you. Partially bury a couple of chew toys, and some treats (Hey, every kid has to eat a peck of dirt before he grows up... Why not a dog?) for him to discover. Repeat later in the day and for the next couple of the days. If you catch him digging him elsewhere, take him back to his digging place and start over. Many dogs seem to find this to be quite cool.... even the major miners of the dog world, terriers. If it doesn't work, add some more timbers, add mulch and top soil and buld yourself a raised vegetable garden. grin Nah, you're gonna have SO much fun digging with your Lab that he's going to discover his new digging pit is terrific fun. Jo Wolf Martinez, Georgia |
#5
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Our 1 yr old yellow lab loves to dig up our yard as well. We haven't
actively attempted to stop her from doing this, but it does seem like she digs less when she has lots of toys. She also digs more when she hasn't had her 1 hour of fetch every day. Labs love to be active, even if they have to create their own "work". |
#6
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Our 1 yr old yellow lab loves to dig up our yard as well. We haven't
actively attempted to stop her from doing this, but it does seem like she digs less when she has lots of toys. She also digs more when she hasn't had her 1 hour of fetch every day. Labs love to be active, even if they have to create their own "work". |
#7
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Our 1 yr old yellow lab loves to dig up our yard as well. We haven't
actively attempted to stop her from doing this, but it does seem like she digs less when she has lots of toys. She also digs more when she hasn't had her 1 hour of fetch every day. Labs love to be active, even if they have to create their own "work". |
#8
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"Jo Wolf" wrote in message
... I have known a couple of dogs that have "mined" for earthworms for snacks. blech I've got two of these. We have the grass killed along our fenceline to make trimming easier. And two schnauzers who consider this the ideal place to find worms. Which they then eat. The ready dirt access means they don't have to wait for the perfect nightcrawler evening to do their worm hunting. They come back into the house not only smelling of worm breath but it's not unusual to have pieces of dead worms in their beards. Such lovely dogs they are! They also consider rabbit poop to be almost as much a delicacy as cat poop - and a lot more accessible. And crickets. They *love* crickets. And those days when the flies are coming up through the grass from underground. ~~Judy |
#9
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"Jo Wolf" wrote in message
... I have known a couple of dogs that have "mined" for earthworms for snacks. blech I've got two of these. We have the grass killed along our fenceline to make trimming easier. And two schnauzers who consider this the ideal place to find worms. Which they then eat. The ready dirt access means they don't have to wait for the perfect nightcrawler evening to do their worm hunting. They come back into the house not only smelling of worm breath but it's not unusual to have pieces of dead worms in their beards. Such lovely dogs they are! They also consider rabbit poop to be almost as much a delicacy as cat poop - and a lot more accessible. And crickets. They *love* crickets. And those days when the flies are coming up through the grass from underground. ~~Judy |
#10
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"Jo Wolf" wrote in message
... I have known a couple of dogs that have "mined" for earthworms for snacks. blech I've got two of these. We have the grass killed along our fenceline to make trimming easier. And two schnauzers who consider this the ideal place to find worms. Which they then eat. The ready dirt access means they don't have to wait for the perfect nightcrawler evening to do their worm hunting. They come back into the house not only smelling of worm breath but it's not unusual to have pieces of dead worms in their beards. Such lovely dogs they are! They also consider rabbit poop to be almost as much a delicacy as cat poop - and a lot more accessible. And crickets. They *love* crickets. And those days when the flies are coming up through the grass from underground. ~~Judy |
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