Dig This
By dogmanners.com
Dogs dig for
a number of reasons; they dig cooling and warming pits to lie down in,
they dig to bury things and to find things, they dig to escape, and many
just dig because they like to, it was what they were bred to do. It can
also be a socially facilitated behavior; dog sees you digging in your
garden and decides you need some help, and then uproots all your hard
work.
Dogs are more likely to dig if they are
bored and do not have enough to do. Digging can and often does, pacify
many dogs. The more common, recommended solutions that clients have told
me they were told or read for digging, range from filling the hole with
water and stuffing the dog's head in it, installing a dog run/kennel,
cementing the area, to putting pinecones and/or poop in the holes, etc.
These are meant as deterrents, and can be very random, at best, in their
success. They do nothing to address the possible, underlying cause(s)
of the behavior.
What to do:
If your dog is redecorating your yard, you must prevent him from having
access to areas you do not want dug-up, period. You certainly DO NOT want
the dog to be able to practice the behavior you want to get rid of! Try
to understand why the dog is digging in the first place. Consult with
an experienced, qualified, Behavior Specialist, Behaviorist and/or Trainer
in your area. In the meantime, if your dog is digging, I suggest the following:
1. Increase the level of good physical and psychological exercise your
dog receives daily by ten to twenty percent (or more if you are dealing
with a high energy doggy.) 2. Increase the time spent on obedience training
(although, digging is not an "obedience" problem per se, training can
provide some structure in the dogs life.) Train, using Positive reinforcement
methods to ensure that you will not make the digging problem worse. Important
especially if the dog is digging out of some latent stress or anxiety.
3. If you're dealing with a dog that is genetically predisposed to dig
(Terriers, Dachshund and the like) provide them appropriate outlets for
their digging. Which leads me to my favorite solution,
4. Provide your dog with a digging pit (thank you Dr. Ian Dunbar). This
makes the most sense. If your dog likes to dig, just teach him where to
do it. Teach him that digging in that area is the best place (bait it
with goodies and go out and show him that digging there and only there
is the greatest), and let him dig to China. Remember not to let the dog
in other parts of the yard that you do not want dug-up until you are confident
in the training you have done.
If keeping your dog away from areas that
you don't want him digging in is not possible, then you must try to prevent
the digging by other means; blocking off the garden, or flower bed areas
for example. Setting "booby-Traps" may be another option. Obviously, the
trap should not endanger your dog. However, bear in mind, dogs are great
discriminators; the digger may just find another place to dig. We also
need to be aware of displacement behaviors, you suppress the digging,
but then what does the dog have to pacify or keep himself busy? How about
barking, pacing, fence jumping, etc. Now I'm not saying that this will
happen, I'm just saying it is possible, and should be taken into account
whenever you are trying to modify/change a behavior pattern that may in
many instances have a strong reinforcement history.
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