How should I keep my dog from digging?
This is a question that we often get from sitters and owners who work with Rover. Help the community out by answering them in our forum!
2 Answers
Digging is one of those behaviors that has multiple motivations so knowing how best to stop it requires knowing why the dog is digging. Is it because he's hot and wants to get cool? Then address that need in another way. Is he "bored"? Then enrich his environment, bring him inside more often. Our setter Coral loved to dig - part of her motivation was to dig herself a comfortable little pit to lie in. We provided her with multple comfy beds, which she would use some of the time, but other times she just preferred to lay in the dirt. Go figure So - we gave her her own digging area - bounded it with some pavers, and added some sand to make the soil very loose and easy to dig in. That way, she used that area rather than parts of the yard we didn't want her to dig in. So - management, meeting the need for the digging in other ways, and creating her own space to dig that is easy to dig in
Keep your dogs nails very short (close to the quick). That way digging can be such a discomfort that they quit.
Comments
I am a bit uncomfortable with the nail solution.....even professionals can cut to close to the quick thus opening chances for infection, but that's me! I have a yard so I put in a kids pool in a spot with sand. I hide different bones, maybe 2-3x's a week when I check for any "accidents".
I would agree - I would NOT recommend this. If the dog's nails hurt when he digs that means the quick is exposed and that's not a humane way to approach the problem IMO
A natural, safe, easily-available kitchen spice like paprika, red chili flakes or even cinnamon can prevent a dog from digging if added to the dirt or parcel of previously affected land!