How To Avoid Your Dog From Digging
If you’re having a ruff time reining in your furry friend from digging up your entire yard, then you’re reading the right post. As much as we love our dogs, we also enjoy having a yard that doesn’t look like a crash site or the bark side of the moon! With that said, we will now take a look at the best tips that will help you to stop your dog from digging.
Fence Off Digging Areas
In the event that your dog only digs specific areas of your yard repeatedly, then an easy fix would be to simply fence off those areas. You can use a simple flexible barrier such as x-pen panels or you can even use a more natural barrier such as thorny bushes, rose bushes etc. Alternatively, you can also bury a couple of flat rocks under the digging areas or even bury chicken wire if that is more easily accessible to you. Another option would be to use a sprinkler system that activates when there is motion in the area, especially if your furry friend dislikes water.
Provide Sufficient Distraction
Digging is a normal behaviour in dogs and as a result, you can stop your dog from digging up your yard by providing suitable distractions or other ways that they can channel their digging instincts. For example, you can create a sand box where they can dig as much as they want. All you will need is a large box that is easy for your dog to step into and out of and then fill it with sand. Then, find a good position for the sand box in your yard and train your dog so that they know they can only dig in the sand box and nowhere else.
Work Off Excess Energy
Another reason why dogs dig or do any other type of undesirable behaviour is because they are bored, have excess energy and are not getting enough attention and daily exercise. As a result, you can easily address their excess digging by walking your furry companions every day, playing with them regularly, taking them out swimming etc. Dogs, just like humans get bored and if they don’t have an outlet to release energy, then you can expect a lot of bad behaviour. Even if you don’t have time to play and walk your dog yourself, you should be able to easily hire a dog walker for around £10 per hour.
Provide Comfort & Protection
One other common reason why dogs dig is because they’re hot and they dig in order to lie down in the cool dirt. Additionally, they may also dig to create a shelter from the cold, rain etc. You can easily determine if your dog is digging for these reasons because they will lay in the hole they created and if your yard doesn’t have any spaces for them to get protection from the elements. So, this issue can be easily addressed by providing them with outdoor shelter or even just bringing them into your home more often.
Conclusion
To wrap things up, we have just looked at how you can stop your dog from digging. With that said, having a healthy diet will also help your dog to feel happier, more comfortable and reduce unwanted behaviours, so be sure to check out some of our best wet dog food.