# Digging holes in my yard



## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

My 5 month old pup Thor loves to dig holes. He's always hunting for rocks, or roots, anything he can get his mouth on. 
Case in point,







Every time I catch him, I give him a firm no and pull him away, but often times he just goes right back to digging. I now have about 10 different holes in my yard, mostly around the fence line in the back, but also around the tree, a tree stump, and my patio stones. 

Not only does my yard look terrible, but then he tracks dirt all in my house. Any ideas on how to make the digging stop?


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## WGSD Nikko (Jul 24, 2013)

Does he have a lot of toys out there? I am no expert, but my 5 month old digs when he is bored and is looking for something to do. He also loves chasing bugs and that has made him dig after them. I have just had to find a toy he loves and let him spend his time chewing on that instead of getting in trouble digging and redirecting him when he stops playing and starts digging. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

WGSD Nikko said:


> Does he have a lot of toys out there? I am no expert, but my 5 month old digs when he is bored and is looking for something to do. He also loves chasing bugs and that has made him dig after them. I have just had to find a toy he loves and let him spend his time chewing on that instead of getting in trouble digging and redirecting him when he stops playing and starts digging.
> 
> He's always supervised outside, and lots of time we're playing, but if I take 5 minutes to check my phone or to smoke a cigarette/drink a cup of coffee, he runs to the back of the yard and digs.
> 
> ...


I know the toys migrate from house to yard to house and back and forth, so sometimes there are more toys than others. I'll make sure to bring more toys outside though as needed and continue to redirect. 

He also does do the bug chasing, and one of the holes is the result of digging up a fairly active ant hill. And the chasing of bees, I'm surprised he hasn't gotten himself stung yet haha. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## jang (May 1, 2011)

Throw some of his own poop in the hole and cover it...Of course that won't stop him from digging another!!! But it worked for Sib...


----------



## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

jang said:


> Throw some of his own poop in the hole and cover it...Of course that won't stop him from digging another!!! But it worked for Sib...


Might be worth a try, will save on poop bags too 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## brightspot (Apr 18, 2013)

I have a designated digging area for my pup. It works about 90% of the time -- he's 5 months old and doesn't always follow the rules. :smirk: We cleared away the grass in a 3x5 foot area. We "salted" the area with toys and treats and buried sticks. (There are worms he likes to dig for!) We kept the area moist for a while so the smells were intensified. We redirected him to the area when he started to dig in an inappropriate place. I pretended to dig, too!


----------



## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Either keep him on leash, or give him a designated area where he is allowed to dig.


----------



## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

I like the idea of a designated spot! I'm always in the yard with him, supervising and playing with him, the digging usually starts when I take 5 minutes to check my phone or to have a smoke/drink my coffee and am not actively playing with him. So I could see the boredom thing. So continued redirection is ideal, and a designated digging spot would help immensely 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## marshies (May 18, 2011)

I take my dog to the local kid park after hours to dig. Children's playgrounds often have sand, and I teach that it's appropriate to dig there but not in the yard but constantly saying NO when digging and removing her from the hole, and initiating digging when she's in the sand pit.


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

your dog can't dig if your watching him. place a few towels on the
floor. place the towels in different areas around the house. we taught
(actually our neighbor taught our dog to spin on command when entering
the house). he spins on command on the towels or the throw rug in front of the front door and the back door.




Chantald said:


> My 5 month old pup Thor loves to dig holes. He's always hunting for rocks, or roots, anything he can get his mouth on.
> Case in point,
> View attachment 116162
> 
> ...


----------



## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

doggiedad said:


> your dog can't dig if your watching him. place a few towels on the
> floor. place the towels in different areas around the house. we taught
> (actually our neighbor taught our dog to spin on command when entering
> the house). he spins on command on the towels or the throw rug in front of the front door and the back door.


I'll have to try this spin on command thing to shake the dirt off. We do have a mat outside our back door which helps with the dirt, but the spinning and wiping paws would be excellent! I'll find a way to do that! 

And I swear I'm watching him like 95% of the time! It's those few brief moments where I'm checking my text messages or I run in the house to pour a cup of coffee. Or if I take a break to sit down in a patio chair, he'll run to other end of the yard and the digging starts. And then once he starts, when I remove him, he just goes right back for the holes, and he's still sharky so I get covered in mud and dirt in the process. It's definitely a sight! I've gotten some really funny pictures of him in the process atleast? 

Thanks for all the suggestions though everyone, immensely helpful!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## PixelGalileo (Sep 19, 2013)

Echo my Shepherd has never been a digger
My 2 Huskies on the other hand have made my back garden look like a bomb testing site.
However. . . 
Echo has worn away most of the grass from running chasing balls


----------



## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

PixelGalileo said:


> Echo my Shepherd has never been a digger
> My 2 Huskies on the other hand have made my back garden look like a bomb testing site.
> However. . .
> Echo has worn away most of the grass from running chasing balls


Too funny! I'm glad I'm not one of those people whose overly attached to the idea of having the nicest yard in the neighbourhood or anything. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------

