How do you repair a hole dug in the backyard by your dog?

You will have to get some dirt and fill it in. Generally the dirt the dog dug out of the lawn is never enough to just fill the hole in. I know this from personal experience it is NEVER enough. You may want to purchase some dirt at a nursery. Then you need to plant some grass seed on the filled in hole.

(Question moved from Introductions to more appropriate topic area.)

Do you know why the dog dug the hole? Knowing that would be important so that holes being dug in the future can be prevented.

Yeah... I don't know where the dirt goes, but there is never enough to fill the hole back in! Personally, I didn't fill in the hole my dog dug (in the nice new flowerbed!), because she was trying to find a cool spot to lie, and I figured if I filled in the hole she might be inspired to dig another one somewhere else.

But if you are... get dirt, fill hole, top with seed and water it in. It's basic lawn care, the cause of the hole doesn't matter.

buck01, I find it best when I fill in a hole in the yard, to pack it as I go, bit by bit, even use a bit of water to help pack it then add the soil you have purchased or are transferring from a fence row where sometimes dirt will build up, depending on the type of area you live in. We live on the outskirts of town... was not in city limits when we first purchased the house. The neighbors had dogs that ran the fence line and we have to level the area from time to time for it to look nice and it provides dirt for filling holes. If you don't pack it, the first rain will and there will be a sunken in place that will still need to be addressed.

Our lab use to dig and find worms, our beagles dig, just for the sake of digging by their nature. One beagle digs to cover her food to save for later. We have moles and gophers on occasion in our yard. The moles burrow around through the yard but just under the surface, searching for their food supply just under the grass roots. This makes what is called a "run". Gophers dig tunnels underneath the ground, they V off here and there and if you see a little mound of dirt in your lawn, it was probably made by a gopher. Our dogs have waited until they see movement then dig a hole and catch the gophers. There are many reasons a dog might dig. Sometimes, they dig to hide special toys, sometimes, just to find a cool place to lie down in summer or as our lab did, burrowed out a place to lie down in cold weather, even though we provided a nice size dog house with a fresh bed of straw. Not all reasons can be eliminated, however, if they are digging for moles, gophers, etc. you can spray your lawn to kill the food supply, then the moles and gophers won't be in your yard.

A cute story regarding soil is that my dad, was he was getting older and didn't think as clearly as before, would need some soil to fill in holes in his yard. He would be at our house and sometimes see a mound of dirt from the activity of a gopher that we had not yet packed back down. He would say to my mother, "Well, we can just go to Jan's house. They have extra dirt." The first time I heard him say that, it took me a minute to process but he would come and we would give him dirt from the garden area. He has now passed away and I thank you for allowing me to share this story that now brings a smile to my face. :)

Use fill dirt, and tamp it down firmly. Then reseed.