We recently put in some new landscaping in the backyard. Before the landscaping was put in my dog would always dig a hole next to the house and lay in it. Well, we now have new landscaping in this area and he is still getting into it. Thought this might be a problem so I've placed some items to try and deter him, but he simply moves them and wants to dig into the cool soil.

The mulch is scraping up his underbelly and he is messing up our nice new landscaping. He does it while we are at work and so when we get home can't scold him because its after the fact. Any ideas on what to put down in the flower bed or break him of this habit. We have a covered porch and other areas where he can stay cool, but he just like that area. Ideas anyone...

You are right about you can't scold after the fact. And you are up against a big instinct that dogs have for making shallow beds in cool dirt. And he has made a habit of it too. Hard to explain "landscaping" to a dog!

You need to deter him from the area and attract him to another simultaneously. Maybe spray some "dog off" type product from the pet store on the mulch? Or set him up to do it whilst you are home and can sneak back and catch him, then bang on a trash can lid as you growl no to him. Any chance of setting up a very appealing bed of some sort that you make a game of lying in? With lots of praise and treats for doing so, of course. Make a routine of practicing all this on nights and weekends, with you leaving to initiate it over and over. Get him into a new habit.

Good luck and I hope that offers some perspective.

Our boys love to make dirt nests too and they would always do it in places that we really didn't want them to. The best way we have found to make everyone happy is we got a kiddie pool, filled it with sand box sand and when it is going to be really hot out we wet the sand.

At first the dogs didn't know what to do in the pool, so we put some toys in it and we buried treats in the sand and everyday we would go and stand with the dogs while they dug up the treats... this way we could parise them for digging in the right spot. It only took them a few days to figure out the damp sand is so much nicer to sleep in . We put ours under a tree that gets shade all day.

Good luck

Hi,
Your lab may have to be tied up, while you are gone, at least for awhile. If "dog scent" or repellant doesn't work, then consider using a long "wire" between two posts, and tying a "leader" to it, then to your dogs collar, allowing it to run between the posts; but, not near your new landscaping.
There are techniques you can use, to train it from not going to the new area.
I highly recommend a video by Ceaser Millan, a Professional Dog Behaviorist. He rehabilitates dogs, and trains people.

He has his own TV program, the Dog Whisperer, on the NGEO (National Geographic) channel, on Friday nights mainly, but also comes on some other days. This video is available from:
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/
I also ordered his new book, "Ceaser's Way", from Walmart online, around $15 US, and it's very good!

There are other good videos available on the web, but this one is really worth your attention.

It will be hard to "break it" from a habit like this, unless you are there all the time with it. Training has to be "immediate", and persistent. That's why I recommend the "running line" attached to two posts, since you are not home all the time. I do wish you the best, and good luck.