[J_9]

Ruby and Labman, I have a dog, Kimmie, she is half lab and half either rott or dobie. Well, anyway, we cannot get her to stop digging up the back yard.

She seems like she knows she is doing wrong because she looks up at the house before proceeding to dig. If she sees one of us she just mosies along until she doesn't see us.

She is a very sweet and affectionate dog. All we have to say is Kimmie and she stops.

But the holes are getting larger and deeper.

Any advice guys?

[mrscoltweaver]

I'm not labman or ruby but here goes... get another dog! Most dogs do this out of boredom. My golden did this no matter WHAT we tried-and I've worked in the field of veterinary medicine for 11 years so I was receiving some good advice. As soon as we got another dog, he was happy and no more digging.

[Sodium]

Yeah That's true mrscoltweaver. My neighbours had a dog and my dog loved to play with him, so to stop him from digging we make a break in the fence so the other dog could come in and play with my dog, But now the dog is moved somewhere else, and my dog is digging, but he doesn't dig up the grass, he digs up the sand we put out there for him to dig up. I hope I was some help =] :S

[J_9]

She is one of 3 that we have and part of the family. So, she is not bored. She has a sister who is a Lab Aussie mix and a sister who is a full blooded basset hound. She is far from bored.

Can't afford a 4th dog.

So getting another dog is not a solution at this point.

[mrscoltweaver]

That's unusal then. The only other time I had the problem was if it was hot and dog was seeking cooler earth to lay in. One trick the vet recommended was to put the dog's poop in every hole they tried to dig... helpful but gross!

[Jessyfay]

My dog loves to dig too! I have a mini doxie and it's in there breed to dig. I have the same problem! I have stopped him a little bit by taking him to the local dog park and let him dig there. TEE HEE and he loves to dig in the gravel at the playgrounds.
SUGGESTION_ Maybe invest in a cheap sandbox or have a corner of the yard where you encourage him to dig, that way he has somewhere to give in to his digging urges :)

[J_9]

Well, our town is so small it does not have a dog park... We have to drive 70 miles to the nearest one.

Our backyard is over an acre, so it is hard to just designate one small spot where she can dig so that she understands that is the ONLY place she can dig.

[J_9]

Ruby, Labman? Got any ideas?

[RubyPitbull]

Sorry, J_9, just saw your post, my lovely monkey friend. There are a few reasons dogs dig. As mentioned by others here, it can be out of boredom, she is looking for a way to cool down (dig a hole and you find the earth is cooler), if you have moles, or any other animal that burrows in your yard, the dog is going to dig. She just may have a stronger digging instinct than the others. How old is she compared to your others? Whatever the age, she is probably a much higher energy dog than the others and playing with them is just not cutting it for her.

She needs someone or something to tire her out more than what is happening now. She just may need to have a little more attention from her people family rather than the other dogs. Added walks and play time will help tire her out. I know it has been hot in your neck of the woods. If you don't have one, consider getting a kiddie pool and making sure it is filled with cool water. Is there a sheltered area she can go to outside? She needs to be able find shade and to get out of the glaring sun. And of course, plenty of fresh water needs to be available for all of them to drink. Jessyfay mentioned something that a lot of people use, a sandbox. Get a few kongs and/or favorite toys of hers, treats that she likes, and bury them in the sandbox. Make sure she sees you do it. Then, encourage her to find the treat. When she finds the treat, praise her loudly. You will need to be patient and keep reburying toys or fresh treats. What you are doing is training her to dig just in that area. It may take a while but eventually, she will make the connection that something good is to be found only in that sandbox. Every day, you will have to bury things for her to find. It is a small price to pay to ensure that your lawn is not torn up.

If you do all the things mentioned, there will be enough activities to keep her busy and it should resolve the problem. Let me know how it is going and if there are any problems or more questions. :)

[J_9]

Let's see. Mick (Aussie mix) is 6 years old, Kimmie (lab mix) is 4 years and Lou (bassett hound) is 2 1/2.

They are indoor dogs for the most part. Lou is the only one who we call nature girl cause she LOVES the outdoors.

Mick and Kimmie are the nature wimps because they HATE the heat and the cold.

We do have a sandbox, but not yet a kiddie pool. Yes, it has been warm here, but the past few days have only been around 45.

She gets MOST of the attention from her people. She is a funny dog. We call her Ferdinand the Bull because she is so BIG and loveable and takes time to smell the flowers.

She digs mainly around the roots of a couple of BIG trees we have in the back yard. I don't mind cause that is pretty much the only place she digs, but hubby thinks it may damage the root system.

Here is a pic of Kimmie, she is smiling. She smiles when she comes in from outdoors.

[RubyPitbull]

J_9. GREAT PIC! LMAO. My little westie that I had growing up used to do the same thing. First time it happened I thought she was snarling and about to bite. Nope, she was just happy to see me and lifted the front dog lip. Weirdest freaking thing I had ever seen.

Okay, if she is really only digging around the root system of the tree, you have critters living under and around there. She has a pretty good "sniffer". Does this happen all through the summer or pretty much in the fall through the springtime. If it is fall to spring, the critters are in there and Kimmie is trying to get to them.

She looks like a rottie/lab mix to me. But, without seeing a full side body shot, hard to tell.

[J_9]

We thought she was Rott en Lab, LOL.

Yes, the first time she did this I thought she was snarling. Now she just smiles all the time.

This happens mostly in the spring, abates a while in the summer, a little in the fall.

What kind of critters could I have there?

[RubyPitbull]

Moles, mice, chipmunks are the likely suspects.

[labman]

There are some questions that come up again and again, but never seem to get a good answer. The only thing I have seen that I think might work is the 3 hour daily walk. I doubt many people have time for that. I think a rake is the best solution, use it to try to fill the holes back in before you mow. I did train my Daisy not to dig in the yard. I gave her a couple of verbal corrections for it. Once you did that with anything, you wouldn't see the behavior again. Sweethearts like her are few and far between. I haven't even tried it with any of my other puppies.

[RubyPitbull]

Yes, labman, it is hard to find 3 hrs during a day to walk a dog.

I suddenly realized, although a slightly different problem, I had found some web sites for AkaeTrue when her neighbor's dog was relieving himself in her garden. J_9 since it is tree root systems only, you might want to read through the post for the links I gave her for natural repellents, and then the last post in which she talks about what her husband found that was akin to what I had suggested. She told me at another time that it did seem to be working. I think in the case of your dog, if you sprinkle or spray it (it is sort of a natural liquid repellent) around the base of the trees, after a while she may stop going there altogether. You will just have to keep reapplying it until she associates the offensive odor to the trees. Here is the link:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/p...ers-70424.html

The other thing I found is called the garden ghost. I don't know how many trees you are talking about so it may wind up being a bit on the expensive side in the end, but I thought you might want to look at it.

Garden Ghost Animal Repellant System

[J_9]

Oh, I hate to make my girl sneeze and cough using the different peppers, but if it will save my oaks and not hurt my girl, then that may be what I have to do. But the area is SO LARGE!!

She is just a digger. I hate to scold her, she gets so embarrassed and smiles at me, then stretches, wags her tail and slowly comes in the door. You can't help but love her. But I love my trees too.

I scolded her this morning and she tried to hide her 110lb body under by dresser. LOL

Never laid a hand on her mind you just said sternly "KIMMIE WERE YOU DIGGING???" And she tried to hide under the dresser.

[RubyPitbull]

J_9, if you don't catch her in the middle of it, she doesn't have clue as to what you are scolding her about. Even though we would like to think they do, they just don't get it. All she knows is that you are scolding.

I wasn't suggesting the pepper honey. I was suggesting one of the liquid fence or other natural products. I don't think they have pepper in them, do they? That sounds like too big an area to be spreading and reapplying pepper in. I don't think you should do that.

You do need to catch her in the act and tell her "NO!" and stop her from doing it. If you can do that enough times, she may get the picture, as labman was suggesting he did with his dog. But, it is so hard to get them to connect that particular problem. Sometimes, those wonderful smells just override all the training. LOL

[J_9]

I almost ALWAYS catch her in the act. We always catch her in the act, but she does not seem to get it.

[RubyPitbull]

Yes, she just can't help following that nose of hers. LOL

[J_9]

Maybe if I give her my cold. LOL

Well, I guess I will think of something, she is a little dense, but so sweet. It is SOOOOO funny because so many people are so afraid of her when they see her. The just don't know how sweet she is.

The scolding works for a day or so, then she forgets.