Digging Dog!

[LipRipper!]

I need advice!!  My WPG is outside during the day while I'm at work and when I come home, I'm always finding new holes in the backyard that he's dug.  I take him on a lot of walks and we do a fair amount of hiking around our property.  I try to burn up his energy, but at 18 months, he's got a lot! I don't know if putting something in the holes will help, because he'll probably just dig another one, but I'll try anything.  I don't know what to do other than have his ecollar on him on my day off and just watch him all day outside and try to catch him in the act, and my luck would be, he wouldn't dig.  I'd take any pointers or tricks you might have.  Thanks.

[rtspring]

Get you some cayenne pepper powder. Mix it in the dirt where he is digging..  Worked great for my lab..   

[jackelope]

I used to bury dog poop in the holes where my dog was digging. That stopped him from digging there, but he'd just go dig somewhere else.
In reality, he's digging because he's bored....and unless you find a way around that, it's probably not going to change.
 

[CAMPMEAT]

One of my female Rotts used to do that. I came home one day, drug her over to the new hole, grabbed a handful of dirt and put it in her mouth. I held her mouth shut until she started gasping for air, success ! Never again, any more holes.

[jackmaster]

thats funny i was gonna start the same exact thread, my little female lab is doing the same thing, i think she thinks she is helping me out because she is always so proud of how much earth she has excavated, she dont understand while i am pissed and filling her bomb craters back in, i winder if she thinks she is digging up moles and just having zero luck and catching any  great idea rtspring, gonna try it

[AspenBud]

Crate your dog while you're away or build a kennel run with a concrete pad.

[vandeman17]

Crate your dog while you're away or build a kennel run with a concrete pad.

 

[Brad Harshman]

Its what they do.  Get a kennel, pour a slab.  They'll adjust to being kenneled and you quit filling in holes.  Its about the only thing you can do. 

[jackmaster]

Its what they do.  Get a kennel, pour a slab.  They'll adjust to being kenneled and you quit filling in holes.  Its about the only thing you can do.

well that kinda sucks for the dog to be cooped up in a kennel all day when they have acres and acres of woods and a lake to go swimmin in when its hot, i like that she can mess around during the day and play in the woods, just curious if there is a way to make it where she doesnt dig holes in the lawn

[vandeman17]

Its what they do.  Get a kennel, pour a slab.  They'll adjust to being kenneled and you quit filling in holes.  Its about the only thing you can do.

well that kinda sucks for the dog to be cooped up in a kennel all day when they have acres and acres of woods and a lake to go swimmin in when its hot, i like that she can mess around during the day and play in the woods, just curious if there is a way to make it where she doesnt dig holes in the lawn

I have a dog run for my dogs. It is about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide with an igloo in it. It is big enough they can get up and walk around, get a drink of water etc. It is also covered and protected. Most dogs will sleep 90% of the day while we are at work but it is that 10% of the day when they are bored I protect against. I also let me dogs out about 5:45 in the morning until about 8:45 and then they are back out again by about 5:15 until bedtime so they have 7-8 hours a day out of the kennel to do as they please.

[JJD]

Its what they do.  Get a kennel, pour a slab.  They'll adjust to being kenneled and you quit filling in holes.  Its about the only thing you can do.

well that kinda sucks for the dog to be cooped up in a kennel all day when they have acres and acres of woods and a lake to go swimmin in when its hot, i like that she can mess around during the day and play in the woods, just curious if there is a way to make it where she doesnt dig holes in the lawn

I have a dog run for my dogs. It is about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide with an igloo in it. It is big enough they can get up and walk around, get a drink of water etc. It is also covered and protected. Most dogs will sleep 90% of the day while we are at work but it is that 10% of the day when they are bored I protect against. I also let me dogs out about 5:45 in the morning until about 8:45 and then they are back out again by about 5:15 until bedtime so they have 7-8 hours a day out of the kennel to do as they please.

 

[LipRipper!]

Thanks for the help!  I don't really want to pour a concrete slab, but a run would at least contain where he digs if he keeps it up.  I just like him to be able to run around and play during the day while I'm at work.  Maybe I'll try best of both worlds and fill the holes with dog crap covered in cayenne pepper.  We'll see what happens.  Thanks again.

[REHJWA]

Thanks for the help!  I don't really want to pour a concrete slab, but a run would at least contain where he digs if he keeps it up.  I just like him to be able to run around and play during the day while I'm at work.  Maybe I'll try best of both worlds and fill the holes with dog crap covered in cayenne pepper.  We'll see what happens.  Thanks again.

If you don't want to pour a slab , we've used 12 inch pavers for years. They work great.

[h2ofowlr]

Crate your dog while you're away or build a kennel run with a concrete pad.

 

I unfortunately had to do this as well with my two labs.  I would love to let them run all the time, but they cost me way to much money with all the crap they chew up, holes they dig and trails they make running back and fourth all day.  Along with all the plants they chew down and rip out.  It was a kennel or they would have to go. 

[AspenBud]

Crate your dog while you're away or build a kennel run with a concrete pad.

 

I unfortunately had to do this as well with my two labs.  I would love to let them run all the time, but they cost me way to much money with all the crap they chew up, holes they dig and trails they make running back and fourth all day.  Along with all the plants they chew down and rip out.  It was a kennel or they would have to go.

There are other things to consider. Dogs loose in the yard while you are away can escape, they can be stolen, can be shot, and they can be poisoned. That doesn't even include anything they could get into or do that could put them at risk within the boundaries of the yard all by themselves. A crate or kennel run keeps them somewhat secure and out of trouble.

A big yard where the dog can hang out as much as it wants when you are home is more important than leaving it out all day when you are away. On a fenced half acre my dogs gladly sleep most of the time when loose, pretty much what they do when they are in their crates. They just need space to run and blow off steam when I am home.

[dontgetcrabs]

Its what they do.  Get a kennel, pour a slab.  They'll adjust to being kenneled and you quit filling in holes.  Its about the only thing you can do.

well that kinda sucks for the dog to be cooped up in a kennel all day when they have acres and acres of woods and a lake to go swimmin in when its hot, i like that she can mess around during the day and play in the woods, just curious if there is a way to make it where she doesnt dig holes in the lawn

Kinda sucks for a man to be kenneled all day in a cubical too, but somehow we survive.   

[Lingcod]

He is still a puppy, my dog grew out of digging holes around 3yr. I also burried his poop in holes he dug, stopped him from digging in the same holes. I believe with work he will grow out of digging. if you have lots of property and want to keep him busy while you're away, raise and release rabbits....Or get him a buddy

[good2go]

Trick I heard. Put a balloon in one of the holes and cover it with fresh grass clippings. Dog digs BOOM land mine. You are no where around for him to think you are responsible. Trainer I heard it from said he has never had to do it more than twice. Don't let the dog see you set the trap and don't be around when he goes in to dig. I would have to watch from inside the house though. Has to be fun to watch.

[salmonchaser]

Last spring our two 4month old GSP bitches watched the wife plant bulbs in her garden. The next day they dug them up, piled them on the wife's deck chair. I swear to God both were sitting on the deck waiting for her to plant them again.

[wildmanoutdoors]

I have a sure fire method but its brutal but works like a charm. We had to do this with a couple Springers.
First though to work you need to catch him in the act. Scold the dog once caught and fill the hole with water. Then hold his head till he is suckin for air. Usaully only takes once. Rarely twice.

[Fowlweather25]

Go to one of his to dig sites blow up a balloon and spread peanut butter on the upward side. Bury the balloon in the hole and wait. Dog will smell the peanut butter start digging. The balloon will pop in the dogs face and that usually only takes once or twice.

[chiefeng]

If you don't want to pour concrete what I have done in the past was lay down chicken wire and then cover it with dirt or wood chips they can't dig through it so they stop digging.In a dog run of course