Digging is often a nuisance, but it is an innate behavior for many dogs. Dogs dig for a number of reasons; to provide a cool place to lie, to flush out and hunt other animals, to play (because of boredom), to escape, and to investigate odors or sounds that the dog might hear.

The first step in eliminating the digging behavior is to try and determine why the dog is digging. Is he left outside alone without anything else to do? Is he trying to escape from the yard? Does he have shelter in the yard in which to stay cool?

Dogs should be closely supervised when outdoors during the first 12 - 18 months of their lives so that the owner can quickly correct digging behavior every time it occurs. A shake can (an empty soup can filled with rocks or pennies then sealed over with tape so that the dog cannot eat the rocks or pennies) is tossed next to the pet each time it starts to scratch the ground; this helps to discourage the behavior. It is important that the dog not associate the shake can with the owner, otherwise the dog will never dig in your presence and you will not be able to correct him in the act of digging.

Whenever the pet is left outdoors unsupervised, it is important to provide another activity to distract and occupy the dog, such as a large ball to push around or something to chew on (KONG toys are great for this). Increased activity (fetching, jogging, fast walking) provided two or more times daily will help use up some of your dogs penned up energy and may help in reducing the amount of time spent digging.