Digging Behavior in Dogs

If your dog likes to dig, you know that it can be a very hard habit to break.  Digging is an instinctual behavior done for a number of reasons.  Dogs dig  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. 

The first step in eliminating the digging behavior is to try and determine why your 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. One way to do this is to toss 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) next to your pet each time he starts to scratch the ground.  Make sure that your dog does not see you do this as it is important that he not associate the shake can with you. Otherwise the dog will never dig in your presence leaving you unable to correct him while in the act.

Whenever your pet is left outdoors unsupervised, it is important to provide another activity to distract and occupy him, 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 dog’s penned up energy and may also help in reducing the amount of time spent digging up your yard.