Thursday, October 9, 2008

Why Do Dogs Dig?

Here you have more reasons for dog and puppy digging.

Predation or the pursuit of prey can lead to your dog or puppy digging in your yard. If your yard is full of gophers or moles or any other animal that digs holes, your dog will think going after them is a great way to spend some time!

If he catches them, it’s not only fun and exciting, but he’s rewarded with a free meal. Even if he doesn’t catch them, it’s still more fun that being bored. Can you imagine a dog alone in the yard ignoring a shot at such fun?

In female dogs, nesting is another motive for problem digging, especially if the dog isn’t spayed. Sometimes even a spayed bitch heeds the seasonal call, but this is more common in intact females.

Also, people have been known to bury some pretty strange stuff in their gardens for fertilizer. My neighbor innocently buried a bunch of fish heads in his beautiful garden--never giving it a thought because he doesn’t own companion animals.

Since then, every cat in the neighborhood visits his self-serve fast food diner, thereby driving a lot of dogs nuts in the process. My dogs would like to get at that stuff, too; I’m sure that they would explore my garden if I buried such goodies there.

The most obvious reward for dog digging is freedom. The dog digs his way out of the yard or a run. That’s a whole lot of reward for a few minutes hard work!

Another reward is buried treasure--a bone or toy cached away for just such an eventuality. Burying them in the first place is another reason to dig. Your dog can even be rewarded for digging up a bone buried by the previous dog that lived there.

You will find more causes for problem dog digging and various behavioral techniques to stop it in my ebook, Dr. Dog's FAST, EASY, FUN Behavior Solutions.

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