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.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

How to Stop a Dog from Digging

Well, that cute little puppy isn't so cute when he starts digging up your back yard...

One reason that dogs dig is that they are copy cats. Mimicking you is a common reason for a dog kept outside all the time. If you enjoy gardening and your dog gets to watch you have such a good time digging things up and all that, why shouldn’t he try it when he’s alone and bored?

And if you are an active gardener, chances are you’ve fertilized or put peat moss down or whatever, so when your dog digs into stuff like that, he’s rewarded by strong and different smells, too.

So here’s both a positive and negative reinforcer at work. Boredom goes away and new scents reward him. And you wonder why he continues to be a problem digger?

It may not be just you that the dog mimics you by digging. How about the example your kids set in their sandbox or the gardener that comes by every week or a cat--either yours a local hang out--teaching digging every time it uses it’s litter box or toilet. Remember, dogs are usually learning whether we’re aware of it or not.

Another reason dogs dig is that they're tempted by tastes and smells. 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.

I will be posting more of the many reasons that dogs dig -- we've gotta figure out what's causing your dog to dig before we find the solutions.

Also, here you will find more on stopping your dog from digging and stopping not only digging but also other dog behavior problems.