Dog digging garden help

[Ron]

My corgie keeps digging my mulched gardens to create a whole to lay in. I
have tried laying wire mesh a couple of inches down and that worked for a
while, but no she gets to it and pulls it out. Is there a good solution for
keeping the dog from digging spots to lay in? She is given several areas to
do this, one covered and she likes those areas as well. However, it doesn't
keep her form going to areas she shouldn't. She has been respectfully
disciplined the few times she was caught, but to no avail. What to do?

[Nicole H]

You say your dog has other places to dig... that's very important. Maybe
you cn place treats in those areas so when he digs there, he get rewarded.

One thing that usually works is to fill the hole with the dog's poop. They
usually won't dig there again... may start another hole but you just repeat
the process. I don't know if this would be a good idea in a vegetable
garden though.

What about an electric fence? That should work and would be easier than
fencing in the area.

This info should be helpful

Nicole


DIGGING HOLES

Ever since dogs were dogs, dogs have dug holes to make nests for sleeping in
at night, for keeping cool in during hot days, burying bones and hunting for
food, dogs may dig holes just for the "fun of it", just to have something to
do, to relieve stress or boredom. In fact the behaviour of digging holes has
been developed in the dog to be quite an efficient and "happy" earth mover.

Digging to a dog is a natural canine activity, there is however one common
thread to all the reasons dog's dig holes..



"Digging holes is rewarding to the dog".



When we have a problem with a dog "digging holes", its the owners that have
the problem, the dog is usually quite happy "digging holes", the real
problem for the owners is where the dog is digging the holes.

Many owners make the mistake of trying to stop the dog digging any holes at
all, by punishing the dog for digging the hole after the event, many
formulae and methods have been suggested and tried over the years to stop
dogs digging, some downright cruel, harsh and abusive, nearly all using some
form of punishment to suppress a behaviour that is not only enjoyable,
serves the immediate needs of the dog, but also has many thousand years of
reinforcement. The sad part is that some of these harsh methods actually
work and suppresses digging behaviour, the dog in many cases learns not only
"not to dig holes" but not to dig in the presence of the owner, nearly all
these methods are harmful to the relationship and trust between dog and
owner. Another aspect of using harsh methods is the danger of displacement
behaviour which may be worse and more difficult to address than the original
behaviour of digging holes.

So, how should we deal with a digging problem?, the first thing to recognise
is the cause or reason "why" the dog is digging holes, if it is for pure
pleasure, then it is easy to train the dog to dig in a sand pit, using
random rewards buried in the sand, using a sand pit would also keep the dog
from getting too dirty . It could be a habit that has been reinforced and
developed over time, in other words a trained "enjoyable" self reinforcing
behaviour, lasting long after the original cause has disappeared. Or, as is
most common, digging holes is the only release of stress that the dog can
find in many hours of lonely existence in a empty back yard, the mental
exercise alone from digging can be extremely rewarding to such a lonely dog,
but the attention lavished upon the dog on the owners return even more
rewarding, especially if the digging of holes actually "brings" the owner
home!!!. To a dog craving attention, physical and verbal abuse can be very
rewarding.

The behaviour of digging holes will decrease and eventually disappear if the
reinforcement the dog gets for digging is removed, provided that the cause
or reason why the dog is digging is removed, by enriching the dog's
environment, keeping the dog occupied with things to do (apart from digging)
during long period's of confinement, use a "kong" T stuffed with dry dog
food (and peanut butter) for your dog to find, also get a "buster cube" T to
keep your dog mentally and physically active with something to do during
long boring periods alone. Have a friendly neighbour drop a food loaded
"kong" T over the fence at odd times, allow for this food out of your dog's
normal diet. Another helpful activity for your dog is lots of exercise, your
dog will enjoy being taken out on regular walks and outings which will
reduce the effect of stress and boredom when left alone, and allow you to
enjoy your dog more.



In conclusion, to change your dog's behaviour, first recognise the cause of
the behaviour, remove this cause, and replace it with something that you
want him to do instead, reward all good behaviour, there is never a need to
punish your dog, in short "catch your dog doing it right". and reward him.

Robert Loftus

http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/rloftus/digging.htm

[Ron]

The poop is a good suggestion, no edibles in there. Thank you!

"Nicole H" > wrote in message
.. .
> You say your dog has other places to dig... that's very important. Maybe
> you cn place treats in those areas so when he digs there, he get rewarded.
>
> One thing that usually works is to fill the hole with the dog's poop.
They
> usually won't dig there again... may start another hole but you just
repeat
> the process. I don't know if this would be a good idea in a vegetable
> garden though.
>
> What about an electric fence? That should work and would be easier than
> fencing in the area.
>
> This info should be helpful
>
> Nicole
>
>
> DIGGING HOLES
>
> Ever since dogs were dogs, dogs have dug holes to make nests for sleeping
in
> at night, for keeping cool in during hot days, burying bones and hunting
for
> food, dogs may dig holes just for the "fun of it", just to have something
to
> do, to relieve stress or boredom. In fact the behaviour of digging holes
has
> been developed in the dog to be quite an efficient and "happy" earth
mover.
>
> Digging to a dog is a natural canine activity, there is however one common
> thread to all the reasons dog's dig holes..
>
>
>
> "Digging holes is rewarding to the dog".
>
>
>
> When we have a problem with a dog "digging holes", its the owners that
have
> the problem, the dog is usually quite happy "digging holes", the real
> problem for the owners is where the dog is digging the holes.
>
> Many owners make the mistake of trying to stop the dog digging any holes
at
> all, by punishing the dog for digging the hole after the event, many
> formulae and methods have been suggested and tried over the years to stop
> dogs digging, some downright cruel, harsh and abusive, nearly all using
some
> form of punishment to suppress a behaviour that is not only enjoyable,
> serves the immediate needs of the dog, but also has many thousand years of
> reinforcement. The sad part is that some of these harsh methods actually
> work and suppresses digging behaviour, the dog in many cases learns not
only
> "not to dig holes" but not to dig in the presence of the owner, nearly all
> these methods are harmful to the relationship and trust between dog and
> owner. Another aspect of using harsh methods is the danger of displacement
> behaviour which may be worse and more difficult to address than the
original
> behaviour of digging holes.
>
> So, how should we deal with a digging problem?, the first thing to
recognise
> is the cause or reason "why" the dog is digging holes, if it is for pure
> pleasure, then it is easy to train the dog to dig in a sand pit, using
> random rewards buried in the sand, using a sand pit would also keep the
dog
> from getting too dirty . It could be a habit that has been reinforced and
> developed over time, in other words a trained "enjoyable" self reinforcing
> behaviour, lasting long after the original cause has disappeared. Or, as
is
> most common, digging holes is the only release of stress that the dog can
> find in many hours of lonely existence in a empty back yard, the mental
> exercise alone from digging can be extremely rewarding to such a lonely
dog,
> but the attention lavished upon the dog on the owners return even more
> rewarding, especially if the digging of holes actually "brings" the owner
> home!!!. To a dog craving attention, physical and verbal abuse can be very
> rewarding.
>
> The behaviour of digging holes will decrease and eventually disappear if
the
> reinforcement the dog gets for digging is removed, provided that the cause
> or reason why the dog is digging is removed, by enriching the dog's
> environment, keeping the dog occupied with things to do (apart from
digging)
> during long period's of confinement, use a "kong" T stuffed with dry dog
> food (and peanut butter) for your dog to find, also get a "buster cube" T
to
> keep your dog mentally and physically active with something to do during
> long boring periods alone. Have a friendly neighbour drop a food loaded
> "kong" T over the fence at odd times, allow for this food out of your
dog's
> normal diet. Another helpful activity for your dog is lots of exercise,
your
> dog will enjoy being taken out on regular walks and outings which will
> reduce the effect of stress and boredom when left alone, and allow you to
> enjoy your dog more.
>
>
>
> In conclusion, to change your dog's behaviour, first recognise the cause
of
> the behaviour, remove this cause, and replace it with something that you
> want him to do instead, reward all good behaviour, there is never a need
to
> punish your dog, in short "catch your dog doing it right". and reward him.
>
> Robert Loftus
>
> http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/rloftus/digging.htm
>
>

[Moparholic@hotmailnospam.com]

"Ron" > wrote:
>> My corgie keeps digging my mulched gardens to create a whole to lay in.
> I have tried laying wire mesh a couple of inches down and that worked for
> a while, but no she gets to it and pulls it out. Is there a good
> solution for keeping the dog from digging spots to lay in? She is given
> several areas to do this, one covered and she likes those areas as well.
> However, it doesn't keep her form going to areas she shouldn't. She has
> been respectfully disciplined the few times she was caught, but to no
> avail. What to do?
>
Try some moth balls or flakes,the dog will hate the smell and hopefully
find some other place to lay down. Hot pepper,and/or tobacco also may work.

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[Essjay001]

Try a cattle prod!

Stephen Jay


Ron > scribbled:

> My corgie keeps digging my mulched gardens to create a whole to lay
> in. I have tried laying wire mesh a couple of inches down and that
> worked for a while, but no she gets to it and pulls it out. Is there
> a good solution for keeping the dog from digging spots to lay in?
> She is given several areas to do this, one covered and she likes
> those areas as well. However, it doesn't keep her form going to
> areas she shouldn't. She has been respectfully disciplined the few
> times she was caught, but to no avail. What to do?

[Brigitte J.]

The "poop" and the moth balls have both worked well with our digger...

Brigitte

"Ron" > wrote in message
.. .
> My corgie keeps digging my mulched gardens to create a whole to lay in. I
> have tried laying wire mesh a couple of inches down and that worked for a
> while, but no she gets to it and pulls it out. Is there a good solution
for
> keeping the dog from digging spots to lay in? She is given several areas
to
> do this, one covered and she likes those areas as well. However, it
doesn't
> keep her form going to areas she shouldn't. She has been respectfully
> disciplined the few times she was caught, but to no avail. What to do?
>
>