Stop Your Dog From Digging In The Garden - 4 Tips From The Experts
Gardens are the best playground for dogs. The ground is soft and full of rodents or moles and other creepy crawlies. Of course you should stop your dog from digging in the garden by all means, but do give him something else to do or somewhere else to dig.
Gardens are the best playground for dogs. The ground is soft and full of rodents or moles and other creepy crawlies. Of course you should stop your dog from digging in the garden by all means, but do give him something else to do or somewhere else to dig.
Your garden is the perfect area for your dog to run around and grow up in. He will get to know every inch of it and will know exactly where to dig for moles or mice and bugs. If you don't show him an alternative then he will just carry on digging because he doesn't know better.
Here are a few practical tips to keep him from digging:
1. Usually when we are working in the garden our dogs see this as a game. He will also start digging around where you work and just can't dig fast enough to get to the prize. It's cute to see but destructive to your plants. Have your garden hose ready with the sprinkler attached. Get up slowly and turn on the tap to full blast. The water will gush out onto him and he will stop digging. You will have to persist a few times with this. In a while he will think it is the sprinkler who is unhappy with him and not you. He should stop digging after a while.
2. If your hose does not do the trick then you can always invest in a good long distance water pistol. You need to follow your dog around the garden while he is digging in various places. Aim at it's head, taking care not to squirt too much water into his eyes. As soon as he starts digging, squirt onto his head. Do not say anything, just keep on squirting every time he digs. Here again he will think it's the water telling him to stop and not you.
3. Does your dog seem hyperactive or does he chew destructively? He could be bored and then he could be digging without really chasing anything. You need to take him out of his surroundings for a least an hour to two hours a day. Dogs need change of sights and smells to stimulate them mentally. Try to build up a sense of expectation in your dog for his long walks with you. He will tend to rather wait to get out than dig up your flowers.
4. Lastly, try giving him his own patch of garden to dig and play in. Make it attractive for him by burying treasures like toys and bones in his area. Get excited when you show him how to dig them up. This will become a really nice way to Stop your dog from digging in the garden, as he will discover his own playground is much better fun than yours.
Gardens are the best playground for dogs. The ground is soft and full of rodents or moles and other creepy crawlies. Of course you should stop your dog from digging in the garden by all means, but do give him something else to do or somewhere else to dig.
Your garden is the perfect area for your dog to run around and grow up in. He will get to know every inch of it and will know exactly where to dig for moles or mice and bugs. If you don't show him an alternative then he will just carry on digging because he doesn't know better.
Here are a few practical tips to keep him from digging:
1. Usually when we are working in the garden our dogs see this as a game. He will also start digging around where you work and just can't dig fast enough to get to the prize. It's cute to see but destructive to your plants. Have your garden hose ready with the sprinkler attached. Get up slowly and turn on the tap to full blast. The water will gush out onto him and he will stop digging. You will have to persist a few times with this. In a while he will think it is the sprinkler who is unhappy with him and not you. He should stop digging after a while.
2. If your hose does not do the trick then you can always invest in a good long distance water pistol. You need to follow your dog around the garden while he is digging in various places. Aim at it's head, taking care not to squirt too much water into his eyes. As soon as he starts digging, squirt onto his head. Do not say anything, just keep on squirting every time he digs. Here again he will think it's the water telling him to stop and not you.
3. Does your dog seem hyperactive or does he chew destructively? He could be bored and then he could be digging without really chasing anything. You need to take him out of his surroundings for a least an hour to two hours a day. Dogs need change of sights and smells to stimulate them mentally. Try to build up a sense of expectation in your dog for his long walks with you. He will tend to rather wait to get out than dig up your flowers.
4. Lastly, try giving him his own patch of garden to dig and play in. Make it attractive for him by burying treasures like toys and bones in his area. Get excited when you show him how to dig them up. This will become a really nice way to Stop your dog from digging in the garden, as he will discover his own playground is much better fun than yours.
About the Author:
About the author: Remco van Reenen helps people to train their dog and on his website hondentraining.nu you can find all sorts of tips. You can also get all sort of tools to make training your dog easy in the section puppytraining