[Pacosmomie]

Hi guys, I'm wondering if anyone has some advice on digging.
My husband just layed some new sod in our backyard a week ago and Paco is obsessed with digging up this one patch of it. We have the new section roped off, but of course he can just jump right over the ropes. I have been going out with him to supervise but 2 days ago I had to leave him alone in backyard for 10 minutes and he dug up a 2 X 2 size patch of grass. We were able to kind of fix it up, (though my husband was livid) but this morning he did it again in the same exact spot. I was out with him and the phone rang, I went inside for about 5 minutes. I came back and caught him in the act, he looked so guilty before I even said anything, and I told him bad boy and made him go inside and straight to his bed.  He never dug in the grass before we layed the sod and he is only interested in this one spot.  I'll be going to Home Depot to by more sod to patch it up but I really don't want to keep doing this. He isn't outside a whole lot(he's a house baby), but the weather here is so nice, 70 degrees, and I would like him to be able to go out and get some sun once in a while without me having to babysit every second. He has the whole other side of the yard to play in and a ton of fun toys out there.  If anyone has any sugestions about how to stop this behavior I would be thrilled. Thanks.

 

[15842]

Until you can trust him to not dig, you will have to baby sit or be prepared for him to dig.  Ringer usually only digs to get at cat or rabbit poop.  If it is only in that one spot, is there something buried there that he finds delectable?

 

[DUKE01]

Did he maybe bury one of his toys there? If it is only in one spot there might be something there he wants or likes.  My dog used to dig too but it was all over the yard not just in one spot.  You might check it out, see if he buried something there.

 

[Zhanna]

[quote="DUKE01\";p=\"85332":jrbt0312]Did he maybe bury one of his toys there? If it is only in one spot there might be something there he wants or likes.

 

[Pacosmomie]

We live in Fresno, CA.  I thought the same thing as far as something being burried but I couldn't find anything.  Maybe you are right about the sod having a smell he likes, it is only one one piece so maybe a cat or something got on that particular piece. he really doesn't like cats much. Thanks for the advice. I guess I'm just going to have to resign myself to babysitting outside a lot. He's driving me crazy but right now he's giving me such an adorable look that makes it worth it.

 

[Doodle-Doggie]

I've noticed from reading soome of the post on this website that i don't do things like a lot of you so this may sound weird.  My 14 month old, Max, decided that digging this one spot in the yard was fun.  I would scold him when cought in the act and of course he was so sorry, but he'd go back and do it again and again.  Out of frustration one day, i picked up a pile of poo (with the shovel!) and put it in the hole.  He hasn't done it again, i guess it's not so fun when it's your bathroom too!

 

[DUKE01]

I think Duke would either move it or eat it   then would continue digging but that is a good suggestion.....I would like to know if it works for anyone else.

 

[teewee]

I have a suggestion........  

get a small section of chain link fence and lay it over the spot he/she keeps digging.   If it's just this one spot, perhaps another animal has used it as a bathroom and he/she can smell that scent and doesn't like it in his/her yard.   USUALLY, (but, we know our Boxers are different) if you lay the chain link in that spot dogs are less likely to walk on it since it's hard to get your footing AND it still lets light/air, etc. through so your sod can take hold.

Good luck!!!

 

[misskassy]

I find the poo thing really works if you put it in the hole, also have heard from a trainer to blow up a balloon and put it in the hole and cover it with a bit of dirt, then when they dig the balloon pops and the get a big fright and associate the fright with digging. Haven't tried that one myself though

 

[nano]

I have used my dogs poop in holes they were digging also and it was very effective.

Nano

 

[samsonsmom]

I noticed when I went out in the yard this morning that there were a few holes and of course I asked Marq, who had been digging while I was gone, assuming it was Angel..Well it turns out that a skunk has been in the yard and my kiddos have been digging furiously trying to locate the critter that left the scent. 8O ..Not saying it's a skunk, but something to think about

 

[HannaBanana]

If you have a serious digger - build him a sandbox specifically for digging.    This way he knows where is allowed to dig.  It will hopefully divert him from the areas where he currently is now.

 

[Barbs2Ks]

[quote="Doodle-Doggie\";p=\"85407":fuljlpf8]I've noticed from reading soome of the post on this website that i don't do things like a lot of you so this may sound weird.

 

[Pacosmomie]

I'm going to try the poop thing, my husband is going to patch the sod today and he's going to put some poop underneath. Kind of gross but I hope it works. For now we are taking him out front on a leash a lot and watching him close. He acts like he's in prison. :wink:

 

[AshleysMom]

We had an issue a couple weeks ago with Ashley also..digging random spots about the yard. I know most of this is boredom on her part ( guess she wants Moms attention 24/7, but if I did that..I'm afraid my home would be condemed from never getting anything cleaned!)
We spoke to a friend who had the same issue, and he suggested either the poo thing.. yucky but effective, or if you take ground black pepper and srprinkle it in the hole, the scent throws them. Believe it or not..the pepper worked beautifully! I DID hear a couple sneezes when she first found the spots, but the behaviour ceased. Guess a back yard smelling like that beats a poo factory any day!...Worth a try, as it won't hurt your grass, or plants either :lol:

 

[BucsFan]

OK having the same problem with Dempsey he is digging up the entire back yard, today he dug up a wire that looks like it goes to the meter on the side of the house. Is chewing on trees, founds a sheet of plywood in the backyard have know idea where it came from that he is chewing on. Wife says it looks like a war zone in the back yard. everything and anything seems to be fair game. Help help help?

 

[maplesfolks]

Maple doesn't dig, but she does try to chew everything! our house is under construction so there are a few places where there is scraps on materials, the first week she was here we only took her to the yard on the leash, now I want to let her run around off leash, but after about 10 mins of playing with "legal" toys she starts to snatch up stuff she isn't allowed at which point I either put her back on a leash or bring her in, when she is on a leash I watch her like a hawk and when she goes for something she isn't allowed I tell her no, and if she already snatched it up I pull it out of her mouth.  fun i know lol

 

[Georgiapeach]

The poop idea sounds nasty, but great!  Duke likes to dig up my azalea bushes and dig holes next to our privacy fence.  I hope it works!  I don't leave him outside by himself, due to his digging.