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Learn How To Stop Your Dog From Excessive Digging Today!
May 11th, 2009
by Mary Smith
Welcome to this article about stopping your dog from digging. Did you know dogs just love to dig around in soft dirt. You want to have a beautiful yard and a nice garden and your dog comes along and destroys it all. It is a big disaster that you can hardly keep up with. You want a beautiful yard but your dog wants to have fun digging around. What is the best way to handle this problem?
Dogs are actually diggers by nature. Some breeds are even bred to dig as they hunt and dig out specific prey. It may be more challenging if your dog is a natural digger but you can still contain his digging behavior with a few training techniques.
Your dog digs to engage his curiosity and learn about his world. This is a good thing but it can make it difficult to have a nice yard also. You must get him to stop digging entirely or at the very least curb his digging behavior if you want to have a nice yard too.
Dogs sometimes dig because of boredom. They crave entertainment. He may be suffering from separation anxiety because you are away. Maybe he isattempting to dig out an escape route so he can leave the yard. He may even be digging for something as simple as controlling his own temperature. He may be too hot and trying to cool down or he may be too cold and trying to get warm.
If your dog is digging excessively, first off make sure that he gets plenty of playtime and interaction time with you. You can also give him some fun toys that he will enjoy and hope that they will distract him from the digging. If you give your dog a bone to chew on he will usually try to bury it so exchange any bones with chew toys or rawhide bones that he won’t bury.
Clicker training often works well to eliminate digging. Watch and see when your dog starts to dig then click the clicker to distract him, give him a command that means “no digging” and give him a treat. With some persistence and consistency, clicker training can be very effective.
You can also try to dissuade your dog from digging by filling up his hole with undesirable items. Dogs like to dig in clean dirt so if you fill up his hole with rocks or twigs and even his own poop it can stop him from digging more. You could also try to bury a balloon that will pop when he begins digging. That will scare him but it won’t hurt him and it will probably stop him from digging more.
If your dog is a natural digger you could go with the flow of his natural tendencies and train him to only dig in a certain place. This takes patience but it can be very effective once you succeed. Be consistent in your training and you can get your dog to stop digging.
Mary Smith is a devoted dog lover who teaches dog training. If you are interested in the best way to stop your dog from digging, then check out the articles by this professional dog-trainer.
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