Digging :(

[DnCs]

i have just moved my pups out side on to there chains there 7months old, i have never had a digging prob befor , but now the pups mum and the pups have started to dig up my gardens and make holes in the yard . for the last week i've been having a go at them for doing it but they just dont care . what can i do to stop this from happening? they have toys out there so its not boredom and there not digging cooling pits when it's hot and warming pits when it's cold coz they dont lay in the holes they just dig them and walk away

[miakoda]

Despite the toys being out there, they are bored. Digging is a form of self-stimulation & entertainment for them.

How often are you walking them? (i.e.-how many times a day for what length of time or distance) How often are you out there interacting with them?

[DnCs]

i walk them two times a day, 45min walk in the morning and 45min walk at night. i interact with them at least 4 times a day for 10min each dog i.e mill, spring poll, play. am i spending to much time with them could thet be why?
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[lockjaw]

digging is pretty normal..i kind of like when they do it ..it builds up their chest and sholders..just keep refilling the holes and give them some old carpet to tear up...they look so happy with a face full of mud.

[DnCs]

the prob is i rent i dont own the home, so im trying to solve the the prob so ican keep my dogs

[Chopper4me]

My dog digs as well. matter of fact he had to have a bath last night becasue of it. They are just being dogs, the only way they won't dig up your yard is if you don't leave them out there! I don't ever leave my dog outside unattended. I used too and thats when he did the most digging. When i had my female she would dig under the fence so the male could get out being as she was too large to fit!

[game_test]

aside from kenneling the dogs, there isnt anything you can do. soon you will look out and see them laying in the holes they dug too. its just the nature of the bulldog bro.

[rocksteady]

what you need to do is set up an area they CAN dig in .. If they are digging in their chain spaces well you can try making a sort of sand box for them (you dont have to use sand..). The hard part is you have to watch them to correct them and redirect their digging. which with them being outside all the time wont be easy. (you'd have to make a box of each dog)

But this is the training method advised since many breeds are natural diggers and by stopping them to dig would only make them find something else to cure their boredom or energy...

[Iverson's Pits]

Keep in mind that you're dealing with and American Pitbull TERRIER. "Terrier" is the key word here. Although annoying and sometimes downright aggrevating...the only thing you can really do is watch over them or dont leave them on earth...leave them on cement or something they cannot dig into. I have one female that digs as if her life depended on it...but not just to entertain herself - our ground has thousands of little coral rocks (the size of raquet balls) starting at about 3-4 inches below the surface. She digs up the rocks to chew them up. Lets just say she is one hard-mouthed bitch and has no problem busting petrified coral up into pieces. Good luck with the terrain!

[miakoda]

Yet again, I agree with rocksteady. Creating a place for them to dig is a good idea. One of those plastic swimming pools from wal-mart filled with dirt with toys buried within it works wonders. I know.

But I do want to ask one thing: do y'all have moles in the area? I'm curious b/c my dogs were digging like crazy & my grandparents house in TX only to uncover lovely little mole tunnels. They were just trying to help out. :)

[brat pack]

Our dogs were digging and we took their poop and filled the holes with it. They wouldn't dig there and would start another hole. We would fill that one with poop also aand they eventually gave up. Ours are in a large pen and not on a chain. I don't know if this makes a difference. You could give it a try though. I am sure you have the supplies (plenty of poop) to try. We also bought toys but they could care less about them. Tire toys they won't touch, nor the hard plastic balls. They would rather chew up tree limbs.

[game_test]

i bet that smelled good :)

[mikelia]

I would work on making it a more stimulating yard. Rotate toys (so they don't always have the same ones), put tires out. I've heard of using big barrels, dogs like to wrestle with them :P An A frame, a catwalk, ropes attatched to things. A ladder leading up to something. And offering them a designated place where they can dig.
Good luck.

[Diesel]

You have to remember that there is terrier blood in these dogs, terriers are ground dogs. As has been mentioned digging is its own reward much like fighting. the dog doesnt need to find anything to make them want to keep doing it. having a place for them to dig is definately the best thing to do. YOu can encourage a place by hidind toys and treats in a particular spot and then encouraging the dog to dig ther to find them.
trying to stop a dog form digging, particularly if the dog is on a chian set-up or in a kennel is next to impossible. Most dogs dig once they get bored... and as soon as they figure it out, they keep doing it. if you can keep your dog entertained and active you can keep its mind from digging.

good luck.

[DryCreek]

Our dogs were digging and we took their poop and filled the holes with it. They wouldn't dig there and would start another hole. We would fill that one with poop also aand they eventually gave up. Ours are in a large pen and not on a chain. I don't know if this makes a difference. You could give it a try though. I am sure you have the supplies (plenty of poop) to try. We also bought toys but they could care less about them. Tire toys they won't touch, nor the hard plastic balls. They would rather chew up tree limbs.



A very innovative and sensible solution. :p LOL, glad it worked for ya.

[DnCs]

thanks for all the help im just making a cage for each of them and cementing the bottom should make it easyer

[rocksteady]

now all you are doing is masking one problem and causing more... They are digging for a reason.. now you are going to take that away, stick them in a cage ...are you ready for the next set of issues? "Pacing back and forth, barking, climbing, etc"

Im not saying to not build their cages.. Im saying you need to understand that by taking away one behavoir they could very well shift to another disturbing behavoir..