Dog Obedience Training Tips

If your dog or puppy is digging huge craters in your yard, you need to find a way to stop it. While many dogs dig, there are certain breeds that are more predisposed to dig. Dogs that are smart, like border Collies, Yorkshire terriers, and dogs that were bred to kill small rodents, like terriers and dachshunds, as well as gun dogs, like retrievers, and hounds have a habit of digging more than other type of dogs, even though any dog will dig if they have nothing better to do. There are some things you can try that can effectively stop the annoying and destructive digging before you fall into a huge hole that Rover has dug in the middle of your yard.

Keep in mind that some dogs are much more prone to digging than others, so do research on dog breeds if you would like to avoid a predisposition to digging. Of course, there are also many dogs known to dig that never so much as place a paw in the ground, but this cannot be known until it is too late.

If you are suffering from a holy yard, one thing you can try is allowing your dog to have specific areas of the yard that he can dig in the way he wants. You can buy a sandbox that is very large, and fill it with sand for your dog. Adding grass would make your dog think he was in digging heaven, as lots of dogs would rather dig in grass than just plain sand. Before long, he will discover that this place is ok for him to dig in, and not the rest of the yard. At the beginning, you need to always be watching him, and when he begins to dog where it is not appropriate, tell him no, and bring him to his digging area. Make sure that you show him love when he digs where he is supposed to.

Remember that you have to reprimand your dog when he is actually doing the bad deed, not after. Dogs will not know what they are being punished for if you wait until after they have done it. You have to catch them actually doing it in order to punish them.

When it is hot out, dogs find out quickly that digging gives them soil that is cool and moist to lay in. many dogs dig for this reason in the summer. Be sure your dog has plenty of shade and cool water to drink. If your dog is water loving, a small wade pool is ideal. Avoid pools if your dog is a Boston Terrier or Bulldog, as they cannot swim.

If you want to ensure that your dog doesn’t dig in your garden or others parts of your yard, there are a few tricks you can try:

1. Place small rocks around where you don’t want digging to occur. The rocks do not feel good on your dog’s paws.
2. Ground pepper is something else to try, as dogs will usually stay away where they smell this.
3. A very effective deterrent is chicken wire. Place it around and underneath the ground where your dog is digging and this will keep them away when they discover their efforts are in vain.

Your dog’s digging can be extremely annoying, but by giving him his own digging place, and taking a few preventive measures, you can have a yard that is mostly hole free.