Digging help!

[hoku's mum]

Well, spring is here, and 8 month old Hoku has discovered digging. He does it in search of critters, enlarges gopher holes and such,

though he did dig out a small oak stump (no small feat). At first we were not to concerned, as we thought it was just a doggy thing. Now

we realize that he is going after rodents, and since we are working on managing his prey drive, it seems like not such a good thing. We

took him hiking, and whenever we stopped for a moment, he would start digging. He is distractible, but the moment you stop playing

with him, it's back to the hole. He was really great with recall and sits and downs along the hike. At the very end of that 7 mile walk

while off leash he actually caught some little critter, and all of our training went out the window. He just ran along and squeaked that critter, staying close but ignoring us, and then ate it. We were SO frustrated!!! As soon as he ate it, he came right to us, we were able to leash him, and using our best acting skills, get him to the car calmly without letting him know we wanted to whack him! The problem now is that unless he is fully occupied by someone when he

is outside, he is digging. He gets a few trainings a day, at least a mile run, and playtime to boot, so I don't think it is just boredom. He is super good in the house, chews only his toys and is good at amusing himself while we work, but when he goes outside while I am doing chores or by himself, lookout! Unless any toy is attached to a fun human, it is no fun.

 

Any suggestions or leads on how to manage this? Now that the weather is warming up, he just wants to be outside (who doesn't?)

 

Thanks - Kristin in pothole-ville

[mudthirsty]

We're having the same time with Brodie. She's 7 months old. She has a few large holes going now in the backyard. She loves to burry toys and bones. Which i dont mind too much, when she piles the dirt back into the hole. But theres a couple crators out there that she can almost hide in.

 

We have a fenced in yard, so we have to be careful she doesnt dig underneth the fence.

[Kat's Dogs]

Two things (said on here when I asked for help) that worked great:

 

Filling the holes with their own poop.

(then cover them up and when doggie digs - yuck. don't do this if he eats/likes his poop though)

 

Filling the holes with water balloons.

(when doggie digs - they pop. don't do this if he likes water alot though, then just do plain balloons).

[sandra s.]

How I wish I knew the answer to that one!

 

Normally I'm all for letting dogs sniff whatever they want to sniff, but how's a fanatic little sniffer/digger going to get exercise when there's mice all over the fields? !

 

When Kessie finds a hole during a ball game, and drops the ball to dig, I call her back to me, and she reluctantly comes. No, Kessie, where's your ball? Back to get the ball, back into the mouse temptation zone... :mad:

By now, after many repetitions of this scene, she seems to have figured out that I want the ball brought back BEFORE she goes digging. She gets a treat and a party whenever she remembers, and it seems to be getting better.

 

Still, if anyone knows the miracle cure, I'm all ears

[Heppers]

We had this problem with Daisy when she was about 5 to 6 months old. We would come in from work into the back garden and there would be craters all over the garden with things hidden in them!! She kind of grew out of it but a word of warning, make sure there isnt any broken glass or anything sharp in the soil where she digs as Daisy cut her paw whilst digging and we ended up having to get it operated on and stiched back together. it took weeks to heal properly !!

[hoku's mum]

Thanks for the ideas and support, I figured I was not alone in this crater problem! I will try the poop trick... maybe get the critters in the holes to move on, too! I'm hoping he will grow out of it (or at least slow down!) Our old guy Spencer (who we lost a couple of years ago at 16 1/2)used to tear my raised beds apart when he was a teenager, and he got over that. Of course, he was only a BC look alike (springer X GSD is what the rescue folks said) Hoku is our first BC (also a rescue and we are guessing he is a mix of some sort, too), and he is more .... focused, shall we say! But he sure does keep it interesting, always onto a new challenge!

 

Kristin and Hoku the earthmover

[Deneen]

We put old poop in the holes that Sarah dug as a pup as well. She lost interest in the holes immediately. We are now dealing with a stick-shredding obsession with Sydney, but I just keep at her with tennis balls, obedience commands, etc. It sure can be frustrating when they get an obsession!

 

As for critters in the ground, here's what I learned last year. Most critters (moles, voles, etc.) are in your lawn eating grubs. There are pellets you can buy to distribute on your lawn and then water them till they dissolve. The pellets are actually mineral oil. Once dissolved, the grubs ingest the mineral oil (or are coated in it). The moles eat the grubs, the moles get diarrhea, and the moles realize they don't want to eat your grubs anymore. They'll move on. There will be no more critters for your pup to go after.

 

~Kelly

[blackiez]

My BC digs to China, 3ft down or more. Trouble is, we have never seen her do this and she isn't burying anything. I have put "chicken" wire over some of my garden. Blackie may be digging herself a trip to the shelter if she continues. Our reason for getting her was to have a dog that would herd our cows, she's two yrs now and we haven't had any success with herding. She's smart, affectionate and friendly. Any suggestions?

[iluvlucy]

my pup too has a stick fetish but she is gradually getting out of it. But,oh, thefunny things she did before that. Once she brought in a 5 ft piece of panelin veneer from our shed which katrina destroyed. well you had to be there.

[Mona Howard]

This may sound nuts but I'm really convinced this a compulsion that runs in some lines. I had two champion diggers, mother and son. I also have an unrelated dog that would watch the others dig but never digged himself. I have talked to others that had compulsive diggers and they would state that other people who had littermates to their dogs would also have this trait. My dogs weren't too bad, maybe a six inch hole daily but I was always in fear of them running and stepping into it with disasterous results. The poop in the hole trick merely made mine move over a foot to start afresh. Thank God, my current dog doesn't do this. He has his own nut behaviors. Good luck. Mona

[Beth G]

Originally posted by blackiez:

Blackie may be digging herself a trip to the shelter if she continues. Our reason for getting her was to have a dog that would herd our cows, she's two yrs now and we haven't had any success with herding. She's smart, affectionate and friendly. Any suggestions?

I hope you don't really get rid of her. Alot of dogs dig. Usually out of boredom. It is usually easily remedied by spending a little more time with the dog or by giving more excercise. I've been there so I understand what you mean. An hour or two of ball or frisbee a day, does wonders.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Compulsions like this definitely do run in lines. I was just talking with a friend who has an obsessive water chaser - not just yay-play-in-the-hose, but he seeks out water to splash and create the stimulation himself. He's sired some pups by different females and every one of them has the same splashing compulsion.

 

Jen has the same compulsion and so did at least one of her littermates that I know of. Her sire did too. My friend and I thought about it and came up with a surprising connection we'd never thought of - Jen, her sire, and her dog all go back to Berhow's old Nick and Jen. It would be interesting to know whether this possible connection to this quirk holds true.

 

Oddly, neither Jen nor her dog are really quirky in any other way - Jen's very intense but doesn't circle or chase flies or any of the other weird stuf you hear about. And my friend's dog is about as laid back as a Border collie gets.

[Meg's mum]

Meg is a digger and a wood chewer. She's tried to do both since the first few weeks we had her. There just may be something to the genetics theory. Between Sox and Meg we no longer have shrews and gophers.

 

A tired, active, people-engaged Meg does not eat a lot of wood, and does not dig a great deal - but sometimes she just loves to chew and dig. I'll disuade her from chewing wood, but have learned to appreciate the craters in the yards. I figure she's suggesting landscaping designs.

[Rainierlass]

Oh I hope this isn't a sign of things to come - - just picked out a new BC pup and the 8 of them had holes all over their yard - - my current BC isn't a digger so am hoping the compulsion isn't lifelong!

 

Sorry I can't be of any help as far as stopping it - but you can be sure I read the replies!

 

Maggie and Tess