Discover How to Stop Your Dog From Digging Up Your Garden

Do you have a dog with loves to dig holes in your backyard? Is it driving you nuts when you look out your window and see your backyard starting to resemble like Swiss cheese or the surface of the moon? Or even worse, after all those hours of garden work, your garden is suffering from your dog's digging as well. Dog digging is a pretty hard habit to break because it's instinctual, but with proper training it can be stopped.

First of all, you're probably wondering why your dog is so fascinated by digging up your garden in the first place?

To a dog, a garden is a playground filled with all sorts of smells along with little critters that live in your garden. It's pretty similar to a child's reaction to a playground-so much things to discover and explore.

So the question is, how do you stop dog digging in your garden?

Here is a great little trick to deter your pet from playing in the garden. If you have a hose, attach a sprinkler to the end of the hose and set it next to your garden or where ever your dog likes to dig. Whenever your canine friend goes near your garden, turn on the sprinkler. Most likely your pet won't like to get wet and will associate going near your garden with getting wet. Most importantly, don't let your furry friend see you turn on the hose.

Another good way to stop your dog from digging your garden is a toy water gun or by a special nozzle for your hose so it can spray your pet from afar. When you do this, do not let your dog know that you are behind him getting wet, in fact try to get him wet very discreetly.

Other Causes to Dog Digging

Other causes for dog digging is that your dog may be bored. If he spends a lot of time in the yard by himself, he may not have enough mental stimulation so your pet digs out of boredom. This happens to a lot of dogs. Many pet owners over look how much a back yard needs to be equipped for a dog's enjoyment and stimulation. What a dog needs most is food, water,shelter from the natural elements, mental and physical stimulation. If you have all these bases covered, your dog is less likely to resort to destructive behavior.

Make sure your pet has plenty of exercises. A lot more than just sending your dog in the backyard. Take your dog out for walks, throw a ball around with him, play fetch and so on. Another GREAT little toy that continually stimulates your dog is a kong. A kong is this toy that is filled with little morsels of food that will stimulate your pet to find ways to get the treat out.This activity can keep your furry friend busy for several hours, even if you're not at home.

Stimulate your dog's mind by having a designated place for your dog to dig. Create a sandbox and bury toys and bones for your pet to dig up. This will keep your dog busy and he can get his need to dig met and keep from ruining your beautiful garden. Introduce your dog to the new sandbox by having pieces of the toys exposed and pretend you found the most valuable treasure in the world. Your pet will catch on that there is more treasures that need to be found. If you see that this still doesn't deter your dog from digging up the garden, every time you see your four legged pet near your garden, redirect your dog's attention back to the sandbox.

Remember, it's always best to get to the root of the problem before you consider getting another dog to keep your dog company. Imagine....thinking you've solved your problem and BAM..you have two digging dogs.