Digging Doggy

[mindy]

Since I got such great advice with the crate situation, which has been totally remedied, I thought I would give this question a try.

Lucy has discovered that she LOVES to dig. I have read that this is a natural instinct in dogs, but we have a small backyard and she has about 3 holes going at the moment. She knows she's not supposed to do it because she won't do it when we're in the yard with her, and she runs away from her hole when we discover that she's been digging. We've tried spraying her with a water bottle to startle her but she loves that water and doesn't mind being sprayed at all.
I have heard of people putting cayenne pepper in the holes etc. but I don't want to do anything that would hurt her if it got in her eyes. Burying her poop in it probably wouldn't work either since she tries to lick it if it's not picked up right away.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I won't have any yard to enjoy by the time summer rolls around if she keeps this up!

Thanks!
Mindy

 

[lizzybeth727]

Digging in the yard is just another behavior that you'll have to be there to supervise, just like if she were getting into your garbage or chewing on your shoes. If you're not there to catch her in the act, she's going to reward herself for the behavior, and it'll be REALLY hard to stop.

One great thing you can do is to give your dog a designated place to dig. You can till up a small patch of dirt, or give her a sandbox. Bury some toys, treats, stuffed kongs, whatever, and reward her on top of that whenever she digs in that spot. Then whenever she digs in a different spot, you can just redirect her to the sandbox, which should be more fun anyway.