Digging!

[Ginny's Mom]

Our 4-month old Rhodesian Ridgeback has started digging under the fence in order to allow the 8-month old pug next door to play in our yard. They have great fun but unfortunately, they are creating havoc in our gardens - tearing up the plants and trees. Ginny is perfectly fine by herself and has learnt to leave the garden and plants alone - but the minute it's the two of them, they tend to egg each other on and go against what we taught Ginny. Is there some way we can curb this behaviour when they are together? And is there some way we can stop the digging?

 

[Zoom]

There is a very simple and always renewable way to stop this. When you clean up your yard, simply put some of the poop in the holes she has dug. Most dogs don't like stepping in excrement (unless they were pet stores puppies or spent a large amount of time in a kennel) and will avoid getting their feet dirty. If you need/want to, you can also put a thin layer of dirt back on top.

A note though, this will make the grass grow extremely thick and you'll probably end up going through a few weed eater thread spools.

As far as the pug goes, maybe talk to your neighbors about going halfsies on putting in a gate or arranging play dates so they can simply hand the pug over the fence for playtime, instead of your dog going under.

 

[Debi]

you could line the fence with landscape timbers. they are relatively inexpensive, look nice in the garden, and may deter the digging. at worse case scenerio, you could dig down a bit and put one landscape timber in the ground, then a second on top ground level. I'd keep an eye out for that behavior, tho, and try to stop him immediately. I'd also talk with the neighbor and arrange play time.

 

[aelizilly]

I agree about the puppy play time arrangement, and when they are together, to save your flower beds, get one of those plastic kiddie pools and fill it with dirt. Then burry some dog biscuits/treats, and let them go to town. This will promote the digging in an approved place rather than your flower beds.

I have also known people to bury chicken wire against the fence lines, I have not tried, but a neighbor of mine says it works.