How To Prevent Destructive Digging

Inactivity and long periods of isolation in a garden, garage or other enclosure can contribute to a variety of behavioral problems, including destructive digging and chewing, nuisance barking, hyperactivity, extreme neediness for attention, and indiscriminate and inappropriate aggression (ie: towards children, innocent passers-by, and other dogs).

Causes of Destructive Digging:

• Inactivity and insufficient exercise.
• Boredom, lack of stimulation, Isolation or loneliness
• Frustration, and prey-drive or territorial aggression.
• Reaction to seeing dogs, other animals, or people on the other side of fence.
• Prey drive and hunting instinct
• Digging into the cool earth in order to escape temperatures
• To explore or find something new or interesting
• To bury bones, toys, food or other objects.
• Because digging is fun.

Solutions for Destructive Digging

• At least 1 to 2 hours of active outdoor exercise
• Create a digging pit filled with dirt or a sand-clay mixture.
• Sufficient daily companionship
• Squirting a light water spray (with a water pistol or hose) towards dog just as s/he begins to dig a hole. (Obviously, this is NOT recommended during winter or cool weather.)

Going...

...Going...

......Gone

How deep can I go?