Do you have a dog that just LOVES to dig? Overturning your newly-laid turf, creating unsightly mess in your landscaped yard, endangering the livelihood of your plants and herbs … you just can’t seem to stop such behaviour no matter what you try.
Before you get too disheartened, know that the digging habit is a hard one to break.
You will need a lot of patience, but patience only is not sufficient.
This is one area that requires particular knowledge and understanding of what drives behind such behaviour before you can put a stop to it once and for all. Knowing why they do it – is the first step.
2 Major Reasons Why Dogs Dig
Before you can tackle and problem, you need to understand what’s causing it.
When it comes to dog digging habits, there are generally 2 reasons why they do it and no, it is not to spite you or destroy your property intentionally.
Boredom and Loneliness
Just like humans, dogs can get bored. Locked up indoors without getting the mental and physical stimulation they need, there will be this energy pent up inside that screams for release. One outlet they choose to release them, is by digging.
Digging gives your dog some physical exercises to do. Just the mere digging up of plants can entertain them for an hour or two. And when they start doing it, the whole experience becomes too fun to resist. There are just so many interesting creatures waiting to be sniffed out and unearthed, too exciting!
Not to mention the yard itself is naturally an enticing environment to a dog. The smell of dirt, manure and other natural fertilizers habitually appeals to them, egging them to dig to get closer to the source.
Another reason a dog digs is because he is lonely. Digging gets your attention and even though it is a negative one, it is attention from you nevertheless. Other behavioral reasons include trying to bury a treat/bone for ‘safekeeping’ or simply trying to make itself a cooler spot to lie in on a hot summer day.
Continue reading →
