How to make dog stop digging holes in yard

[billyboyr6]

I have a dog that I got off of Craigslist. He is a black and tan coon hound and a beagle mix; and all in all is a descent dog. We have had him for a year now and every day I get more and more angry with him. Just before we got him, we moved into a country home with a big yard and thought what more would make it feel like a country home then to get a dog.

Well he is an idiot and is as smart as a rock and I'm getting tired of beating him and it doing zero good. I don't like to smack him but that's about the only to discipline a dog. When he starts to dig a hole in the yard, I'll put his nose in the hole and smack his snout and tell him "no digging". The next day he is digging another hole, or the same one. I feel like im border line beating this dog and not getting anywhere. I have tried putting his nose in the holes and rubbing tobasco hot sauce on his nose and gums and toungue and that dosent work either.

Any ideas?

 

[Steeler]

Man good luck with it, I had a black lab that would bury his toys. He finally stopped the digging when he got about 5 yrs old.

 

[billyboyr6]

Lol. It's not barring stuff, but tracking critters is the problem. I understand it's in his nature but I have to brake it. Or he has to go.

 

[mrjarrell]

He may be going after moles and doing his job. Then again he may just like digging. Beating an animal is no way to train them to stop doing what you don't want them to do.

 

[patience0830]

Electric collar and stand there and watch him all day for about a week.

Not convenient enough for you?

Shoot the dog.


Not civilized enough for you?


Pour a slab and put a kennel on it.

The dog is busy being what he was bred to be. A DOG. It's your responsibility to either accept that he's a dog and live with the behaviour, get rid of the hound, or do something humans can do that the dog can't and solve the problem.

 

[K_W]

When I was little, my parent's used a handheld compressed air boat horn for our Boarder Collie...

Like this one...

 

[bobbittle]

Stop hitting your dog is step one. Stop shoving his nose in the hole is step two. Neither will do any good. Period.

He may be digging for moles or other underground critters. He may just be digging because he's a dog and digging is fun for a dog. Especially when it's hot out. Dig hole, lay in hole where ground is cooler.

He may up and stop one day. He may never stop.

The biggest key is UNLESS you CATCH HIM DOING IT, don't punish him for it. He can't remember what he was doing that is getting him punished. When and if you do catch him in the act, NO HITTING, NO rubbing his nose it in. Scold him with your voice. That's all it takes. If you want to go "above and beyond," spray him with a 50/50 mix of plain white vinegar and water. If that doesn't work 50/50 listerine and water.

Also, DO NOT let him see you filling the holes in. That makes him think it's a game and that it's ok to continue doing it.

The main key factor may be his breeds. Two fairly active breeds mixed together. There's a dang good chance he's BORED. Excercise him! And no, just letting him run around the yard is NOT excercise. Throw a ball for an hour. Take him for long walks. Give him bones/toys to occupy himself. Kongs filled with peanut butter are great distractions. You can also plug the bottom and fill it with chicken broth and freeze it, giving a cooling treat for summer play.

 

[hoosierdoc]

 

[MrSmitty]

Shoot him?..................

 

[gungirl65]

I would say find him a home with a more patient, realistic master or take a freakin chill pill. He is a hunting dog and they dig. Abusing him will not change his nature. Continuing with this power struggle will do nothing for either one of you. Get over it, he is a dog, if his only fault is he digs holes, consider yourself lucky because he is better than most people.

Beating a dog does do zero good and should never be considered acceptable discipline. You need to get off your power trip and look for a more acceptable and mature means to solve your problem. Check your soil you probably have grubs or other insects in your soil that he is trying to get to.

Have you tried distracting him with toys such as balls or squeaky toys? Maybe he is trying to get your attention by digging. Even negative attention is better than no attention.

Does he only dig in one spot or several? If it's just the one spot let him have it. Put a rock boarder around it & let it be his special dig place. Now kick back and enjoy life.

I have a rescue beagle that not only digs but also will not come in the house on his own 99% of the time. Do I beat him for it? No, he is a beagle, beagles are like little furry kids with ADD. He doesn't mean to be bad but he cannot help himself. When he gets outside and smells all the wonderful scents, his inside world disappears. His sense of smell over rides all other senses. Often I have to give him hugs and kisses, plus put a lead on him to get him to come back into the house. Other than this behavior he is the perfect dog and he loves me like no other. So I deal with his quirks and we are both happier for it.

 

[hammer24]

I say find another home for the dog and chalk it up as a lesson learned. Sounds like it would be best for both parties. Most dogs will dig to some extent especially when it is hot out. Do your homework, find out what type of dog you want and get a puppy. Train it properly (i.e no tobasco sauce! He doesn't understand that it is because of digging, only that the person who is supposed to take care of him is torturing him!) get some books and educate yourself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not above smacking a dog, but it needs to be done properly at the appropriate time otherwise you are just being counter-productive. It sounds like you rushed into getting him in the first place without really know what you were getting into. Write this attempt down as a failure, but understand that it was not a failure on the dogs part. Good luck.

 

[Magolin]

Hunting dogs (both breeds he's mixed with) are bred for a specific purpose - hunting. They tend to get bored pretty easily.

Take the dog for a run. Throw a ball/toy. Teach him some tricks. Give him bones to chew. Tire him out in some fashion whether mentally or physically. A tired dog is a good, well behaved dog. Bored dogs are bad dogs. If you don't give the dog something to do, he will come up with things on his own that you probably won't like. Digging holes for instance.

If you catch the dog digging, yell NO! and redirect the dog to a more appropriate behavior. It is ALWAYS easier to replace a behavior (with one you want) than it is to only extinguish one. In other words, don't just tell the dog what NOT to do, tell the dog what TO do.

The dog has no freaking idea why you are smacking him and rubbing his nose in the hole and putting hot sauce in his mouth. All you will succeed in doing is making the dog afraid of you. Stop it.

At the same time, don't set the dog up for failure. Is he left outside by himself for long periods of time? Don't do this. Very few dogs want to be left outside by themselves. Working livestock guardians aside, few dogs are happy being outside alone. MOST will come up with destructive ways of alleviating their boredom. Digging is a rewarding activity for dogs. They enjoy doing it and if there aren't humans around to entertain them, they have to amuse themselves somehow.

I would also provide the dog with an area he IS allowed to dig. Fence off a small area that is "his" (it can be just like a 10x10ft area) to dig in. A friend had an area with a little picket fence that he put dirt/sand down in for his dog to dig in. I've also seen neat little rock borders. It was a neat, cute little area for the dog so he'd leave the yard alone. It wasn't an eyesore and the dog and humans were all happy with this arrangement. Direct his digging efforts to that area. Praise him when he digs in "his" area. You can bury bones and things out there for him to encourage digging there. Scold him if he digs elsewhere and bring him (not angrily) to "his" area.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I'm not a dog person, too high maintenance for my liking. It sounds like you should re-evalute whether or not you are really a dog person. We got a dog about a year ago from CL too and it was because the wife and kids wanted one.....I broke down and let them have it with the understanding that she will be THEIR responsibility in every aspect. I will do absolutely NOTHING for the dog or related to the care of said dog. I will NOT pick the shyt out of the yard, nor will I tolerate it being there. I will NOT take the dog out, let it in, take it on walks, feed it, etc...I WILL punish or reprimand the wife and kids when they are not living up to the responsibility of the dog. I also am aware that even in the country, dogs are not allowed to run free, and will not allow ours to. The problem with letting a dog run free is that you are putting it in danger. The dog does not know where a HOA, city limits, or private property begin and end, thus they may well violate something causing liability for the owner. Additionally since a dog is legally considered property, yours better not be in MY yard as I don't know it or its temperament and I will kill it as it presents a potential danger to my small children. Besides, I don't want your dog shyt in MY yard. Would you start your car, throw it in drive and get out and walk away from it? How about parking your car in some total strangers front yard? We sometimes put frozen meat on the front porch to thaw in the warm sun, what do you suppose is going to happen when someones dog discovers my pork chops? It sounds like even though you may think you are being a responsible pet owner by trying to "break" your pet, you are not in any way shape or form taking responsibility for your pet.

Long story short, get rid of the dog however you see fit and buy a cat.


ETA, perhaps you have an adequately fenced yard, I did not take that possibility into consideration in my initial post. However even if it is fenced, I suggest a chain allowing the dog a more limited area to control. preferably an area that won't cause you to beat the dog if he makes it his own.

 

[sepe]

If you're beating the dog, find someone that has the time and desire to properly train the animal and don't get another dog. Maybe a bowl of goldfish would be better.

 

[billyboyr6]

Ok for all who said to get rid of him, that is a last resort for me. We got this dog because we really wanted a dog and we all love him as part of the family. And we all are dog people. Maybe not to the extent that he eats off of my dinner plate or is allowed lo lick my face for hours like some people, but we do all we can to make him happy. And the digging is the only thing that gets to me.

We try to play with him, throw balls, frisbey, toys ect. but he dosent want anything to do with them. All he wants to do is jump on you and chase critters. He will destroy the toy if you leave it where he can get to it later.

Look. I don't like hitting the dog, and I dang sure will not shoot him. I posted on here to get advice from fellow dog owners so I may find better way to deal with him. So please dont put me down for smacking my dog.

And we had him on a 30' cable lead, but felt that was to little for him to run and play so we bought him a wireless fence with shock collar. Now he has a pretty good area to play and run. About 100' radius. He also has a 10x10 kennel that is covered for shade and a dog house in there for more comfort.

And as far as a dog cannot be happy outside all the time, tell that to anyone who has ever been over here and played with my dog. My dog is not allowed in the house and is outside all year around. And he couldn't be happier out there. The people we got him from, rescued him and kept him caged up in the house all the time. So he is loving the outside now.

 

[Magolin]

Several people have given you legitimate advice. You don't seem to want to hear it though. Not sure what you want to hear. There's no magical way to get the dog to stop digging without some work on your part.

Of course the dog acts happy when it's playing with someone outside with him...

 

[24Carat]

It can be quite amazing what an empty Coke or Beer can with 5 or 6 penny's in it with duct tape over the hole will do when you shake it.

 

[Lupin3rd]

A couple people said shoot him. You know what they say, to a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

 

[Double T]

We smack the butt of our dogs with a newspaper. not going to do damage.

Rubbing a dogs nose in something only works with poop or pee on the house floor. Then you go tie them out.

Re-enforce what you WANT him to do. I agree with the toy idea. Perhaps a chew toy for boredom.

 

[jeremy]

Both you and the dog need to seek training...