Goldie Wont Stop Digging

[Aidan]

Aiden, are you allowed to guide the dog to the area?

One of the problems I have is that we lose objects in the grass at the park and I never know whether I should give her a hint or not?

Yes I'm not familiar with trial rules, but I signal left, right and go out with my hands. I believe you can use voice, whistle or hand signals.

eta: my boy is 10 years old and I did not formally train these signals, he seems to have picked it up through trial and error, but I would train them formally especially with a dog who is looking for a job.

Edited October 13, 2010 by Aidan

[Adnil444]

We have a Sibe who is a digger. Our solution was to put down fake turf. So far she hasn't tried digging it at all, but it has only been down since Sunday, so who knows! The real test will be tomorrow when she's by herself all day for the first time since it went down.

Ahhhh the fake turf - I put that down - wonderful stuff, lasted 6 months and they dug it up, over and over again!! I still think it is great if you don't have a digger or chewer. Thankfully they did this before I decided to do the whole yard, which was what I was thinking of doing.

[littlebear]

we tried everything (exercise, training, behavior mod) .....i was so frustrated because henry only dug once or twice and never did it again but when we got lizzie she just dug all the time, now this might sound strange but a friend of a friend suggested sprinkling a little pepper over the area where she likes to dig so we did and she attempted to dig two times but they were really only light scratches in the dirt and she hasn't done it since...... we did this every 2nd or 3rd day for about two weeks and she hasn't done it since.

[Aidan]

A short video, introduction to retrieving:

[Souff]

Our Golden also loved to dig holes in the lawn from time to time. We tried most of the things suggested on here to stop the behaviour but the thing that worked for us was building a sand pit which is long and deep enough for him to dig and lie in. Our boy likes to dig frantically and then will often sit/lie in the hole he has created watching the world go by (us!) before he dozes off.

To dig a GR sized than lie in it, I think, is normal for an adult GR. It shows their constructive side.

I know of 2 GR girls, who, on a hot day will head for their GR sized already-dug holes under a shady tree, give then a bit of a scratch to freshen them up a bit, and then lie down and snooze in the cool earth.

Golden bliss apparently!

They have contented owners who don't mind them having their holes under the tree .... they just have to remember not to go running through there in the dark!

Souff