Dog Digging

[BeckShai&Roxy]

Heeeeeelp, My 3y/o cross staffy / kelpie keeps digging out under the fences. I have tried putting her poo where she has dug & have sprayed the wood with citronella & have dug bricks in. I am now at a loss & am getting very frustrated as she has so much room to run n play in & she's not bored. We moved 6 weeks ago from the city to the beach & I know she is getting excited with all the new smells around but she will get run over if she keeps it up. ANY IDEAS PLEEEEESE

[W Sibs]

Hi.. there are a lot of reason why a dog digs and lots of ways to get a dog to stop digging.

So I got these you these questions?

How often does she goes on walks? Does she do training? What do you do you keep her mind challenged and stimulated?

[shelby-001]

I had an escape artist... (now deceased) we tried EVERYTHING imaginable to no avail, the only thing that stopped her was an electric fence. She touched it twice and never tried to escape again!

Unless we were with her to walk her through the gate she wouldn't go within a foot of the fence.

Edit: She was walked every morning and arve, had plenty of toys ie: kongs/rope toys/chewy toys/raw hide bones etc and another dog to play with and she still wanted the greener grass on the other side so to speak.

Edited November 1, 2010 by shelby-001

[Esky the husky]

Can you provide her with somewhere to dig, like a clam shell pool filled with sand so that you can channel her digging instinct?

[shelby-001]

Can you provide her with somewhere to dig, like a clam shell pool filled with sand so that you can channel her digging instinct?

Oh yes we just built our dogs (Boof n Lilly - Amstaffs) a new sandpit, they LOVE it....... didn't even think about that myself. Good point ETH!

[Max#1]

This may sound a bit strange - we've bought a roll of chicken wire and pegged it with big strong pegs into the ground horizontally (ie lying down) along any fence areas that lead to outside. This means that any digging attempts have to start at least 40 - 50 cm back from the fence. There's no sharp bits or problems like that for doggie injuries. Of course, this isn't quite practical if you have a huge long fence - or a round one - but it seems to work? Our puppy likes the occasional dig, I don't think its out of boredom as such, but maybe he's curious what's down there? He will often pick out grass roots. But along the fence seems to be his favourite place to do it!

ETA: not quite sure how we'll go when we need to mow over it....

Edited November 1, 2010 by Max#1

[persephone]

You're frustrated?

So is SHE!

She wants to get out and run and sniff and play.... so she digs under the fence !

if she is getting a couple of good long walks, plus training each day ... then you need to perhaps build her a secure run , where she can be safe when not supervised .

if she is not getting enough mental stimulation ( a backyard is interesting for about 2 hours ...then a dog knows exactly what is in it ) then try to involve her in lots more stuff.

netting as someone said can help , also an electric 'piing string' or similar is a good plan

You may also consider putting down tin/colourbond ..like an extension of the fence.. straight down for about 50 cm.

Can you leave her inside when you are away? That way she is being kept safe .

I bet she can move the dirt away quickly, too!

;)

[matilda1]

This may sound a bit strange - we've bought a roll of chicken wire and pegged it with big strong pegs into the ground horizontally (ie lying down) along any fence areas that lead to outside. This means that any digging attempts have to start at least 40 - 50 cm back from the fence. There's no sharp bits or problems like that for doggie injuries. Of course, this isn't quite practical if you have a huge long fence - or a round one - but it seems to work? Our puppy likes the occasional dig, I don't think its out of boredom as such, but maybe he's curious what's down there? He will often pick out grass roots. But along the fence seems to be his favourite place to do it!

ETA: not quite sure how we'll go when we need to mow over it....

I have chicken mesh on the ground too, in the dog run just around the outside fences like described above.

katie likes to dig. She likes watching the bits of dirt fly up in the air and then she jumps up and tries to bite them.

this amuses her all day. She gets more than enough exercise and stimulation, it's just like her 'other' hobby.

Now she can dig whenever she likes in her yard and i can go out and KNOW that no-one will escape.

mind you, they would only escape into a fences back yard anyway but none the less, it's a very safe option.

lucky none of ours are jumpers, as their fences aren't very tall.

[matilda1]

The other thing I notice about your fences in the photo above is that your dog can actually SEE underneath one of them as there is a bit of a gap.

This makes it VERY inviting.

[Esky the husky]

Slightly Off topic but I love your sandpit shelby-001

Do you ever have the problem of cats using it as a litter box?

[shelby-001]

The other thing I notice about your fences in the photo above is that your dog can actually SEE underneath one of them as there is a bit of a gap.

This makes it VERY inviting.

Hey BD,

Are you talking about my photo of the sandpit? Thankfully our two aren't overly interested in getting out. We have had one minor incident though, situation now under control.

But I'm not sure if the OP (BeckShai&Roxy) has the same gap that could be 'inviting' her pooch to try dig out.

I only posted the photo as someone suggested to BeckShai&Roxy, that possibly a 'clam pool with sand' as a digging spot would help and we had just recently built this for our guys.

[shelby-001]

Slightly Off topic but I love your sandpit shelby-001

Do you ever have the problem of cats using it as a litter box?

So far we haven't had a problem, but it's only been a week so it's VERY early days, LOL..... I will see how we go!

[halfthewords]

The sandpit idea is a great one, shelby! None of mine like to dig except at the beach...I suspect my mum would throttle them if they dug up the garden.

To the OP, there is some great advice on here, particularly about what you can do to stop her from digging/things to provide her with.

First we need more information, is she exercised every day? Training? The way to mentally exhaust a dog is through training and games, especially with kongs and toys where they have to "work" for the treat. You also have a fairly difficult cross in a kelpie/staffy; she has the drive of the kelpie to work and she is probably frustrated with the lack of a task. Apologies if any of this is incorrect and you are mentally/physically stimulating her as she needs.

[Sheridan]

Concrete path all the way around the fenceline.

[poodlefan]

she has so much room to run n play in & she's not bored

How often does she get to leave the yard? For how long?

You've got yourself a working breed mix capable of running 80km a day - EVERY day. No yard is going to amuse her for long.

She needs physical and mental stimulation outside that yard. Now she's learned to escape, I'd be building her a secure run to stay in when you aren't home.

Edited November 2, 2010 by poodlefan

[BeckShai&Roxy]

Hi All, WOW Thankyou for all of yr amazing ideas - The sand pit one is great as we live inbetween the beach & a lake so that will be a great start. All of my fencing is chicken wire with decking attached to the bottom, so she can see all the bunnies & roo's in the other properties. She does have bones, Kongs, Chew toys etc. We walk her twice a day approx 4kms each way. If the sand pit does not work i'll try the chicken wire idea even thou it will be 2 house blocks worth lol. Thank you all once again

[shelby-001]

Hi All, WOW Thankyou for all of yr amazing ideas - The sand pit one is great as we live inbetween the beach & a lake so that will be a great start. All of my fencing is chicken wire with decking attached to the bottom, so she can see all the bunnies & roo's in the other properties. She does have bones, Kongs, Chew toys etc. We walk her twice a day approx 4kms each way. If the sand pit does not work i'll try the chicken wire idea even thou it will be 2 house blocks worth lol. Thank you all once again

Ok so some tips on the sand pit.... if you buy a clam shell... job done, LOL!!

If you decide to build one like we did, don't put the black lining up the sides as when they find it, they like to tear it off, then they realise it's also at the bottom. Needless to say I think there is enough sand there that the weeds and stuff won't get in but it's nicer to know it's lined.

So far so good with the cats, checked again this arve and nothing untoward in there.

[BeckShai&Roxy]

Hi All, WOW Thankyou for all of yr amazing ideas - The sand pit one is great as we live inbetween the beach & a lake so that will be a great start. All of my fencing is chicken wire with decking attached to the bottom, so she can see all the bunnies & roo's in the other properties. She does have bones, Kongs, Chew toys etc. We walk her twice a day approx 4kms each way. If the sand pit does not work i'll try the chicken wire idea even thou it will be 2 house blocks worth lol. Thank you all once again

Ok so some tips on the sand pit.... if you buy a clam shell... job done, LOL!!

If you decide to build one like we did, don't put the black lining up the sides as when they find it, they like to tear it off, then they realise it's also at the bottom. Needless to say I think there is enough sand there that the weeds and stuff won't get in but it's nicer to know it's lined.

So far so good with the cats, checked again this arve and nothing untoward in there.

Thankx again Shelby, I'll let u know how i go

[Swizzlestick]

As much as I love the sand pit idea, I doubt this dog is trying to satisfy the desire to dig. She is digging purely to get out, because she knows she can do it. Each time she does it, she would be having a ball running amok, so why not do it again and again.

I think if she was digging to dig, you'd have little holes all over the place, but she is digging to get out.

I'd either try electric fence, the chicken wire trick, or a secure dog run on a concrete base.

:D

Edited November 2, 2010 by Sir WJ

[shelby-001]

As much as I love the sand pit idea, I doubt this dog is trying to satisfy the desire to dig. She is digging purely to get out, because she knows she can do it. Each time she does it, she would be having a ball running amok, so why not do it again and again.

I think if she was digging to dig, you'd have little holes all over the place, but she is digging to get out.

I'd either try electric fence, the chicken wire trick, or a secure dog run on a concrete base.

:D

I do think you are right regarding 'why' pooch is digging, however if the 'backyard' is made more 'interesting' there may be less inclination to try and get out.

We put the pit in as they were digging around the base of one of our air con units and at the shed slab, they clearly 'loved' the sensation of moving the dirt, it was crazy how excited they got by the flying dirt.

My escaper used to go OVER the six foot fence and the only thing that fixed her was an electric fence, it worked wonders. Positioning is paramount though.

Good luck with what ever you do!