HELP! My dogs digging is aboit to get me evicted.

[Digbysmum]

Hey, i have a beautiful 5 month old puppy who loves to dig. I have tried everything i can think of to get her to stop, vinegar, cayene pepper, black pepper, dog poo, orange peels, chili paste and even different essential oils. She is walked 10km a day and goes on a 5km run when her dad gets home from work. She always has her kongs and millions of toys, she even has her own pool outside. I am completely at lost on what to do to get her to stop destroying the yard... 

[Tassie]

A bit off topic, but I'd be concerned about a 5 month old puppy doing that amount of "forced" exercise … by that I mean exercise that she hasn't chosen herself.   IMHO it's not at all good for her physical development, and probably over stimulating, mentally .  If she is on such high levels of mental arousal, that is likely to continue on when she's at home, and maybe contributing to the digging.     I'd be doing a few things, if she were mine …. more mental stimulation, and less physical,  and more naps, or at least confinement in an X pen with some puzzle toys.  You could also try getting a cheap plastic sandpit for a digging put for her, and bury treats and toys in there for her to find.

 

You haven't said what breed she is.

[persephone]

1 hour ago, Digbysmum said:

She is walked 10km a day and goes on a 5km run when her dad gets home from work.

That is an enormous amount of exercise ..even for a fully mature dog .
It's great that you provide Kongs etc   

Apart from possibly doing damage to her developing joints ...what all this may be doing is just making her need more & more stimulation , so she is seeking it at home ...by digging . 

That is just a guess. 

What breed is she ?
what else does she do with you ?
What does she eat ? 
Does she dig anywhere in particular ? 

[persephone]

OK ... I have found out a bit more about your pup , & will post it here  so folks have some background


from here

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She is a 5 month old bull mastiff, and im just wondering if it is okay to feed her raw pet mince say twice a week just to supplement her on the days she refuses to eat anything at all?

and from HERE

 

Quote

My dog is agressive towards adult strangers so i know where you are coming from, it is really hard. I luckily am blessed and she loves every kid she has ever met (yes i am super careful with her around children). My girl is 5 months old and 21.6kg already so going to be a big dog

 

[Rebanne]

woah, that is an insane amount of exercise for that dog. And she is your 2nd aggressive dog. Instead of physical exercise try some mental exercise. Exercising the brain tires a dog out - a lot.  And I'd look into getting some sort of secure run for her. That would limit her ability to dig and help protect people who visit.

 

"i had an american staffy who was classed as a dangerous dog"

Edited December 18, 2018 by Rebanne

[persephone]

Out of left field ....

unless she is digging under fences ...

I wonder if she may be sore ..and is instinctively seeking cooler and soft spots in which to lie ?

has she an anxiety ..spurred by an absolute whirl of activity with walks & runs .............then .........................................................? her system needs the motion/noise ...

is she teething ..?

What does she have to actually GNAW ?

You said there are days she eats nothing ..what do her teeth and gums look like ? 

have you tried making her iceblocks? 

take a large icecream container . 
place inside a few bits of apple ... a few bits of tasty processed meat ..hot dog etc ..just 4 or 5 . a few bits of her kibble , and maybe a few chicken hearts . 

fill the container 3/4 full with fresh water . Freeze at LEAST 12 hrs ..preferably 24 ... and then let her have it   

The cool may feel nice on her gums & teeth  ?  

 

[KobiD]

15km is massive...

 

I agree with everyone else above. Work on mental challenges. Short quick sessions. You'll find out how enthusiastic your dog is to work quite quickly.. and wear it out as well.

 

Operant conditioning.. Reward the behaviours you want to see. Reward heavily and frequently initially.. You should start to see the dog offer said behaviours pre-empting a reward. Interupt anything you dislike, and then the moment a wanted behaviour is shown reward heavily again. It becomes a game for the dog, but as an added bonus they tend to offer what you want more often..

 

If you can't control the environment to reduce unwanted behaviours occurring then you need to work to do so.

[Dogsfevr]

I think the OP has to be exaggerating the amount of exercise as no Bullmastiff pup i have ever meet could do that distance at that age daily without the owner seriously dragging it .

And aggressive Bullmastiff at that age is even more disappointing as that is so not typical behaviour of the breed ,i have to question if its a pure Bullmastiff as no sane breeder would suggest that amount of exercise in there paperwork & would stress limiting the exercise  vocally .

But you have an issue & will have a bigger one long term aka agreesion will be a bigger problem than the hole digging especially in a rental .
You need to seriously re assess this pup & what is going on & get some training,routine & taking a big step back from the over exercising that may very well have her in pain

 

[Diva]

15 hours ago, Dogsfevr said:

I think the OP has to be exaggerating the amount of exercise as no Bullmastiff pup i have ever meet could do that distance at that age daily without the owner seriously dragging it .

And aggressive Bullmastiff at that age is even more disappointing as that is so not typical behaviour of the breed ,i have to question if its a pure Bullmastiff as no sane breeder would suggest that amount of exercise in there paperwork & would stress limiting the exercise  vocally .


 

The OP has said the dog is 21.6kg at 5 months which sounds too light to me to be a pure bred BM. But regardless 15 kms is too far in a day, I would do a third of that and spend the rest of the time on training, brain games and enrichment. If the dog is a bullmastiff those growth plates are far from being closed and being run is not good

Edited December 22, 2018 by Diva

[Guest]

Is the digging in one area? It could be to cool off/hide/den, or it could be that there’s something feeling or smelling nice in that part, maybe?

or if it’s near a fence, is there a dog or anything interesting on the other side? You could try one of those fence within a fence things if it’s that. 

 

That’s a heap of exercise! I’m not going to say it’s definitely bad because I don’t know you or your dog.

I will say though that it sounds like you guys are fit (I don’t know many other people who run 5kms daily). That can sometimes skew your perspective as far as what equates to “a lot” of exercise. 

You’re likely fast enough to be giving your pup a workout just by walking around the house together. 

Over the course of ten kms your dog is also going to take in a lot of mental homework. 

It might be just a nap and learning how to chill that’s needed instead of more mental games.

Remember, a tired dog isn’t necessarily a good dog, they’re just a fit dog who can out pace you ;)