Gardens are the best playground for dogs. The ground is soft and full of rodents or moles and other creepy crawlies. Of course you should stop your dog from digging in the garden by all means, but do give him something else to do or somewhere else to dig.
Gardens are a wonderful playground for dogs. They can't resist digging up moles and rodents, and especially the smell of some roots drive them crazy and they will dig until they find the source of the scent.
Here are a few practical tips to keep him from digging:
1. If your dog starts digging while you are working in the garden, ensure that your garden hose is fitted to a sprinkler. When your dog starts digging around where you work, quietly turn on the tap and scare him with a burst of water. Do this a few times while you are outside with him. He will quickly realize that digging means a burst of water from sprinkler. It's not you, but the sprinkler who is correcting him. This is good because you do not want your dog to see you as the one who is spoiling his fun.
2. If your hose does not do the trick then you can always invest in a good long distance water pistol. You need to follow your dog around the garden while he is digging in various places. Aim at it's head, taking care not to squirt too much water into his eyes. As soon as he starts digging, squirt onto his head. Do not say anything, just keep on squirting every time he digs. Here again he will think it's the water telling him to stop and not you.
3. Does your dog seem hyperactive or does he chew destructively? He could be bored and then he could be digging without really chasing anything. You need to take him out of his surroundings for a least an hour to two hours a day. Dogs need change of sights and smells to stimulate them mentally. Try to build up a sense of expectation in your dog for his long walks with you. He will tend to rather wait to get out than dig up your flowers.
4. Lastly, try giving him his own patch of garden to dig and play in. Make it attractive for him by burying treasures like toys and bones in his area. Get excited when you show him how to dig them up. This will become a really nice way to Stop your dog from digging in the garden, as he will discover his own playground is much better fun than yours. - 29895
Gardens are a wonderful playground for dogs. They can't resist digging up moles and rodents, and especially the smell of some roots drive them crazy and they will dig until they find the source of the scent.
Here are a few practical tips to keep him from digging:
1. If your dog starts digging while you are working in the garden, ensure that your garden hose is fitted to a sprinkler. When your dog starts digging around where you work, quietly turn on the tap and scare him with a burst of water. Do this a few times while you are outside with him. He will quickly realize that digging means a burst of water from sprinkler. It's not you, but the sprinkler who is correcting him. This is good because you do not want your dog to see you as the one who is spoiling his fun.
2. If your hose does not do the trick then you can always invest in a good long distance water pistol. You need to follow your dog around the garden while he is digging in various places. Aim at it's head, taking care not to squirt too much water into his eyes. As soon as he starts digging, squirt onto his head. Do not say anything, just keep on squirting every time he digs. Here again he will think it's the water telling him to stop and not you.
3. Does your dog seem hyperactive or does he chew destructively? He could be bored and then he could be digging without really chasing anything. You need to take him out of his surroundings for a least an hour to two hours a day. Dogs need change of sights and smells to stimulate them mentally. Try to build up a sense of expectation in your dog for his long walks with you. He will tend to rather wait to get out than dig up your flowers.
4. Lastly, try giving him his own patch of garden to dig and play in. Make it attractive for him by burying treasures like toys and bones in his area. Get excited when you show him how to dig them up. This will become a really nice way to Stop your dog from digging in the garden, as he will discover his own playground is much better fun than yours. - 29895
About the Author:
Author Remco van Reenen is an expert on dogtraining and on his website hondentraining.nu you can read a lot more articles. You can also get all sort of tools to make training your dog easy in the section puppytraining
