Keep Your Dog from Digging Holes in Your Lawn
If you have a dog that likes to dig, there are steps to take to keep your dog from digging holes in your lawn. First, find out why he’s digging. Sometimes dogs dig because they’re bored due lack of physical activity. He may also be lonely, and looking for a friend. He may be attracted to your fertilizer if you’ve recently planted flowers. He may also be a digging dog, a breed with a digging instinct, or he may be burying food, like a bone. No matter how frustrating his digging has become, there are non-violent solutions to this issue.
You have to make it very clear to your dog that this type of behavior is not acceptable, and reinforce your point every time single time that he does it. Also, Give your dog a ton of exercise. Take him to dog runs where he can run and play with other dogs. Take him for extra long walks in the evening or early in the morning. If someone is at home during the day, have him or her take the dog for an afternoon run or walk. The larger the dog, the more exercise they need.
Dogs that dig and bury bones should no longer get bones, to eliminate their reason for digging. Rawhide bones or other chew toys are acceptable alternatives. Then keep your dog crated or inside the house when you can’t keep an eye on him inside.
He may be digging to create shelter from intense cold or heat. This is most likely true if he's lying down in the hole he creates. Make sure he has adequate shelter from extreme weather conditions.
Bury blown up balloons in areas where he likes to dig. The popping sound will startle him, and he may start to develop a negative association to digging. You could also bury chicken wire in his favorite areas. Dogs hate the sensation of their paws being scraped across wire, sort of like the way humans abhor the feeling and sound of nails on chalkboard. Some dogs figure out a workaround to these Pavlovian tricks, so just hope your dog isn’t one of them.
You could also just give your dog an area of the yard of their very own. You can fill the area with nice treats so that your dog knows to go to that area, and that area alone.
