Your dog digging can cause an unsightly mess in your garden and bring frustrations to your bond. There are several reasons why a dog can start this behaviour and the underlying reason is often the most difficult to spot! Whether it’s through distraction, training or even more mental stimulation, we have outlined common causes of the behaviour and how to stop your dog from digging. 

Why Do Dogs Dig? 

Your dog can start digging at any age and at any time, and it can be a reactive response to its surroundings or changes. Some common causes for this are: 

  • Hot weather: As Spring draws to a close and during the Summer, your dog may be digging to create a sheltered area or cool surface to lay on. They could also be trying to find a water source. 
  • Breed type: Digging is an instinct for certain breeds – to protect by hunting, creating shelter and finding food sources. 
  • Boredom: Some dogs need more mental stimulation than others, so if they’re bored – they may start digging to reduce this feeling. 
  • Excess energy: In a similar way to boredom, some dogs are more energetic and require more physical activity. Digging is a way to burn off this energy. 
  • Feeling stressed or anxious: When dogs start to dig, this could be an emotional response to how they’re feeling. Digging is used as a coping mechanism. Find out how to calm a dog down. 
  • Loneliness or attention seeking: If left for long periods, your dog may be lonely and use digging as a form of attention. They could also be craving your attention in some way, and digging can often achieve this, whether a positive or negative response. 
  • Hiding objects: Some dogs like to bury toys or food for safekeeping. 

When your dog starts to dig, even if it is a one-off occurrence, then it is important to notice patterns or see if there has been a trigger to this behaviour. 

Benefits of Teaching Your Dog Not To Dig

Stopping your dog from digging will not only make your dog happier but also make you as the owner feel more at ease. 

Preserving Your Garden and Home

One of the most obvious benefits of preventing digging is maintaining the aesthetic and functionality of your garden. When your dog digs, it will create holes in the lawn that are both time-consuming and costly to keep sorting. You will curb the need for replacing plants and additional maintenance to your outdoor space. This will also have a positive environmental impact if green spaces remain undisturbed. 

Strengthen Your Bond 

When your dog digs, it can cause frustration and negatively impact the bond between you both. Learning how to teach your dog to stop will help reinforce positive behaviours and take away any stresses your dog may be feeling – particularly if you react to the digging.  

Removing Stress From Your Dog 

If digging is a responsive behaviour to a change in situation, behaviour or environment, your dog may be feeling more anxious or stressed about these changes. Digging will be a coping mechanism for them, so undoing the trigger will help your dog relax. 

Enhancing Dog Safety 

Sometimes, digging is an escape route for dogs. If they do escape your property or garden, then this poses a big risk to their well-being and safety. Oncoming vehicles, other animals or sense of direction are potentially dangerous and a threat to dogs. 

What To Do To Stop Your Dog Digging 

There are steps and measures to take if you need your dog to stop digging and get your bond back on track, including the following: 

    1. Look for behavioural patterns: Understanding why your dog is digging is key. Try to backtrack as to what happens before the action and piece together common triggers. 
    2. Limit access to digging areas: Of course, you don’t want to limit your dog’s outdoor space, however, if they dig in a specific area, try to section this off and limit their access. This will reinforce that digging is bad behaviour.  
    3. Long line lead: If your dog digs outside the home, or you have a large outdoor space, using a long lead could help you train that digging is a negative behaviour. Using your on-leash training to deflect the attention away from digging can be useful. 
    4. Recall training: If your dog already has a strong recall, you can use this to your advantage. If not, recall training may help your dog to stop digging if their recall response overpowers the action they’re doing. 
    5. Install a sandpit: This one won’t undo the behaviour, but it will deflect from disturbing your garden space. A sandpit will allow your dog to dig in a designated area. 
    6. More mentally stimulating activities: If your dog is bored, you may want to incorporate more mental stimulation or one-on-one playtime to stop the dog from digging. 
    7. Increase physical activity: As mentioned, if your dog has excess energy, it can lead to digging as a behaviour. Taking your dog on increased walks or more walks in the day will help them be calmer in the home.
    8. Obedience training: With the help of expert dog trainers, they can help with specific behaviours that are causing problems in the home. 

Dog Training With A&T Trained Dogs 

Need help with undoing your dog’s bad behaviours? Here at A&T Trained Dogs, we provide specialist dog training to strengthen the bond between you and your dog. We also provide detailed handovers to help you extend the training into your home. Contact us online or call us on 01524 587315 for more information or to book a course.