3 steps to save your yard from your digging-monster dog

After years living in an apartment, we moved to a house with a backyard. My dog was so so happy to finally have a space to sniff things without any rush. But… with all this new interest in the yard, new habit started to emerge! Digging! Everywhere!

I decided to give her a designated spot to dig in the hopes that she would dig there and not other spots! The idea is that I believe it’s important for dog to do dog things. I want to be able to give her an outlet for her need to dig that is ok with me.

Her first digging box!

Guess what! It worked!! I was very happy about that.

Some time have passed and we built a little house where her digging box was. She stayed without one for about a year. Guess what happened:

Digging everywhere

So a few days ago a friend posted about her digging box and I felt I should give my dog her digging box back! She loved it and it saved my yard!

Here are some steps to make it work:

1) Location, location, location!

Build the digging box in an area your dog likes to hang out, lie down to rest, chew things, dig.

Ours was built on the shade (she likes shade), in an area near where she already likes to dig. She tends to dig very near the roots of my lemon tree, so I put her box nearby bit further away so my tree is not destroyed.

Her new digging box!

2) Management!

When you are out in the yard, prevent her to go to her desired spaces to dig by blocking those spaces. Some people like to put some chicken wire underneath the soil to prevent digging. It’s more labor intensive but it does work!

Management while she learns to use her digging box

Chicken wire underneath where she usually digs

3) Cultivate the love for the digging box

Plant some of her favorite items there! Bones, balls, chewies, sticks, etc. Hang out there with her! Play fetch and toss the ball in the box!

“Oh! My toys are here!”

DIG DIG DIG

“My stick is also here!”