Digging and Destruction!

Having problems with your dog digging or barking or just generally being destructive in the backyard or house??

I’d say 99.9% of the reason that dogs do anything destructive is because of boredom and pent up energy.
To stop your dog from digging, chewing etc you need to provide your dog with some stimulation. Dogs are like kids, if you give them nothing to do, they will find the wrong thing to do.
As well as giving them toys etc you need to exercise your dog. This will release all the pent up nervous/negative energy they are storing. Exercising your dog doesn’t include just letting them run around the backyard. They need to experience different surroundings and get their excess energy out. How would you feel if you were stuck inside your house all day and couldn’t get out? If the only exercise you could do was around the lounge room? You would be feeling pretty rotten by the end of the day….and that is exactly how your dog feels being stuck in the backyard with no stimulation. At least a half and hour walk everyday with your dog is what they need. The benefits are great for the owners too…think of how fit you will be!

A great toy to leave with your dog is a Kong with treats stuffed inside it. It makes your dog work to get the treats out. Most dogs are food motivated and I’ve found that it will take them a good couple of hours to get everything out of it and lose interest.

Another option is a small kids pool that you can buy for under $20. I’ve found the plastic half shells are great. Fill one with dirt and fill the other half with water. You have a cheap dogs pool and digging pit!

If your dog has toys, make sure you are rotating them. This will help keep them interested.

If your dog is digging holes in your garden then I’ve found the simplest way to fix this problem is to bury their poop in the hole. No dog wants to put their paws into their own waste.

Remember to replace the digging and destruction with something interesting and positive that your dog can focus on!