> Training
How to stop
your dog from Digging Holes in your garden
Adam G. Katz
www.dogproblems.com
Copyright 1999 By South Bay K-9 Academy
Guess what? My
dog Forbes started digging holes in my rose garden! Here's
How I Will Teach My Dog Not To Dig In The Garden:
First, I need to
figure out when he is digging. Since I know the dog and his
lifestyle, I can rule out several factors such as boredom, or
puppyhood, or gophers, etc...
I noticed that
every time he would start digging holes, he was in the yard
playing with a friend's dog, unsupervised.
So, I first need
to make sure that it was ACTUALLY MY DOG that was the perpetrator.
A quick look at his feet would suggest that it was.
Next, I needed to
figure out if he would dig ANY TIME he was left alone in the yard,
or if it was only if another dog was present.
To figure this
out, I simply left the dog in the yard alone with access to the
rose garden, several times... and came back to find that he had
not dug.
So... it stands
to reason that the only time my dog is digging in the yard is when
there is another dog in the yard. (Who knows why? There could be a
million unexplained reasons that only the dog knows. All I need in
order to fix the behavior is knowledge of the dog and the
circumstances).
Now, I know that
to fix any behavior problem, I need to make the dog experience a
NEGATIVE ASSOCIATION with the actual ACT of doing that behavior.
In this case, digging.
And he needs to
experience that same negative association EVERY TIME HE DIGS!
In this case, I
must be 100% diligent to never leave Forbes unsupervised in the
yard when there is another dog in the yard.
Of course, if he
was digging by himself, then I'd need to confine him to a kennel
run, where he cannot dig when I'm not supervising him. Or if there
is another dog visiting, then I will need to bring Forbes inside,
put him in the kennel run, or use the presense of the other dog as
a "set up."
The
next step is to make sure that he associates that negative
(correction) just as he starts to dig.
There are
two ways I can do this: The Lazy Man's Way, and the Old Fashioned
Way. Both methods are based in the same principle.
The Old Fashioned
Way to make sure that the dog gets a motivational negative
association when he digs is to:
Step 1.
Leave a pinch collar and tab on the dog when he's outside in the
yard with another dog.
Step 2.
Bury hardware mesh, or chicken wire, in the spot where he's been
digging. The chicken wire should be buried two to three inches
below the surface. Dogs don't like scraping their paws against
this stuff. So, right off the bat you've got an immediate negative
association.
Step 3.
Spy on him and just wait until he start to dig.
Step 4.
As soon as he begins to dig, yell "No No No!" as you run
outside and give the dog a correction. As long as you continue to
say "No no no" as you run to the dog, the dog WILL still
associate the correction with the behavior.
Step 5.
Be 100% consistent until you are 100% sure that the dog isn't
digging any more.
The Lazy Man's
Way to fix this problem behavior is to use a remote electronic
collar. Everything else remains the same.
When using the
e-collar for this behavior, I'd turn the setting up to the high
level. Your goal is to create absolute avoidance to digging. And
you want him to think that the dirt just jumped up and bit him!
Usually if you correct the dog with the electronic collar for this
type of behavior, you've only got to do it twice before the dog
decides that it's in his best interest to leave your garden alone.
back
to top |
