WHY DOES YOUR DOG DIG?

Many breeds have been selectively bred for their ability to dig, e.g. most terrier breeds.  In fact the word "terrier" comes from the French word terre which means earth or ground.  

Fox Terriers are used on hunts so that when a fox has been run to earth, the Fox Terrier is used to flush it out.

Dachshunds were bred to dig for Badgers from their sets.  It is therefore rather unfair to punish the dog for a normal canine activity and to try and stop what comes natural to some breeds.

Children like to dig around in mud and dirt, and the parents are none too happy when the little rascals appear at the back door covered from head to foot in mud!  Parents of these children are often sensible enough to realise they must supply a hygienic area where the child can safely play without getting too dirty and doing any damage, so they provide a sandpit.

This is the answer, you need to provide the dog with its own digging pit and train it to use it.  When trying to find the most suitable place, you must consider the reasons for your dog's digging behaviour.  

If he only digs in the hot summer months then he is probably digging a cooling pit and it would be of no use to site it in an area that receives most of the day's sun.

Although dogs dig for a variety of reasons including to bury or recover bones, dig up prey, cooling pits and warming pits and even as means of escape, the main reason is that it is FUN.  It passes the time of day when confined or isolated.

If the digging is caused because your dog spends quite a few hours outdoors, unsupervised, then ask yourself why?  Does he chew things indoors or soil the house or be a general nuisance?  If the answer to any of these is Yes, then we need to deal with those problems first, which are quite easy to do.

Dogs love company, they cannot be expected to idle away long and lonely hours with nothing to do, they will eventually find something to do which will probably not meet with out approval.

Punishment for this behaviour will only create one thing - a deterioration in the relationship between dog and owner.

HOW TO DEAL WITH DIGGING.
First of all the dog must not be let in the garden again on his/her own, they cannot learn that digging up the flower border or vegetable plot is unwanted unless they are told "Off" at the moment of going on there and then most importantly PRAISED FOR COMING OFF AND NOT DIGGING. 

No dogs dig all day long, so give your dog praise when he is not digging, play with him and reward him.  If he is digging to escape you should consider taking him out for regular walks. But if, in the case of most dogs, his greatest joy is to dig a few holes then you need to provide a digging pit.

A 3 x 6 foot area is sufficient for any dog, dig an area to the depth of 2 foot and mix in a little sand.  Now stock the pit with buried treasure such as bones, chew toys etc.  Leave some items poking out of the surface and allow your dog to watch this process.  

Now use the command "DIG IN YOUR PIT".  When interest is shown praise your dog and enthusiastically repeat the request "Good go and dig in your pit".  Once your dog gets the idea, the items can be buried deeper.  If your dog unearths a bone or a treat, allow him to eat it, if a toy comes up then reward the dog by having a game with it straight away.  This becomes self rewarding to the dog and if interest is shown elsewhere tell him "OFF" then "DIG IN YOUR PIT".  It won't take him long to realise what those words mean.