lizv@tektools.UUCP (Liz Vaughan) (09/17/85)
Any ideas for getting dogs not to dig? My 2-year-old spayed Great Pyrenees
has suddenly opted for a career in excavation. In the past she's had
"special" spots in the yard where she flattened out a place to lie down, but
nothing like the 3-foot deep pits she's creating now.
I've tried filling them in and re-sodding them, scolding her when I catch her,
dragging her to look at them, but she keeps digging them up again (almost
always the same places too). Any ideas?
She's home alone in a large fenced yard for 5 or 6 hours a day, but has been
alone more in past years. Could this be a reaction to less attention? (someone
was always home over the summer)
Your helpful hints are MUCH appreciated - that ol' Oregon rain is starting
and digging makes MUD.
Liz Vaughan
{allegra,ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}tektronix!tektools!lizvmcguire@aero.ARPA (Rod McGuire) (09/19/85)
In article <487@tektools.UUCP> lizv@tektools.UUCP (Liz Vaughan) writes: >Any ideas for getting dogs not to dig? ... >I've tried filling them in and re-sodding them, scolding her when I catch her, >dragging her to look at them, but she keeps digging them up again (almost >always the same places too). Any ideas? The people next door to me swear by the method of putting dog droppings in the holes. This definitely discourages the dog from digging the same hole over and over. However this isn't a sure fire cure because I still see them collecting the output from their four dogs :-).
marauder@fluke.UUCP (Bill Landsborough) (09/19/85)
In article <487@tektools.UUCP> lizv@tektools.UUCP (Liz Vaughan) writes: >Any ideas for getting dogs not to dig? My 2-year-old spayed Great Pyrenees >has suddenly opted for a career in excavation. In the past she's had >"special" spots in the yard where she flattened out a place to lie down, but >nothing like the 3-foot deep pits she's creating now. > Any ideas? > I have had the same problem with my Black Labrador Retrievers. They (one at a time) were in a large fenced yard and would dig massive holes under the fence. Nothing I did as far as training worked. What I did which did work was buying two foot high chicken wire and stapling it to the fence about three inches up and then the rest lays out on the grass with tent anchors holding it down. The dog would try to dig, hurt its paws, and that would be that. No more digging, no more holes, no more problem. Another solution which city people aren't too accustomed to is electric fence. With creativity, you can train any animal to not go near anything you want. (Maybe furniture isn't on my list though. Hot wire through your living room doesn't really match the decor....) Bill Landsborough -- "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude... Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
ayers@convexs.UUCP (09/25/85)
>The people next door to me swear by the method of putting dog droppings >in the holes. This definitely discourages the dog from digging the same >hole over and over... Well, my wife is a breeder, and we've tried about everything. Presently, we use this method (and others), and it definitely works for a while. However, over a period of weeks (after digging elsewhere and having those holes filled) the dogs come back to their first (favorite?) spots and start over. Of course, we may have special dogs. I've seen them dig through 3 ft. of packed whiterock that was nearly as hard as concrete (it had been a driveway for 25 years). Considering that they are kept in a fenced yard that is approx. 70 ft. by 100 ft., and have their own houses, but access to each other to play, and do it summer (to cool off?) and winter (why?) -- I don't think it's boredom. But I sure don't know why they do it so often...When we used the monk's of New Skete (sp?) method on a daily basis, they stopped digging for awhile. But our laziness has allowed them the chance to start up again. Guess it's about time... Well, that's one mystery less... blues, II