Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The Diggingest Dog- LIVES HERE!!!

We got Dreamer when she was a puppy. She is now almost 2 years old. We've gone to obedience classes and things like that- all that did was maker her obey- which is nice I suppose- sit stay, speak, go, she doesn't jump on people or anything like that- she's leash/heel trained, etc...

She is an outside dog and always has been- She won't come in the house for a steak!!!
The problem is she digs holes- acutally- she digs craters!!!
That was why we did the obedience classes- and i've had a lot of reccomendations- I have posted about this before- about a year ago and got a lot of help= Walk her, toys, 'work her', etc...

we walk about a mile 3 or 4 nights a week- 2 of those nights we take the whole pack (her and 2 german shepherds). 2 of those nights we have a backpack that we put on her (we also do this with one of the shepherds and it worked great) we put a few bottles of water in the pouch and a plastic cup- so we can have drinks along the way- with our shepherd, when you put the pack on her- her mood totally changes- she's hyper and doesn't walk well without the pack but with the pack- she knows she has a job to do and her ears lay back a bit and she's very serious about her "job"= the pack works similarly with Dreamer, just not as well...

She has an array of toys that she does play with- and we've gotten creative with this too- clean out a milk jug and put a treat inside- takes a few hours to get the jug apart- she gets the treat and we pick up the trash- and get a new jug. She has balls- tennis,basketball, vollyball, kong toys, and a giant ball thats made for horses, she has a rope toy... or 2. And theres a sulcata tortoise that lives in our back yard and they "play" a bit- she'll chase the tort. and he'll turn and chase her. we also have an apple tree and she'll jump up and shake the lower branches and apples will fall and she'll chew them to pieces.... We've invested several hundred dollars into toys- so that we can rotate them out when she gets bored. Which was also reccomended to us before when I posted about this-

Now- we're out of things to do- I've seen collars that shock the dog when it senses she's digging and for one thing- they're a bit out of the price range and i'm not really sure thats something I'm ok with- our dogs have never had physical punishment and I don't think thats a good option for our family. I did hit one of our dogs once and she yalped and I cried- the next night my son hit the dog and that was when we said never again- we have since found much better and more effective ways of teaching/training.
I need help though- we aren't getting rid of her even if she does keep digging craters in our yard... It would just be nice to not have the holes like we do...

thank you!!

Sounds like dog bored maybe? I had one dog that dug holes. When I would the find the hole I would put her own poop in it, eventually it seem to break the habit for her.

Cheryl

I will try the poop thing-
any suggestions for making her un-bored?
like i said before- we go on regular walks, she has several hundred $ of toys that are rotated out, she has other dogs to play with, we are outside a lot eating dinner, playing, jumping on the trampoline, things like that....
thanks
Beth

dig holes, also? I had read that it was something that they do on a regular basis. Some of the holes were large enough to make a cave out of, and they would crawl into it to use as a den. So you might be fighting a losing battle.
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sue, cheyenne-the American bulldog bully, nehi-her long suffering border collie mix, and charlie-our "basic black, white, and brown dog" who is watching from the bridge.

Few here are experienced with wolves and their hybrids. My guess is this is a part of the genetics that is VERY tough to deal with. I can't offer much other than possibly provide a kennel space with a cement floor for confinement when the aniaml can't be supervised. I'd also probably make a sand box in the yard where the dog CAN dig so there's a spot to use the energy and instinct so the whole yard does not suffer.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

ah. Sand box.... that is a great idea- we may have to give her a run w/ cement- i really don't want to- I want to give her a home, not make her feel like she's at the pound.... but i like my grass, and my ankles...

we'll try the sand box. i have some sand out in the shed. thanks.
beth

Having a Digger you might want to try Getting her a Kiddy pool and Filling it with Play Sand!!! And Teach her that it's ok to ONLY Dig there!!!! it worked with my Jack Russell
Sara

well- we got her a kiddy pool and filled it with sand several days ago.... she dug in it and rolled in it and then pooped in it and hasnt touched it since.

we foster for the german shepherd rescue and we got an 'outside only' puppy and apparently she wants a buddy b/c there havent been any new holes since we got the pup in... so we'll just keep replacing our foster dogs as they get adopted.
woo hoo- maybe its solved!!

Well, I guess that's a win/win situation- foster dogs gets lots of socialization and a good home and your dog gets the energy burned off that it needs to.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles