The flower bed has just been laid out, the lawn finally has golf course quality, the perfect lettuce is growing in the vegetable garden – and then the furry friend digs a giant hole in the middle of the splendor! While the heart of the hobby gardener weeps, the loving dog owner asks himself: What can I do to bring the dog and the garden into harmony? In this article, you will find out why a dog digs in the garden as well as tips on what you can do about it as a dog owner.
Why is the dog digging?
Many dogs love to dig in the dirt or sand, while others are not interested in digging in the dirt at all. It is difficult to predict whether a cute puppy will later develop a passion for digging as a young dog or not, because there are very different reasons for digging. While there may be a genetic predisposition in some dog breeds, in other four-legged friends it may be a learned habit or just a fun pastime.
Digging as part of hunting behavior
Some dog breeds, such as the numerous small terriers or dachshunds, were originally bred specifically for hunting den dwellers such as foxes, badgers, or rabbits. Rats and mice are also part of their prey spectrum. Just the smell of a mouse hole or rabbit hole drives these avid hunters to dig for their prey by any means necessary, using their powerful front paws. The tunnel entrances, which are usually kept small and hidden by their actual inhabitants, are studiously enlarged and further deepened until, at best, the actual cave is reached and the occupants are chased away or, at worst, even killed.
What does it mean when dogs dig?
The fact that dogs like to dig is simply in their nature for many. If you don’t want that, you should consistently stop digging from the beginning of your dog’s training and offer alternative behavior accordingly and encourage it positively.
Dog digs in the garden for storage
Also, the genetic inheritance of many dogs is the urge to bury leftover food, a bone, or a treat so no one else can get at it. At best, the four-legged friend will remember to store it in good time and then dig up the good bite again in order to finally eat it with relish.
Jealousy of food can contribute to such behavior, especially when keeping several dogs, so it is important that each dog is given the time and rest it needs to eat and is protected from access by other, faster conspecifics.
Digging for comfort
Many wild dogs scratch themselves into a cozy dugout as a resting place, into which they fit perfectly. This is almost the forerunner to the dog baskets or sleeping caves that we put in our house dogs’ homes these days. If the dog is in the garden and wants to lie down there to doze, it scratches and digs a dog bed à la nature. Of course, this is much easier and more comfortable in the loose soil of a freshly dug flower bed than on the firm ground.
As a special case, pregnant bitches often start making nests in different places in the house and garden shortly before the imminent birth, in which they then want to place their puppies. These can be deep holes in the garden, a basket full of dirty (or clean) laundry, or a pile of pillows in the house. It is best to get the bitch used to a specially set up, comfortable whelping box early on during pregnancy.
What if dogs eat dirt?
Many dogs eat grass from time to time, but some four-legged friends also eat the attached soil. If the dog repeatedly picks up soil, a veterinarian should check its health. This can determine whether there is a nutrient deficiency that the dog is trying to compensate for.
Digging out of curiosity
Dogs and humans spend a lot of time together. So what could be more obvious than allowing your four-legged friend to stay in the garden as often as possible when the weather is good and at the same time to do the gardening work that needs to be done? Tulip bulbs are then dug in, new perennials are planted or the fresh molehill on the lawn is properly leveled – and all this under the attentive gaze of the inquisitive dog. He then wants to know more about it: what did master just dig in there? Why is Mum working so diligently on the heap of the earth there? And hey presto – man turns his back on his work, curiosity wins over the dog and he absolutely has to see what could be so interesting.
Digging out of boredom
Even if dogs can rest for many hours of the day, they want to be kept busy in between. As a dog owner, you should plan time every day that is exclusively dedicated to your four-legged friend. But if you think it’s enough to just send the dog into the garden to do its business there and enjoy the fresh air, you shouldn’t be surprised if the four-legged friend simply looks for something to do and digs up the garden himself.
Out of sheer boredom and mental under challenge, some fur noses find a way to work out physically and have fun at the same time. And even if the master later complains and scolds, the dog has at least attracted the attention of its people – because even negative speech is better than no attention at all.
Should you let dogs dig?
Every garden owner has to make this decision for themselves. If the holes in the garden don’t bother you, you can treat your dog to having fun – it’s important to make sure that your four-legged friend can’t dig out of the fenced garden and to offer him enough activity.
Dog digs in the garden for fun
Finally, there are also the permanently playful dogs, which can occupy themselves for hours with a toy, such as a ball or thick knotted rope. You can chew on it, throw it high in the air, jump after it and in between bury it wonderfully in earth, sand or a freshly chopped pile of leaves, search for it and dig it up again. Anyone who observes such a clown at his exuberant play will find it difficult to blame him for the little mess in the garden.
What can you do against digging?
As with many other undesirable behaviors in dogs, the same applies to digging: resist the beginning! Anyone who doesn’t want their four-legged friend to design the garden according to their own taste should make that clear from the start through good and consistent dog training. The training of a stop signal, with which the dog can be interrupted in its actions from any situation, because then a particularly great reward is guaranteed to await it from its human, should be part of the basic training of every four-legged friend. Through the positive reinforcement of the “right” action, a dog learns very quickly what his human likes and what he should not do.
As always in dog training, the necessary consistency and patience are the keys to success. And of course the dog needs sufficient activity that is appropriate to its physical and mental capabilities. Daily walks in changing surroundings, studying little tricks and exercises, regular dog sports for very agile four-legged friends, or comparable challenges in which dog and human are out and about together – all of these activities help to keep the dog busy so that it is finally tired and happy at home and exhausted no longer has to lose energy by pointlessly digging in the garden.
A dog that regularly digs a den in the garden to lie down may just need a cozier bed. And the burying of leftover food is prevented by clearing away such leftovers beforehand or by keeping other animals away from the dog’s feeding place so that no food envy can arise.
Anyone who owns a passionate mouse hunter often only has the option of denying him access to the flower beds or the vegetable garden with a fence. A compromise solution can be the digging corner set up, especially for the dog in the garden, i.e. a clearly defined area in which digging is expressly permitted. But then it is particularly important to clearly and unequivocally prohibit this activity in all other areas of the garden.
What can you do if the dog is digging in the garden?
In order to influence a dog’s digging activity, it should first be found out why the four-legged friend is doing this and the behavior analyzed. Only then can the dog owner intervene and stop the unwanted behavior.
Why does the dog always dig in the same spot?
If the dog only ever digs in one spot, be it outside in the garden or inside on the carpet or in its dog basket, then it can happen that there is a special smell of something there. Maybe a treat has fallen down there, and the smell makes the four-legged friend keep looking for it. You can often get him out of the habit of digging at this spot simply by making it difficult for him to reach. In the garden, for example, a large stone could be placed exactly on the digging spot, and the spot is then uninteresting. In the apartment it can sometimes help to treat the area with a compatible cleaning agent that neutralizes or masks the interesting smell.
