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How to stop a dog digging up grass?

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  • 02-02-2011 11:35pm
    #1
    beanie2010
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭


    Just wondering if anyone has any tips on how to stop my dog digging up the grass?
    There's parts of it that has gone a brown/ yellow colour so I presume I need to put down grass seeds to bring it on again.

    She has loads of toys, is walked at the very least twice a day & I usually go out & play ball with her for about half an hour so it's not like she's just left outside to entertain herself.

    Any advice would be great.


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    #2
    seanybiker
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,898 ✭✭✭✭seanybiker


    Take the shovel off her.



    Sorry I had to.



    Could be trying to find somewhere to hide one of her toys. My old dog used to love hiding stuff she could use at a later date


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    #3
    caseyann
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,941 ✭✭✭caseyann


    Maybe longer walks or try bike power her running along side you.How long is she in back garden alone?as dogs are pack animals and need constant if not all the time company.


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    #4
    RubyGirl
    Registered Users Posts: 1,275 ✭✭✭RubyGirl


    Put some "poo" into the hole and fill up again with clay, do this for every one she digs and she's soon stop. Thats what I did with my digger.


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    #5
    beanie2010
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭beanie2010


    caseyann wrote: »
    Maybe longer walks or try bike power her running along side you.How long is she in back garden alone?as dogs are pack animals and need constant if not all the time company.


    Ok a typical day:
    Start off with a morning walk that is fast paced which takes about half an hour/ forty minutes.
    Get home & I leave her in the garden while I get showered. She's in & out of the house then until I have to go to work.
    I put her in a run during the day while I'm at work.
    Get home in the evening & we usually play ball for about half an hour. Again she's in & out of the house until I bring her for another walk which lasts for about an hour, again at a fast pace.

    I'd say she's rarely left for more than twenty minutes/ half an hour on her own outside without someone being with her or she's snoozing inside.


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    #6
    caseyann
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,941 ✭✭✭caseyann


    beanie2010 wrote: »
    Ok a typical day:
    Start off with a morning walk that is fast paced which takes about half an hour/ forty minutes.
    Get home & I leave her in the garden while I get showered. She's in & out of the house then until I have to go to work.
    I put her in a run during the day while I'm at work.
    Get home in the evening & we usually play ball for about half an hour. Again she's in & out of the house until I bring her for another walk which lasts for about an hour, again at a fast pace.

    I'd say she's rarely left for more than twenty minutes/ half an hour on her own outside without someone being with her or she's snoozing inside.
    What kind of dog is she? And is she anyway apprehensive dog?

    p.s fair play to you she is lucky dog :)


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    #7
    seanybiker
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,898 ✭✭✭✭seanybiker


    Wow. Now that is how to take care of a dog. Fair play to you.


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    #8
    beanie2010
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭beanie2010


    caseyann wrote: »
    What kind of dog is she? And is she anyway apprehensive dog?

    p.s fair play to you she is lucky dog :)


    She's a lab cross. Parentage is a little bit dodgy! She has mountains of energy & I know she's very much in the puppy stage but the garden is beginning to look like a warzone. As dogs goes she is very confident & friendly, she is submissive around male dogs though.
    I considered getting a childrens sand box for her to dig & rummage in, would this be of any benefit?
    She doesn't bury things she just digs an inch or two so putting poo where she has dug isn't really an option.
    I have tried spraying her with water when I catch her at it but it has made no difference really, she will just wait until my back is turned!


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    #9
    caseyann
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,941 ✭✭✭caseyann


    beanie2010 wrote: »
    She's a lab cross. Parentage is a little bit dodgy! She has mountains of energy & I know she's very much in the puppy stage but the garden is beginning to look like a warzone. As dogs goes she is very confident & friendly, she is submissive around male dogs though.
    I considered getting a childrens sand box for her to dig & rummage in, would this be of any benefit?
    She doesn't bury things she just digs an inch or two so putting poo where she has dug isn't really an option.
    I have tried spraying her with water when I catch her at it but it has made no difference really, she will just wait until my back is turned!

    Sounds like my old dog,he would not dig when watching then head straight to dig when turned my back.How we got him out of it was just when he was caught stiff sssh at him walk up to him and back him away till he walked away.And when he stopped walked off we walked off.
    It really might be a puppy stage and get over it if you get on top of it.
    Spraying with water not a good idea.
    Sand box i think is encouraging her to dig more.


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    #10
    beanie2010
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭beanie2010


    caseyann wrote: »
    Sounds like my old dog,he would not dig when watching then head straight to dig when turned my back.How we got him out of it was just when he was caught stiff sssh at him walk up to him and back him away till he walked away.And when he stopped walked off we walked off.
    It really might be a puppy stage and get over it if you get on top of it.
    Spraying with water not a good idea.
    Sand box i think is encouraging her to dig more.


    Oh when I say spraying with water I don't mean a garden hose, I have a bottle of water similar to a spray for hair products that I use. Now the sight of the bottle is enough to make her go sheepish!

    Yeah I suppose I'm grasping at straws with the sand box idea.

    Oh I don't know what to do with her, there's only so much damage I can blame on the frosty weather!


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    #11
    caseyann
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,941 ✭✭✭caseyann


    beanie2010 wrote: »
    Oh when I say spraying with water I don't mean a garden hose, I have a bottle of water similar to a spray for hair products that I use. Now the sight of the bottle is enough to make her go sheepish!

    Yeah I suppose I'm grasping at straws with the sand box idea.

    Oh I don't know what to do with her, there's only so much damage I can blame on the frosty weather!

    I knew that,Can guess by the way you take care of her already you wouldnt spray with hose.:)

    Well you dont want her to be sheepish of bottles of water as she will then get a fear of them.I think if you really have bad problems with her and they increase training or maybe fencing to block your grass when she is in back alone and only allowed in there as a treat?


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    #12
    beanie2010
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭beanie2010


    caseyann wrote: »
    I knew that,Can guess by the way you take care of her already you wouldnt spray with hose.:)

    Well you dont want her to be sheepish of bottles of water as she will then get a fear of them.I think if you really have bad problems with her and they increase training or maybe fencing to block your grass when she is in back alone and only allowed in there as a treat?


    Funnily enough if a bottle is empty she will do her best to get her paws on it to chew, but I understand what you are saying.

    To be honest I wouldn't block her off the grass, it wouldn't feel right. I'll leave it for another while before I consider it a major problem as she's still a pup really but I will try to keep more of an eye on her & increase training.

    Thanks everyone & if anyone has a magic answer please let me know :)


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    #13
    LucyBliss
    Registered Users Posts: 616 ✭✭✭LucyBliss


    We have a dog who is a complete digger as well. The first summer, our garden had little pot holes in it, thanks to her and some of them were a bit stealthily placed. Eventually we let her have a part of the flower bed to dig up when she felt the urge and when she'd start to dig somewhere else, we'd call her over and direct her to that spot. It seems to have worked because she's stopped at the grass.

    We use the spray bottle on our lot too from time to time and yes, me planting the bottle firmly on the table does tend to make them reassess their actions. However, I can't say as it has had any lasting effects on their psyche. We primarily used it when they were pups to remind them not to jump on us. Now if they get so excited that they lose the run of themselves and start jumping (happens occasionally if I'm putting the leads on them and they hear a noise outside that excites them even further), then I show them the bottle of water. Miss Meg however is so smart that she will back away from the bottle in my hand, run behind me and jump up on the back of my legs. Doesn't happen often but when it does, I find myself wondering why on earth she can't use those smarts to be a crime fighting dog instead of a heartscald! :)


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    #14
    Meteoric
    Registered Users Posts: 196 ✭✭Meteoric


    RubyGirl wrote: »
    Put some "poo" into the hole and fill up again with clay, do this for every one she digs and she's soon stop. Thats what I did with my digger.
    You obviously do not own a lab as they would dig it up just to get to it :eek:
    OP i do not know what to to other than what you are doing, make it clear it is not acceptable by using the spray or maybe training discs, dogs dig, some more than other. Puppy is puppy you need to teach her not to so it but come breeds will try to tunnel to the centre of the earth, if she is one of them....... Maybe a dog trainer? but if dog is a breed that does that by instinct I'm not sure


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    #15
    Bog Bunny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 77 ✭✭Bog Bunny


    All puppies dig, it's part of their skills learning process. In nature they would need this behaviour as adults to dig a den or to bury their food. For a pup it is great fun, just like it is for toddlers to play in the sand or forever pick up pebbles or little stones and throw them. When a pup finds something that pleases him, he'll go back to it again and again until he is an accomplished digger or whatever tickles his fancy :). But don't despair, he'll stop this eventually - the end of 'nuisance' behaviour usually coincides with a visit from the brain fairy on his first birthday or thereabouts when he becomes a bit more sensible.

    My suggestion is to forget about a lush green lawn for the moment, keep closing the craters and hope that he'll outgrow it soon.
    You can offer him alternatives to occupy his mind while he is alone outside (toys, a fresh knuckle bone, a buster cube) or instead of squirting water you can be proactive and distract him with something nicer for both of you.


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    #16
    Cherry Blossom
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional North West Moderators Posts: 6,941 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cherry Blossom


    Buy or build her a sandpit that is easy for her to dig in and keep burying things in there that she can dig up like some toys or a nice smelly bone, it should encourage her to dig only in the right place.


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    #17
    Cherry Blossom
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional North West Moderators Posts: 6,941 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cherry Blossom


    beanie2010 wrote: »
    Yeah I suppose I'm grasping at straws with the sand box idea.

    Just noticed this ;), no not at all, my dog is a terrier and a born digger, I don't have a sandbox for her but I don't need one as I just close her in an empty stable with some burried toys for an hour every morning and she gets all her digging out of her system for the day.


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