Hi everyone,

Has anyone got any tips on how to stop a puppy from digging up the garden?!
While we're not particularly garden fanatics and worried about how the garden looks, we don't want huge 'craters' in it either!
Sonny is almost six months old and loves to take his bone meal outside to bury - to dig up later. I don't want to spoil his fun but....

Ruth

Ruth,
Some dig some don't, big help aren't I. My Beardie/Border dug like nothing on earth not to bury anything just for sheer love of it. I watched and told him off when I saw him do it but we did end up gravelling over the two big flower beds. You could build him a digging pit to use and just move him there everytime you see him start
Anne

Hi Ruth - my old sunny (GR) could dig for England, I saw a prog. on tv where someone suggested placing chicken wire, but the mesh kind, in the earth over favourite digging sites and then covering over again, the reasoning being that the dog will dig but wont like the sensation of the mesh on the nails and will then learn that it is unpleasant to dig. For me, unless I took up the whole lawn, meshed the whole garden and relaid the lawn, i did not feel it would do it for us, plus by then she had taught the spaniels to dig too! the only solution we had was to segregate our garden, we were fortunate in that our was large enough to do this. So the dogs have their own area, which is now concreted, so easy to pick up poo and no digging, and the kids have their own lawned area, where they can run in safety (no more saying you cant go out until I have done a full search of the garden for poo) and no craters to fall into!!! We live by the beach so any digging is done in the sand now! HTH Julie:)

<<<I don't want to spoil his fun but....>>>

Why don't you give him a designated spot where he can dig? Section off part of the border where he can go or give him his own sandbox! Digging is a natural pastime for a dog and he'll love you forever if you give him his own spot :D

I agree with Jacqui - if you give him a really satisfying place to dig (encourage him by letting him see*you* bury a special treat or two in there occasionally) he'll be more likely to dig there than in your garden......

yep, I agree to - thats why my 'orrible lot go to the beach, they can create the biggest crater in the world and it makes no difference to me, although if I read in the local rag that any locals have disappeared on the beach, I might get a bit worried :D :D :D Julie:)

Thanks everyone,

The designated spot seems like the best way to go.
We actually live in the boarding house of a private school which makes it more important that we try to keep the place in resonable order but I'm sure we can find an unobtrusive spot for Sonny.
Dogs will be dogs!:):)

Ruth:)

well sorry but tisa part of the fun of dog ownership!!! Not sure what breed, but if its a hound....forget it!

Hi Sam,
Sonny's a retriever and we know he's just being a puppy so we'll do our best to let him grow and develop as a puppy should!:)

Ruth

How did I just know this had to be a Retriever??? ;) Generally "Gardening" is their strong point! lol

Regards, John

Hi John, How are you these days?? Hope all is okay with you. :-)

Well, Precious my yorkie loves to "pretend" dig in the house. When she gets a dog biscuit she goes to a room and acts like she is digging a hole in the corner of the room and puts the biscuit down. I now have doggy biscuits in each corner of every room!!!! I guess this satisfies her, she doesn't dig outside. :D Shirl

Don't you just hate 'em Shirl! I think all of my Labs have been gardeners (With the exception of "The Flower" who would not even breath if I told her not to!) Beth was the worst, but then, Beth never accepted that rules is rules!

Best wishes, John

Yours is a gardener and mine an interior designer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D Shirl