Any miracle tips to stop my dogs tunnelling through to wales! Since we moved a couple of months back to a house with a huge beautiful garden they are like hounds possessed! Under fences, bushes, shrubs. we do have wild life around so that seems to get them going. I have tried a special area for them but they dig that up as well as all else.
We also have a big yard area where they are sometimes contained but even then they find the smallest patch of soil and dig it out. thay have even gone in the coal shack and started on that. Any suggestions before my garden is totally ruined. There are 3 GSPs and a Wire, who incidently is so busy trying to catch birds does not bother digging
Thanks

I think that you need to catch them at it and tell them not too :-) My GSP's as pup's, were inclined to dig. My 12 year old still will, given access to earth. I think that you are asking a lot of them to tell them that they can dig in one area but not another. Either you want them to stop or you don't ;-)

Leigh

How is Oscar getting on these days ?

Thanks Leigh. You are probably right. i have just been clearing leaves and you need eyes in the back of your head. i swear they are in cahoots and take it in turns to get one over.
Oscar is not doing too badly and is very much loved by his new owners. the downside is that he seems quite insecure and shows fear ? agression when they have visitors. he is also very possessive of his owners. They are working to improve this but it is slow progress. he has had so many ups and downs in a short time, he must be quite confused.. he was also limping and the vet who his new owner works for thought it was ocd. The x ray report said not but diagnosis was inconclusive. He is now being treated as query strain with Metacam

Bear with me, the brain is going :-) I remember that he was a passive dog, but was it Prisons? Didn't they out him for excessive noise? I think the clue to his behaviour is there.

Limping can be caused by so many different things. If its inconclusive, then time will tell. Fingers crossed that he has just pulled something :-)

Leigh

No he was outed because he had separation anxiety, weight loss etc. He also nearly died from a mouth abscess which caused toxaemia. he hated it toho when all the big GSds were ahouted at by their burly handlers!

Oh dear Leigh does that sound familiar from my phone call to you about Monty when I first had him. A year on he is now pretty much ok after a lot of barking and whining when they first arrive, I give every new visitor treats to give him when they first arrive and after a couple of visits he accepts them, a huge change from him staying between them and me and growling. When I am out with him he ignores people I stop and talk to, and yes he too digs holes with a lot of help from Merlin. Ingrid

Yes Ingrid...... I have heard this once or twice over the years ;-) I'm glad that I could be of help to you and that he came good for you in the end. Leigh xx

I think that Kai overheard Jon saying that he was putting in a waterfall and pond in the spring and decided that he could help by digging in the middle of the garden. I think that Mara is the culprit who encouraged him since I always find her with just a bit of dirt on her toenails and sitting there with this smile on her face watching him dig to China. And it is sooooooo hard to yell at him when he looks up with that puppy face as if to say 'look, Mom, I'm helping!!!'

As far as passive training tips for discouraging digging, you can use balloons and blow them up to near bursting, smear a bit of liver pate or sausage or something yummy smelling on it and place the balloon in the hole. Cover it with a bit of dirt and watch out the window as you let ONE dog out to investigate. If they start digging, the balloon will burst with a loud noise, scattering a bit of soil. The soil monster got them!!! You can do the same thing with a set mouse trap (Note: do not use rat traps, bear traps, etc.... these could potentially damage feet).

Drawbacks to this is that you should definitely be in a position to watch the dog -- the positive effect is that the dog does not associate you with the correction.