Major Digging, Help!

[MariaM]

Help! I don't know what to do! Major is digging under the fence, and he almost got out! I can't have him tied up all day. That would be horrible! But he was digging and digging and I had to tie him up for now. What can I do?

[countrycowgirl]

there is lots of things to do .... you can put some wire like chicken wire underneath so that he can't dig though the wire..... you can try putting some red pepper around your fence I put that around the trees and flower beds and they stoped digging in them hope this helps I am sure that some people will have better advice than me

[MariaM]

What exactly is red pepper and where can you get it? Thanks!

[countrycowgirl]

it is a spice like a seasoning it is at the grocery store in the seasoning .... I hope that it helps

[MariaM]

Thank you! Do you know why it helps or what the theory behind it isÉ I am very interested!

[countrycowgirl]

it is strong pepper when they sniff it it kinda like tickles there nose and they don't like the smell of it ...... it is not expensive eihter so it is a good thing I hope it work watch him close after you put it out and see if he still diggs since he is a puppy and that is the stage he is probully in right now it MIGHT not be strong enough but I think it will work just make sure you watch him closely after you put it out to make sure it works

[MariaM]

ok thanks!

[dukedogsmom]

It's very HOT as in spicy. He may be bored, too. You might need to spend some more time with him. Any chance you could bring him in, even for a couple of hours? Dogs love being with people. Or, he could be hot and trying to cool off. You could also try and get some 2x4s to hammer right beside the bottom of the fence maybe, to keep him from accessing it. I have never had that problem so don't know, really.

[MariaM]

I was out with him a bit earlier.

Unfortunately, we canèt bring him in:(

I donèt think heès too hot, he has water and its really not hot outside at all.

We did nail some, where there were holes...I guess we could do that as a temporary thing but Ièm sure heèd dig under

Sorry for those weird things, like the É and è but my computer is acting funny...:(

[Cookiebaker]

It really sounds like Major is getting bored. His mind NEEDS to be stimulated. He needs to constantly be steered in the direction of good behaviours, and tired out so that when you leave him to himself, he goes to sleep instead of acting on bad behaviours.

Puppies don't learn to be well behaved all by themselves. It takes tons of time and lots of energy and ATTENTION!!! I cannot stress this enough.

How long did you walk him today? How many times did you throw the ball so that he could run and chase it? The only well behaved puppy is a tired puppy. :p

If you take him out for 15 minutes, and he is still bored, take him for a 30 minute walk. When you play fetch with him for 30 minutes, and he is still acting bored, play with him for an hour.

Exercise, exercise, exercise!!!!!!!

[MariaM]

Well, yesterday he went to the farm and had a blast! He ran alot!
I am still working on his walks alot. Today it was about 20 minutes or so. We didn't get very far though:rolleyes:

If only he WOULD chase it! I am in the process of finding him a toy thats interesting!:D

Do you have any other games that take up a lot of his exercise? I don't really know what to play with him. Sometimes he'll fetch but not usually, unless its a glove and that he won't bring back lol.

[countrycowgirl]

hmmmmm ... I really don't know what to tell you:confused:

[Dot]

I had that problem once, and I loosely wired some old fence posts (pipe also works) to the bottom of the fence wherever the dog tried to dig. Then when he would dig at the bottom of the fence, the horizontal post or pipe would flop back and forth, making his digging ineffectual. He stopped digging soon after, but I can't really say if that was what did it.

The hot pepper sounds like an excellent idea, too! Just be sure to reapply it often, or whenever it rains.

Just a thought, but has Major been neutered? He may have picked up the scent of a female dog in heat, or may just be trying to get out to look for one. Neutering will usually make a dog a lot more satisfied to stay home and not roam.

In the meantime, make sure his collar can't come off, and carries his name and your phone number, in case he does get out. Best of luck!

:-Dot

[MariaM]

Dot, thats a different idea! Sounds interesting though, I might have to try that and the pepper.

Major hasn't been neutered yet. We will get it done but the vet said he had to be 6 months old and he is not quite 5 yet.

Thanks!

[LuckiLab03]

I don't know if my advice will be useful to you considering Brooke just layed around all day and Riley is a bonkers puppy, but what keeps Riley busy for a while is an empty bottle of water with her favorite dog treats inside, then we smash it in so they won't fall out. I don't know how much of a chewer Major is but if that could be dangerous to him, just try giving him a kong with lots of peanut butter inside. Just a suggestion..

[binka_nugget]

Originally posted by MariaM
Do you have any other games that take up a lot of his exercise? I don't really know what to play with him. Sometimes he'll fetch but not usually, unless its a glove and that he won't bring back lol.

With my cousin's border collies, you could run for miles and they'd still be running off the walls. I find mental stimulation is a lot more effective than exercise. Exercise is great but if you think he needs a little more than exercise to poop him out, games that make him think will tire him out quickly. When I can't take my dogs out for a walk or run a certain day, I keep them content by playing hide and seek with them. Kai especially loves it. It tires him out if I hide in really difficult spots and it actually helps with his recall as well.