The Diggingest Dog

[Goochina & Goochissimo]

I'm in need of advice for my dopey dog. He digs to get out of the yard -- this is an ongoing problem. Driving us nuts! He doesn't dig up holes just for no reason, but only to get out of the yard.

We've tried pepper/hot sauce. We've tried burrying his poop. We've tried burrying buckets and things so that he couldn't dig deep enough. When we chained him to the tree, he STILL dug out of the yard and ended up stuck just outside the fence all day -- grrr.

All he wants is to roam the block at will, but the neighbors aren't fond of this idea. Any more suggestions for my stubborn dalmation???? I hate to go the route of electric fencing... and I'm not even sure that would stop him! Plus... is it safe? I've got a 6-year old son that plays out there with his friends.

[mruffruff]

The best solution to your problem is going to take a bunch of physical labor on your part and some wire fencing.

Dig a trench from your fence into your yard two feet wide and a foot deep. Lay the wire fencing in the trench, attach it to the fence you already have and fill in the new stuff. Walk over the new stuff to pack it down.

Now when your dog tries to dig out, he'll run into more fence.

With luck, he'll eventually give up the digging.

Be sure he has enough to keep him busy while he's alone. If he gets bored, he might try something new. Stuffing a kong with peanut butter and freezing it is one ploy. Or a ball that you can put dry food into.

Your only other option is to tie him far enough from the fence so he can't dig under it.

Mary

[mruffruff]

P.S.
An electric fence won't hurt your child. It also won't keep other dogs out. And it takes training to keep the dog in. If the dog bolts and gets a single shock from the special collar, he's still GONE! and he won't go back into the yard because he still has the collar on and will get another shock on the way in. Electric fences are training tools, and have their place but I don't trust them to keep my dogs safe AT ALL TIMES. They need access to an electrical outlet and batteries for the collar, so they require ongoing maintenance.

Mary

[C.C.'s Mom]

I'm having digging-problems with my Golden Retriever Cookie too. I started a thread not so long ago:

Digging

[kobieeli]

G & G,
You don't say if the dog is neutered or not. If he's an intact male digging only to get out of the yard to roam (for ladies?), I'll bet that getting him neutered would cure the problem.
If he IS neutered, though, does he get enough exercise during the day? I know dals need to run a lot; maybe he just wants to stretch his legs a bit?

[KYS]

Everyone had great advice.
Mary, we did something similiar, but not as much
work as you did.
Rocky use to try to get to our neighbors yard,
especially if they have a strange dog over.
We dug a small trench by one fence and filled it with cement.
(made it ground level, so water still can flow normal incase of rain)
On the other side of the back yard we stapled chicken
wire to the bottom of our wood fence and left
about 1 1/2 feet of it away from the fence
and than placed railroad ties over it. Sort of looks like
an L.
Both ways worked. Even though he no longer tries
to get to our neighbors house I feel much safer
knowing our yard is escape proof.
(it's a good thing my dogs don't climb or jump)

[anna_66]

Your dog want to dig out of the yard...mine just wants to dig in the yard. We just went out the other day, OH MY GOODNESS! There are too many holes to count, and they are all about 2-3 ft deep! She even dug so deep, she struck water! The holes are only about 1 ft wide, and there is no dirt around where she dug?! I don't know if she is eating it or what?
Hopefully this spring we can put a stop (well maby slow down) to her digging. They say Huskies are diggers.....and lo & behold.....they were right!