Dog digging up my yard.

[emc]

Depends on the dog, if she keeps finding doggie doo when she digs she may give up figuring "this isn't fun anymore"

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[catnapper]

Dogs dig for several reasons. One that immediately pops to mind at this time of year: they dig to find a nice cool spot to lay. Are the holes wide enough to lay in? Then your dog is most likely trying to find a respite from the hot sun.

More likely though, they are digging because digging is just plain fun (fun if you're a dog.) You already indicated you might know the source of the problem: they are now outside on their own instead of walks. The #1 mistake people make is getting a fence thinking their dogs will LOVE the new yard. They think THEY'D like the be outside in a nice big yard to roam and do as they please. Unfortunately, dogs don't see it as that. Imagine this: you are used to going to plays and seeing great theatre. You thoroughly enjoyed your socializing during the plays and afterwards. You looked forward to the theatre every day and eagerly awaited the next show. You got excited every time you heard about scoring new tickets. Now all of the sudden the person who took you to the theatre decided they're too busy and bought you a big screen TV. They thought you'd love it. You can sit and watch all sorts of shows all afternoon long! instead, you feel jilted. Sure you can watch Les Misrables on the TV, but its not the same! Doesn't your patron know its not just the play but its the acitivty, the mingling, the time spent together?

Put yourt son in the stroller and take him and the dogs for a walk. Its great for all of you. Before you tell me its impossible, trust me, its not. I often walk my grandson, Nicki, and my neighbor's dog (Nicki's the mutt in my signature, no small critter, and Gracie is a Golden). I get funny looks and sometimes its interesting to see which way the dogs decide they're taking me, but we all get out and about just fine.

If you can't be there to walk them, then the best thing is to make an appropriate digging spot for them. They're going to dig to work out energy and find interesting things. Its better to have one small area with holes than a whole yard.

Also, think of it this way: is it quicker and easier to take a half hour walk once or twice a day than it is to go to the store, buy seed, repair holes, and tend to hole til the seed grows and matures? Trust me, Nicki was a champion digger in her day, until I realized it was easier and less time consuming to walk her than to ignore her. Ignoring her meant lots of cleanup afterwards.