Uhoh we have a digger

[Cinder & Smoke]

I have diggers, tunnellers, cave builders!

Our last house, which was home to three huskies,
needed six trucks of black dirt to fill in the back yard when we sold it!

SIX Loads of Dirt!??
Good Golly!

WHAT did they DO with all the dirt that came OUT of those holes?
(Were thye selling dirt on the black market when you weren't home?)

[K9soul]

I think the impression some people have are based off multiple posts of various puppy problems (which are all normal puppy things), and your continual emphasis on how difficult it is, how you have so much on your plate, so much stress, can't even get a few moments of peace that you so badly need. It's bound to make one say "perhaps a puppy is too much for you right now?" It's not meant as a personal slam, it's the impression one gets by various things said. You seem so overwhelmed and believe me, I know how overwhelming a puppy can be even without having young kids in the picture. No one is saying they are better than you, no one is trying to imply you are a bad person, a bad parent, a bad pet owner. They just read your words and state their impression based on how those words come across to them. Please try not to take suggestions and/or opinions so personally. You could always just explain you are stressed and venting a bit but you are truly happy with your puppy and thanks for the concern. It can make such a difference in communicating what you are wanting to.

[Sirrahsim]

OK *deep breath* I'm sorry. I will admit that I am more emotional than usual right now. At this point in time it does not take much for me to become offended and defensive. I am sorry that I snapped at everyone and I am ashamed of myself.
That being said, I do understand that it might not have been the best idea for us to get a puppy right now but that is done with. We have her and certainly aren't giving her back! What I need is practical advice on how to make things work because I will (now) admit that I might be in a little over my head.

[K9soul]

Hey we all get in over our heads sometimes! I'm glad to see you are so determined to work with her though, too many people give up during the hardest times and miss out on the best years with their companion.

As far as the digging, have you worked with come or look at me yet? Have you clicker trained any? I had a treat pouch I carried with me, and when Raven was getting into things and I caught her, instead of scolding I'd give her a command "Raven come!" in a cheery voice, and click as soon as she started moving towards me. Oh she came running then cause she knew a goody was waiting. It may seem like you are rewarding her for digging, but in a pup's mind they associate the reward with the last thing they did: In this case leaving the digging and coming when you called. The more you can turn her attention to good things and things that she is supposed to play with and supposed to do, the more the bad habits will phase out. Of course the best way of prevention is not leaving her unsupervised as much as possible out there, because every time she digs it's rewarding for her because it's fun. Puppies remember those rewards oh so well. I also got a couple toys that the pup wasn't just free to play with whenever she wanted. They were reward toys. Special toys she got to play with for awhile when she did something good or had behaved well. When she got tired, I'd pick the toy up and put it away for next time, so that every time it was a really coveted and special toy. I hope this can give you some ideas on dealing with her puppy self.

[bckrazy]

Fozzie LOVES to dig holes... I don't know why, and it has only developed since he was about 1 year old, but he just loves it. He doesn't even try to dig out of the yard; just random holes. Of course, he decides to do this ONLY in the winter, and ONLY in the red, clay-like dirt in the back of our backyard; resulting in him getting completely filthy.

I filled his holes up with dirt several times, and had no luck. I even put some rocks in the dirt, but he still managed to get around them. The only trick that worked, and I know this is disgusting, was filling them with poop. He hasn't dug in any of those holes since, so I guess it's working!

I am also setting up a sandbox for him, this summer. He obviously really enjoys digging.

My advice is to supervise her from now on... you are lucky that Ginger happened to dig into a neighbor's backyard (with a friendly dog!) rather than into your front yard. To keep her safe, and to keep your yard from getting wrecked, make sure that you are keeping a close eye on her when she's outside. You should also give her something productive to do, when she's out there. There are LOTS of awesome Kong tricks on the Kong website; you could give her a stuffed Kong, a hanging kibble-filled Kong, etc. You could teach her to play "find the treats", and hide treats around the backyard while she watches, then let her go run around and find them. Make sure she has plenty of fun, interactive toys out there to occupy herself. Also, make sure she gets plenty of daily exercise. You should play with her a few times through out the day, enough to tire her out. Digging can sometimes be the result of a lot of pent-up energy.

Unfortunately, 10 week old puppies are looking for trouble, by nature. They just don't know what's "right" and what's "wrong", so it will take a lot of guidance and supervision before she learns that. It really is safer to keep her in her crate, or an x-pen, than outside alone.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Didn't mean to offend you my dear - merely concerned about the wellbeing of you, your kids and your pup as you seem to have so much to contend with.

Having said that, kudos to you for not giving up at the first sign of trouble - and where else would you come for some advice and support