Digging

[Scorpio]

Okay a question now?

When we go back to work in the spring I want to leave Ozzy and my 4yr old rottie outside , Ozzy will be 6 months by then. I am going to leave a bed and water and I thought of a small childs swimming pool, because hes white (need to cool off) There are two bigs trees and a fenced in yard with cedars around it. Now my question is, do they dig? My girlfriend fenced in a beautiful yard for her guys (labs) cost a lot of money and they dug under the fence, all over. I have underground watering system, I will make sure it does not come on , I am afraid they may dig it up? or maybe they would like the water. :confused:

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

Some dogs dig, others don't. It would be hard to judge without having experience letting your dog out unsupervised and see if he digs or not. Does your Rottie dig? If so, I'm sure the Boxer will dig as well once he sees the Rottie doing it.

Since you are planning on leaving the dogs out during the day, unattended, and you're fixing up the yard with a pool and it has other comforts for the dog, I would also suggest some sort of digging pit. An area in the yard designated for digging, with loose sandy soil. And I suggest setting it up as soon as possible NOW, and working with your dogs to show them this is the proper and only place appropriate for digging. Take the pup out and show him, by digging in it yourself, how to do it. Reward and praise when he digs in the proper spot. Then, if he begins digging in an inappropriate area, you can give a command "PIT" and show the dog the proper place to dig. Then he'll learn that whenever he feels the need to dig (it is a natural dog behavior), he knows the proper place to do his digging.

Bury some toys (easily found and dug up) loosely in the soil and let the dog find them. Bury a bone or some tasty treats as well and make it a game digging for them in the proper place.

Also, you might want to do a search on Boxerworld using the gray search buttons at the top of each page, and use search words such as "digging" and you'll find tons of information on the problem, and many suggestions on how to deal with it.

Good luck.

 

[katrien]

We used to have moles in our lawn, and my Uzzi dug whole craters around these underground tunnels. Sometimes, we had to close a space of 9x9 ft and 1 ft deep. Not funny. But also it was because she was bored, I think. And we noticed that she dug more often when it was not soo hot outside. And of course, when one started to dig, the other helped.

 

[Brando's Mom]

Brando will dig if he is out unsupervised for any amount of time. I have tried several things to keep him from digging, especially near the fence line. Always seems to be the first place to go, doesn't it? Anyway, you may try burying some of your Boxer's fecal matter where he has been digging. This will usually repel them. If that doesn't work, try dousing the spot with black pepper. That is the only thing that's worked to keep my furbaby away from the fenceline. Some other tricks are garlic, hot sauce, whatever. Different dogs have different aversions, so you will have to find what works for Uzzi. Another trick, but more time intensive, is to bury hardward cloth about 1/2 to 1" below the surface. As soon as their nails hit that, they will immediately stop digging. Good luck!

 

[Trish727]

Colleen,

My white boxer used to dig and we have a pet door so when he would come back inside of course his muzzle would be black and he would hang his head down. :eek: I work out of my home so I would take him back to the hole and push his nose in it and tell him "no bad dog" and it worked he doesnt dig now what so ever. But my friend broke her dog of digging by filling the holes with rocks because her boxer didnt like the way it felt when he continued to dig!:D
Good luck....And her aren't white boxers Great!!!!!!

Trish

 

[Scorpio]

Trish,

White boxers are special!
Is there a picture of your boxer? Ozzy's picture is in the gallery under January pictures. Actually you know I am more afraid of him digging under the fence to get out?? He will be out there with his step brother, who wouldn't think of digging, so I hope it works out. Will have to do it for little periods of time and keep an eye on them. Thanks