Help! I need digging advice!

[regis2259]

Pokey dug up our septic tank tonight! It was really nice outside this weekend and Pokey enjoyed being out. We have a fenced yard so I don't worry about leaving him out while I am home. But.....he had been out a little longer than usual and I went out to check on him and he was in this HUGE hole! It was the top of the septic tank.

Please any suggestions to keep him from digging the septic tank. I don't like his digging, but how can I re-direct him to another spot.

As I am typing he is standing at the back door whining, he is wanting to go continue his digging in his HUGE HOLE!

 

[Glenys]

I have the same trouble with Zak, though thankfully we aren't on septic tank any more. But he will insist on doing a 'spot' of gardening. I've threatened to hire him out to a drainlayer. He has dug holes in the lawn alongside our driveway, all around the gate. I secretly think he's getting back at us for leaving him behind when we go out. We live at the beach and our soil is very sandy which makes for good digging. To stop him from revisiting the holes that we have filled in, I have covered them with plastic coated wire netting or chicken wire pegged into the ground with tent pegs and when they ran out, the pegs that are used to keep weedmat in place. I've run out of netting now and there is still a spot to be covered. And come to think of it, his digging is right over the sewer pipe from the toilets! Yuk!!
I don't know if there is anything on the market that might help or as someone told me, put their poop into the hole and they won't dig there again. Can't say if this works though as it's summer here and that stuff brings a lot of flies. I muck out the yard every day.

 

[boxer]

The best way to handle digging, especially if your dog spends any time outdoors unsupervised, is to give him a place where he can dig and to encourage all digging activity to take place there. A digging pit (like for little kids) is ideal - dogs seem to prefer sandy ground. You can encourage him to dig there, and any time he digs somewhere else, redirect him to the appropriate spot (obviously this means you need to supervise his outdoor time for a while). Simultaneously making other areas less attractive by planting shrubs, laying netting etc will help.

 

[sandy's mom]

It is funny, we had the exact problem with Napoleon. Now, we owe him a big thank you! He would dig and dig over our septic tank too. Soon enough, we had a water puddle so I called someone to come check the system. I was told the reason he was digging there was because of the smell. We have a problem with our sewer lines. Several people have told me he would not have kept digging in the same spot like that unless he could smell some thing.

You may want to get someone to check your septic tank.

Good Luck!
Debbie

 

[busters mum]

Oh dear I really feel for you as Buster has the digging bug too. All I could do was fence off the garden. So he is only allowed up there when he is supervised. When he goes out to play and toilet, it is on a slabbed area where he cannot dig.
Dont despair. And sorry but I just had to laugh about when you said he is whining to go out and continue digging a huge hole. I sort of imagined it in comic book format ...So funny!

 

[kelcal]

LOL,When I first came to the board that was one of my first issues,the digging.Utah is now 13 months old and still does it.Guess I'm stuck with it.You will find that it is normal behavior for a boxer.They told me to build a sandbox.I did it and he still digs on the ground...Guess he preffers dirt to sand..

 

[retired]

Digging a cave?

I'm so glad I came to this site & found out that digging is a Boxer "thing". I thought He was just being a puppy & would outgrow it, however, Sam is now about 3 and my back yard looks like a mine field! He digs down about 4ft, then tunnels (under the patio, walkway, fence-whatever) I've tried all the cures-his own poop, red pepper mix, etc-none works. Do they ever outgrow this need to dig??

 

[regis2259]

I am proud you mentioned the tunneling, Pokey is 7 months and he has been digging for a while but he has now started with the tunnels. He knows he is not supposed to do it, when you catch him he stands extremely still and just looks as you with that innocent face saying "I wasn't doing anything, just go back in the house". It is so sad, but they can get away with murder when they put those big brown eyes on you!

Regina

 

[TaysBella]

Regina,

I got such a laugh at your last posting. I've seen that innocent look of standing real still and pretending nothing is wrong. I have a 7mth old (Bella) and a 10mth old (Harley) and they love to dig. Actually, Bella started it and Harley saw how fun it was and decided she needed to do the same.

We just had new sod put down on a certain section of the backyard...BAD IDEA! They won't dig anywhere else in the yard except for the new section of grass. Not sure what to do to get them to stop...that's why I'm reading the forum hoping someone found the solution!!!!

 

[BaileyWailey]

That is so funny, anytime Bailey doesn't want to come in and I call her she just freezes and looks straight ahead. I have to pretend I'm giving the other dogs treats to get her in sometimes. And she's also a digger, I never would have thought it with a boxer. My lab wasn't even a big digger which I would have figured before her. I'm glad I'm not alone.