Help! My puppy is digging up my yard!

[DreamDelta]

Sweet 8-month-old yellow Lab Nala has really become a part of our family. She's only had one or two potty accidents in the house in the past month and we love her to pieces! HOWEVER, she has completely dug up our back yard. It looks like a mine field!

Any suggestions as to what I can do to keep her from digging? I really want to have a nice yard, and with Nala being the canine bulldozer that she is, I just can't see that happening!

TIA!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

It is a puppy. You should not leave them unsupervised in a backyard. And labs are puppies forever....j/k....only until 2.

If you are leaving the dog out all day you will need to bring it inside and crate the dog while you are gone.

Honestly until a lab is 2yo, you can forget about leaving it alone uncrated. They are either digging up your yard or eating your couch.

Labs pups need a lot of exercise and so you must walk, walk, walk, walk, puppy everyday so he is tired. That will help.

 

[DrCavin]

My wheaten terrier started doing this. What I read to do was take an empy soda can & fill it with some rocks or anything that will rattle when shaken. I let him outside & I snuck out the front door & watched him. When he started digging I threw the soda can at him, not to hit him but to scare him. He jumped about 3 feet in the air, but never dug another hole

 

[DreamDelta]

It is a puppy. You should not leave them unsupervised in a backyard. And labs are puppies forever....j/k....only until 2.

If you are leaving the dog out all day you will need to bring it inside and crate the dog while you are gone.

Honestly until a lab is 2yo, you can forget about leaving it alone uncrated. They are either digging up your yard or eating your couch.

Labs pups need a lot of exercise and so you must walk, walk, walk, walk, puppy everyday so he is tired. That will help.

She is crated when we leave the house and not for long periods of time. And she gets two long walks a day. She's only unsupervised 2 times a day for about 15 minutes after she eats (if she is not let out immediately after she eats, she'll poop in the house!) It's just that 30 minutes of the day that she goes haywire!

Someone at Petsmart suggested that I muzzle her while she's outside alone, but that seems way too drastic!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

She is crated when we leave the house and not for long periods of time. And she gets two long walks a day. She's only unsupervised 2 times a day for about 15 minutes after she eats (if she is not let out immediately after she eats, she'll poop in the house!) It's just that 30 minutes of the day that she goes haywire!

Someone at Petsmart suggested that I muzzle her while she's outside alone, but that seems way too drastic!

You cannot leave the puppy unsupervised in the backyard. When pup goes out, you go out or someone else. Must do puppy training.

A good start is to leash the dog in the backyard and allow no free roam.

When dog goes to dig you give a correction, "no dig". Since pup is young this may take awhile, plus it is spring.

Once pup starts listening to the commands you have pup off leash and then give the command, hopefully the pup listens. If not, it is back to the leash.

Eventually your puppy will get it. Dog training takes time.

My "digger" is trained to dig "on command" with "find". He is 5 now and dogs slow down after a while.

If you want you can build a "dig box" in the backyard and train the dog to dig only in that spot. Some dogs love to dig and that is another solution. However at this point, use the leash. It is your best training tool. And not a Flexi, get yourself a nice leather leash.

 

[NMAmy]

Yep, unfortunately, you will have to go outside with her and train her not to do it. Puppies are like toddlers--leave 'em alone and they'll get up to mischief.

 

[Feralpeg]

OP, you are not alone. One of my five month old black lab puppies is also a digger. I also have a mine field for a backyard. I am going to try a new approach since telling him no has not worked at all. I am going to buy a small plastic swimming pool which I will fill with sand. When he starts to dig, I will transfer him to his new digging place. Hopefully, this will stop the digging elsewhere.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I have no idea what good a muzzle would do, that is confusing to me. A muzzle is not going to stop her from digging with her paws and she can still root around with a muzzle on. Did the lady at Petsmart explain?

We also have a lab, she's the best but she does enjoy digging. If it is just during the 2-15 minute periods that she does this I would not leave her unsupervised, at all.

Check out this message board, it is great for Lab lovers!

http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/

 

[DawnCt1]

Sprinkle black pepper where she is digging. My standard poodle, Annie, used to dig. When I caught her in the act, I said, NO. I poured some black pepper in the hole and that stopped it immediately. If she resumed, several months later, I did the same thing. It works