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Stop Puppy Digging

October 20, 2009 | Filed Under: Dogs And Family

If you have a new puppy that is digging in your house, backyard, gardens or other areas, it’s important to do something about this problem. While digging comes naturally to your puppy and is a perfectly healthy thing, it can be a real problem when done in the wrong places and the wrong ways.

Part of your job to stop puppy digging is to find your puppy a safe place that he can dig instead. This is a normal function for dogs so you can’t expect her to stop completely, especially as a puppy.

However, you don’t want your puppy digging up your yard, your garden or flowers or digging under the fence and trying to “escape” as this can be very dangerous. A great solution to stop puppy digging is to give your puppy an appropriate place to dig and then teaching her when and how to use it.

First you will need to set up a digging pit for your puppy. This will be a safe place where your puppy can dig all she wants to without worry of bothering anyone or anything else. You can choose a spot in your yard that’s just for your puppy. The best option is a place with shade and protection from the elements and weather.

You can make a pit and then add some sand to it and this will help drainage. This will prevent your digging pit from becoming a big hole of mud. If your puppy tries to help while you are digging the pit, encourage her and explain that this will be hers.

Once the pit is complete, introduce it to her and say “dig in your pit”. You will need to teach her where it is safe and ok to dig. Reward her if she uses the pit. It’s nice to have some of her favorite toys around because it can make her feel more secure.

It can take as little as a few days of training for your puppy to learn that this is the proper place for her to dig. And then teach her not to dig in the wrong places. Set boundaries to help your puppy know when and where to go. You should scold her right away if you catch her digging in the wrong place so you can teach her this is bad behavior.

You can then take her to the digging pit where she is allowed to dig and explain to her that this is the place for digging. Be sure to reward her for doing it correctly. You might need to spend a little time each and every day in training your puppy to stop digging in the wrong places but once you get it down, it will be much healthier for you and your pup.

This is just one helpful technique to stop puppy digging. If you have a serious problem with puppy digging and you can’t stop it on your own, it might be a good time to contact a specialist in training puppies and dogs with these types of behavior problems.

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