How to Stop Your Dog Digging up the Flower Beds

Posted by Clare Bristow

dog-digging Digging comes naturally to every dog, and some dog breeds excel at it - Terriers are renowned diggers and Schnauzers are pretty good at it too.

What I've found is that you can't stop a natural behavior, and you are setting yourself up for failure and a great deal of frustration if you try.

If your dog is digging up the flowers, the best thing you can do is redirect his digging somewhere else - to his very own [tag]digging pit[/tag].

A good sized digging pit is 6 feet by 3 feet and up to 2 feet deep; you can make it smaller if you are short of space.

Designate an area of your garden as the digging pit and clearly mark it out with a low fence or hedging plant. Add some sand to the earth - this will help water drain through the soil and prevent the pit becoming a mud bath in winter!

Once you have established the digging pit you need to encourage your dog to use it. A good way to start is to let him watch you bury a few chews or one of his toys in the pit - then you can call him over and help him dig up his chews or toy.

As he digs, use a phrase such as 'dig in your pit' to mark the behavior, and give him lots of praise once he finds the chew or toy. Repeat this a few times each day, and he will soon associate 'dig in your pit' with his digging pit.

As you are training him to use his pit, deny access to those parts of the garden where he used to dig. Once he's learned what his digging pit is for, give him access to the whole garden and teach your dog that he can only dig in his pit.

Supervise his trips to the garden until he consistently uses his digging pit in preference to the flower beds. If he wanders off towards the flower beds discourage him with the command you use for 'no' and redirect him to his digging pit saying 'dig in your pit' in an encouraging and happy tone of voice. Go with him to the pit and help him dig, giving him lots of praise as he digs!

The amount of time it takes to get your dog to use his digging pit consistently will depend on how prolific a digger he is and how long he's been used to digging in the flower beds. The key to success, as with most training, is consistency.

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