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Backyard digging
Hi!
Funny enough, one of my clients is having a really hard time keeping their golden doodle from digging in the backyard. They can’t leave him out there alone for 2 minutes because he digs for rocks and when he finds them that’s his “reward”. They have told me they have tried “everything”, watching him, putting him on a leash, trying to distract him, scolding him, etc.
We had a huge storm that blew their fence down so as of right now, he is on a leash until they can get their fence back up but I do want to come up with options for them or be able to tell them that consistency is key.
Thanks for the feedback or if there are any article resources, that would be great!
-Liz
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3 Replies
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@Liz_A When you say the rocks are the dog’s reward… what does that look like? Is he eating them? Chewing on them? Caching them?
The behavior could have a medical cause, if the dog is eating the rocks. Otherwise, I’d be asking questions about his overall enrichment plan…
Have you read Canine Enrichment for the Real World by Allie Bender and Emily Strong? You may want to create a plan that meets all the dog’s needs by taking a deep look at their recommendations.
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Great question! He doesn’t eat them as far as I know he digs them and leaves them.
Oooo! I haven’t read the book but I have read something similar about enrichment. This gives me a few ideas on how to help them with the digging. Thank you!
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@Liz_A Yes! It may be that giving the dog more to do that is at least equally fulfilling can help with the problem. I do encourage you to check out the book as I’ve not seen anything better for helping to design an overall plan that ensure the dog’s needs are being met. Also, you’ll have a system for evaluating the success of your recommendations. Best of luck and please do keep us posted!
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