If you have a dog that spends a great deal of time in the outdoors, you might find some holes that your dog has dug while spending time in your backyard. When dogs have time alone outside, it can lead to curiosity, exploring, and every now and then, trouble. Many homeowners don’t want their dogs to dig holes in their backyard. However, one of the keys to getting your dog to stop digging is to know why they are digging in the first place. Blitz K9 Club is here to talk about some of the most common reasons that a dog digs.

What Triggers Dogs to Dig?

There are several reasons why your dog might be digging. It is important to understand the why before you can work to fix it.
– Comfort: There are several dog breeds that are prone to overheating. If your dog isn’t comfortable, they might be looking for a way to cool off while outside. This is when they might dig a shallow, but large hole. Finding contact with the cool earth is one way that they may try to cool down. To avoid this problem, make sure your dog has access to a shady place with plenty of airflow. They will need access to water as well. Like we mentioned earlier, some breeds are going to be more prone to overheating like Bernese Mountain dogs, Shiba Inu’s, sled dogs, and any dog that has a squished face.
– Enjoyment: If your dog digs holes because they think it’s fun, you might be seeing that the holes are not only big around, but they are quite deep as well. Dogs might do this out of boredom as well. The most common offenders of this kind of digging are puppies and adolescent dogs.
– Escape: If the holes that your dog is digging is along the fence line, they might be trying to dig to find an escape route from the backyard. This can happen because the dog is trying to locate their owner that left them in the backyard or trying to get to another animal or dog on the other side of the fence. It is important to make sure your dog is getting plenty of attention and is content to avoid this problem.
– Bury: Some dogs might dig holes to bury resources. Usually this is done to guard something that they love like a toy or bone. If you have a dog that resource guards, you might want to limit their access to those resources when alone in the backyard.

Dog Obedience, Socialization & Behavioral Training in Royal Oak, Bloomfield Hills, Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills, Pontiac, Commerce Township and other areas within an hour of our home base of Waterford, Michigan

If your dog has behaviors that you don’t love, like digging, you can work with Blitz K9 Club to help train your dog to stop. Taking a closer look at why your dog has the behaviors it does, is a great place to start when you’re ready to break bad behavior. Call us today!