{"id":448,"date":"2015-02-13T19:07:16","date_gmt":"2015-02-13T19:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/petcarefacts.com\/?p=448"},"modified":"2015-02-13T19:07:16","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T19:07:16","slug":"down-about-the-digging-how-to-stop-dogs-cats-from-digging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/training-and-behavior\/down-about-the-digging-how-to-stop-dogs-cats-from-digging","title":{"rendered":"Down About the Digging – How to Stop Dogs & Cats from Digging!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Landscaping can be an expensive investment, so finding fresh pot holes of dirt in your green lawn is hardly what you want to wake up to.\u00a0 Dogs are ambitious creatures, always determined to find adventure, and explore wherever their noses may take them.\u00a0 Sometimes the most tempting solution is to dive headlong into the back yard, and dig through the dirt to their heart\u2019s content.\u00a0 Not every canine breed shares the same intense desire to dig, but those that do tend to drive their owners wild, as they leave a path of uprooted plants, flowers, grass and dirty mud clods in their wake.\u00a0 Fortunately this problematic behavior can be curbed by a few simple steps. Before your terrier indulges in his archeological inclinations, help find ways to revert his focus in a less destructive path.<\/p>\n

Stop your dog from digging<\/h2>\n

Your dog may be bored, or incredibly active and energetic \u2013in need of some\u00a0 positive employment and engaging activity.\u00a0 Here are some ideas of things you can to keep your pup\u2019s nose out of the dirt:<\/p>\n

Work him out and wear him out:\u00a0<\/b>Take him walking once in the morning and once at night.\u00a0 Or better yet,\u00a0 don\u2019t just walk him but run or jog with him,\u00a0 go for a strenuous hike, or a swim in the water. He may be too exhausted to paw through rubble and mud when he gets home, preferring to have a long snooze instead.<\/p>\n

Give him a cool lair to rest in:\u00a0<\/b>Speaking of nap time \u2013one of the reasons dogs like to dig, is that they are overheated and want to find a fresh place to rest. Dirt tends to be cool and damp, and a hole in the ground could provide a happy escape from the harsh sun.\u00a0 Instead, give your dog a plastic kiddy pool filled with cool water to keep his temperature down (and his toes out of the turf!)<\/p>\n

Work on constructive projects such as training, obstacle courses, etc:\u00a0<\/b>Boredom is another reason why dog\u2019s eyes wander to the new mulch in your garden.\u00a0 Give your pup employment such as practicing a new trick or skill, or learning to find a scented toy.\u00a0 Come up with creative ways to play & exercise<\/a> with your dog!<\/p>\n

Give him exciting toys or a big new bone to chew: <\/b>Sometimes distraction is the best method of ending a problematic behavior.\u00a0 Punishing puppies is usually ineffective, but providing an object of interest which has greater allure than the grass, will usually result in a happy dog and an unscathed lawn.<\/p>\n

Correct\/Command him to stop: <\/b>When the digging has begun,\u00a0 go outside and say \u201cNO.\u201d\u00a0 Then call your dog over,\u00a0 and begin to play fetch with him, and praising him. Whenever you see the dog digging, say \u201cno\u201d and interrupt him from doing do.<\/p>\n

If your cat likes to dig\u2026<\/h2>\n

Though cats are usually more focused on climbing up than they are digging down, felines can also adopt this bad behavior.\u00a0 \u00a0 Often cat owners will find their flower pots upset, or the dirt from their indoor trees all over the carpet. \u00a0 The poor kitty might have thought the dirt felt and reminded him of kitty litter, or maybe the cool damp dirt felt good to his paws on a hot day.\u00a0 Whatever the reason,\u00a0 help your cat avoid digging through your plants,\u00a0 by hanging them up instead of leaving them on the floor. \u00a0 If you want to keep your plants where they are, line the top of the soil with small stones to discourage their paws from pouncing.\u00a0 Cat owners have also found, a little layer of lemon peel or orange peel will turn the feline away, since the scent of citrus is distasteful to them.
\nOr, you can use an option such as Kitty Grass.\u00a0 This can be found at many pet stores, and provides a safe alternative place where they can dig without destroying your geraniums.<\/p>\n

The good news is, grass can grow back, and digging rarely brings permanent damage to your lawn.\u00a0 Find what works for your pet to keep him happy and healthy, and your plants safe from harm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Landscaping can be an expensive investment, so finding fresh pot holes of dirt in your green lawn is hardly what you want to wake up to.\u00a0 Dogs are ambitious creatures, always determined to find adventure, and explore wherever their noses may take them.\u00a0 Sometimes the most tempting solution is to dive headlong into the back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15],"tags":[19,21],"class_list":["post-448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-training-and-behavior","tag-cats","tag-dogs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/dog-digging.jpg?fit=650%2C663&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5xKys-7e","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petrofile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}