Q
of the week
|
Last updated Jan 1, 2004 Q
of the week: Hello.
I just read your article on why dogs dig and I was interested to
read that one can encourage a dog to dig in an appropriate place
in the yard. My dilemma is that I have two spayed female dogs, a
pointer and a rotty, and the two year-old pointer has destroyed
my yard with digging. I realize that it is a natural activity with
dogs, yet my entire household gets covered with a fine layer of
the brown dirt that my pointer and rotty bring back into the house
with them. My furniture is covered with blankets, which I have to
wash often, and our socks turn this nasty brown from all the dirt
everywhere!! I feel like a Flintstone, living with dirt floors.
I feel this is never going to change and I am feeling hopeless.
How do I stop the digging altogether??? I just want a clean house
again. We are planning to try to re-sod the backyard again next
spring, and hopefully it won't die again and expose dirt spots.
Please advise if you can. Thanks! Stacey Eve in Sarasota, Florida.
First to answer - LISAAAAAAA!! Oh, dear. Dirt in the house does get frustrating, but don't despair! With a little persistence you can re-train your dogs to leave your yard alone. Or leave at least most of it alone *S* A couple of things to keep in mind are (1) it probably started out of boredom and became a habit and (2) keep in mind that habits take a little bit of effort and persistence to change. To help me when I am re-training a behavior I like to think of the habits I have in my own life and what it is like to try to change them. So, before you put your new lawn in pick a spot that the dogs can have for their "play pit" You can build borders around the area using wood or rocks or simply dig a pit. Depending on the condition of your soil, you may want to add some sand to it. You can easily buy sand for children's sand boxes in Home Builder Supply stores (do you have Lowes or Home Depot in Florida?) Get a handful of things your dogs LOVE to chew on. Stuffed Kongs work well (see our handout on Kong Stuffing Pointers) Get the dogs started chewing on them and then bury them in their pit while they are watching you and encourage them to go get them. Do that a few times until they get the idea. Then bury them when they are not looking and play the same game a few times. Then when you have to leave them alone, bury them and leave. IN ADDITION you will want to watch them carefully and everytime they go to dig in YOUR yard, simply redirect them to their yard and when you see them finally make a decision to go to their yard all on their own, reward them lavishly with HUGE amounts of praise. They will eventually get the idea. WARNING: Everytime they have an opportunity to dig in YOUR yard it will set your training back. So, you will need to find a way to prevent them from getting to YOUR yard when you cannot be around to supervise. If you give them too much freedom too soon, they may dig in the wrong area and you will have to start over again with the training. Remember, if you are trying to change a habit (smoking or chocolate, for example) if you have just one smoke or piece of candy, it prolongs the process. It will also help if the dogs get adequate exercise and mental stimulation. Teach them tricks and get them some cardio vascular exercise to burn off some of their energy. AND ANN-LUISE!!!! First of all, I would suggest that she designate an area of the yard for digging. Or if she doesn’t want it in her actual yard, then maybe set up a sandbox, or fill a kiddie pool with dirt and train the dog to dig in this “special” spot. Hide stuffed kongs and lots of praise, treats, clicks – whatever kind of positive reinforcement to encourage the dog to only dig there…not in the manicured lawn. As far as dirt in the house goes, keep a towel by the door and wipe off the dog feet. Kind of like having adults wipe their shoes on a mat before entering. **side note** of course, I don’t have an immaculate house or perfectly landscaped lawn: as the saying goes, Lucy & Wally just let us live there! I don’t think she should concentrate on stopping the digging altogether, just re-direct. Hope that I am somewhat close to the mark. Thanks! Ann-Luise
Me thinks these poor dogs spend too much time on their own with nothing to do but devise their own games. I think they need supervision and something more in their life than being left alone in the backyard. If they must spend time alone while family is away, then perhaps an outdoor kennel should be fit into the backyard remodel to contain them while the family is away. Kongs, chewies, food balls and other fun interactive toys would be nice for entertainment while family is away. More exercise, training and quality time with the family would help and someone to go out with them and show them an area okay to dig in and to redirect when they choose the wrong areas. I think that little setter girl is begging for more exercise. A good romp in an area where she can run and flush out a few birdies. Or how bout a puppy day care on occasion. Teri AND CATHYYYYYYYYY!!! Due to one of the comments you made in your question : "How do I stop the digging altogether? I just want a clean house again.", I feel duty-bound to state the obvious -- they are large dogs and dogs dig. One of the things that I read over and over again, when I was doing a bit of research about how Huskies are as pets is that if I was particular and nit-picky about a clean house, then don't get a Husky. On everything I own is some dirt, and hair hair hair hair hair. So........on to attacking your problem. There are quite a few options you have to help alleviate the dirt and digging problem. In my opinion, there will always be some dirt to contend with while you have a dog (or dogs) as a family member. The very first thing I would do is up up up the level of exercise they get on a daily basis. Your dogs aren't digging to irritate you....they are digging because they are dogs, and they are probably bored. Digging is self rewarding. It feels good, and it expends energy. Give them some cool things to do when they are in the yard instead of digging. Maybe some stuffed Kongs and some Bustercube "brain" toys. Anytime they use their noses and their brains they really expend a lot of energy. Another option is to give them a small digging area that isn't dirt -- maybe you could use some pea gravel or something along that line. Make sure they find something incredibly rewarding in "their" digging spot. Also, you could work with them to stay at the back door while they are getting brushed off after being outside, and you could train them to stay off of the furniture. You could even train them to stay out of certain areas of your home. It's not uncommon that some rooms are just plain off limits to dogs in some families. You could also make some areas of the backyard off limits to them. All of these suggestions will take a bit of effort on your part, but well worth it to solve your problem. Some take extra training by you but all of them take some level of management to assure the success if the goal is a clean house. -Cathy
My
reply: The hardest behaviors to eliminate are those that are self-reinforcing. In order to halt any behavior you have to install a "better" alternative behavior in its place. You have to find something that your dogs would *choose* that would be as innately satisfying as digging. That's the hard part. [See the Intelligent Diversions article on our website.] It also takes time and diligence on your part. This involves:
It might be easier to provide a designated sandbox with clean sand (like you would provide for a child) that wouldn't track in so badly (as stated in the article on the website). Some other suggestions to environmentally manage and minimize the dirt tracking: A deck or concrete patio between the yard and the back door so they have a buffer for dirt to fall off before they get to the back door? Increase exercise so they have less energy to expend in the back yard. Avoid giving them "bury-ables" in the yard. Keep their nails reeeally short. Make favorite but undesireable digging places inaccessible until the preferred digging place is established. The new grass won't stand a chance if it doesn't have enough time to put down a deep root system or in places where there is high traffic. You might want to put pea gravel or flagstones in places where the lawn is likely to go thin. Good luck! -Carol Great job, guys! And Cathy, limiting access and teaching them to stay off the furniture - duh, why didn't I think of that? *G* Her answer:THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR RESPONSE. SOME OF THIS WE HAVE TRIED. WE DO
HAVE A LARGE PATIO IN BETWEEN THE YARD AND THE DOOR, PLUS I TRY
TO BRUSH THEM BEFORE THEY COME INSIDE. UGH, IT'S SO FRUSTRATING.
THEY GET SO STIR CRAZY IN THE HOUSE SO WE LET THEM OUTSIDE TO RUN
AND CUT UP AND BOY DO THEY! THAT IS WHEN THE ROLLING IN THE DIRT
STARTS. YES, WE PUT THEM OUTSIDE AND GO BACK TO DOING OTHER THINGS
INSIDE THE HOUSE, BUT WE HAVE NO CHOICE AS WE HAVE A 4 MONTH OLD
BABY AND ONE OF US IS ALWAYS WORKING. SIGH. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME
AND INPUT. STACEY
|
