If you have a puppy that is constantly digging up holes in the garden or backyard, it can really be very exasperating. In fact, it is not uncommon to find owners giving up their puppies because of their digging behaviour. However, owners need to understand that puppies need to dig. Below are some reasons why puppies have digging habits and how you can actually make use of this knowledge when you are training a puppy.
1.A need to hide their treasure
If your puppy has found a bone that it likes very much, it might dig a hole in the garden in order to hide it from other pets’ views. This is actually an inborn instinct that gives puppies the need to dig and hide their treasure. This digging behaviour can be corrected by being more vigilant if you are in the garden with your puppy and it happened to have a new bone. You can correct such behaviours by distracting your puppy such as playing a game of ‘fetch’ with it or tickling it so that it forgets about the bone. Alternatively, you can ensure that your puppy plays with the bone only when it is indoors. It might still run through the motion of digging holes in the concrete floor of your house but at least there will not be any messy gardens to clear up after.
2.A cooling exercise
If you live in a country with very warm climate or during the summer, your puppy might feel the need to dig up holes so as to hide in the coolness underneath the ground. What you can do is prepare a shady spot in the garden where your puppy can escape from the heat. You may also wish to keep it inside the house instead of giving it the chance to go digging outside.
3.A need to relieve its boredom
Puppies are by nature mischievous. If you keep your puppy indoors most of the time, it will feel bored easily. Sometimes puppies need to dig at something to relieve their boredom. You might try getting it a new and safe chew bone instead or let it work at getting out a hidden treasure from inside its favourite toy.
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