Help! I can't get my lab to stop digging!

[TexAg09]

Just as the title says I can't get my 1.5 yr old lab to stop digging. She'll go a few days (sometimes even a week or two) without digging, but then if I leave her in the yard for an hour unsupervised she starts at it again. Sometimes even after a walk or training session when I know it's not because she's just bored. Any tips on getting her to stop? I've tried a number of ways, and nothing is working. Thanks!

 

[Jamen]

I cant offer much help other than i know your pain. My lab dug for a few years. Come home from work and youd have thought it was a movie scene from holes. I tried running her more and training, bought boots which helped until she would tear them off. She finally got older and lost interest in it.

 

[TexAg09]

I cant offer much help other than i know your pain. My lab dug for a few years. Come home from work and youd have thought it was a movie scene from holes. I tried running her more and training, bought boots which helped until she would tear them off. She finally got older and lost interest in it.

Not what I wanted to hear hahaha!

 

[duckhunt]

My lab did that for years. His favorite spot was in the mulch in the landscaping by the deck.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

It is tough to fight their nature. They evolved to build a den. With my lab I just encouraged him to pick a spot out of the way and stick with it. I even helped him make it better, and once he had his spot, he focused his digging there. YMMV...

 

[crock239]

Lmk if you find a solution.

Mine just turned 3, it's like we have a workout program going moving dirt around the backyard...she digs holes, I fill em back up, she digs em up again...rinse and repeat, etc etc.

Admittedly much is my own fault by not getting her enough excercise...but some of it is just their prey drive I think. If she sees a bug she wants to chase it down and dig it up, heaven help us if a mole digs under the yard--she digs it up in trenches.

I love everything about that dog, except the digging.

 

[mdhunter]

I feel your pain. I would come him from work and my yard looked like a lunar landscape. Interestingly, she never dug a hole again after I had her spayed.

 

[Walkathon]

My GSP is a digger too. I'm not sure how to stop her from digging. Like others have said- she digs even after I get her a bunch of exercise. She's 1 yrs / 4 months old, so I'm praying she grows out of it. Following this thread....

 

[Mallardsx2]

Shock collar. Correct the problem. Don't let them see you doing it.

 

[Salmonchaser]

My shorthairs are still digging. They are 13. Sometimes I get the tractor stuck in their holes. Sometimes they dig up a gopher and bring it in the house. Wife loves that.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Shock collar. Correct the problem. Don't let them see you doing it.

The hard part is catching them in the act consistently enough that they make the correlation. Otherwise you just create confusion.

 

[crock239]

The hard part is catching them in the act consistently enough that they make the correlation. Otherwise you just create confusion.

Yeah, bark collar worked great and quickly...wish there was a digging collar.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I think you need another dog. Even more energetic like a heeler. Yeah, they’ll chase each other to exhaustion.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Fill the hole up with water and shove it's face into it.

 

[mnhoundman]

Yeah I hear ya! My black lab is probably around 11 is spayed and keeps a digging, of course always when I'm gone and never catch her doing it! Good luck

 

[Goodfish]

I think you need another dog. Even more energetic like a heeler. Yeah, they’ll chase each other to exhaustion.

I agree Ben. They just want a buddy. I have much less trouble with multiple dogs.

 

[David658]

When you clean the yard, put the dog poop where they are digging. Usually works...but they may just go find somewhere else...

David
NM

 

[SilentBirdHunter]

Don't leave my 1.5 year old unsupervised because it invites trouble and bad habits.

Mine are in a chain-link kennel with concrete pad if they are not with me.

When I let the labs out to air, I give a hand signal on location where to air
as that makes yard clean-up easier. Lab's quickly air and we are
back inside or they are back to the kennel.

With the 1.5 year old, my morning routine is to running lining drills,
followed by casting drills, which totals about 300 yards of running in the yard
and is a good team-building exercise and takes about 15 minutes.
Then back inside or back to the kennel.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I read somewhere about sprinkling cayenne pepper (powder) in the soil where they like to dig. When they get a whiff of that, they won't go to that spot anymore. Not sure if that cures them or just makes them go to another spot. Worth a try.

 

[TexAg09]

I agree Ben. They just want a buddy. I have much less trouble with multiple dogs.

Meh, she's nearly killed my wife's dog...twice. I will say my wife's dog was asking for it though hahaha. Not a fun vet bill....