Help. Does anyone have a suggestion that isn't lethal to make a dog stop digging???? Other than putting him in the car and heading to the Safeway lot, with a 'free to a good home' sign, LOL??? I'm desperate. I wish he was the neighbor's, and I could just call up and say, come get him. But, alas, it's my dog, he's around 18 mos & a Golden Retriever and, of course, our fav of all the dogs we've ever owned or bred (but we say that about all of them). I've been told that dogs that dig in the spring do it because of moles, shrews, worms, bugs , etc, making noise underground, and yes, we have all of those. I've tried the repelent from WalMart, two of them. I've too old and softhearted to use an electric fence or an electric collar. I've had any number of Goldens, this one is the only one to dig, he and a girl dog are house dogs, but love the cement pond and playing in the yard. Any and all suggestions will be sincerely appreciated. SherryLike
Goin' to the dogs!!!!!!!!!!!
I once heard that putting doggie-doo in the hole or the area he likes to dig and that will deter him. However, that sounds totally disgusting to me!! So I buried cinderblocks flush with the ground in my boxers' favorite dig sites. When they found there were obstacles to making their holes, they gave up.
I don't think an electric fence is inhumane. Our horses have one (just a solar powered electric charger connected to "tape" or "rope"). I have accidentally shocked myself and it's like a bad static shock - nothing more. I considered putting a ribbon of it around the perimeter of my yard to keep the dogs from trying to dig under the fence, but my few areas of cinderblocks solved the problem. If I'd had to dig more cinderblock holes though...I would have gone straight to the electric fence!
I hear that those electric doggie collars (invisible fences) work great - they actually "train" the dog to stay out of different areas or within the boundaries of the yard (which my kitty corner neighbors would get one for their dog) and do not cause any personality problems at all with the pets. I'd use one if I needed to.
mY Golden was afraid of baloons that I would but where he was digging. another trick you can try a mouse trap with no bate . just set it in the hole where he likes to dig when the whole bites him he may leave it alone it may also make him dig another hole. its always best to catch a dog while doing the behavor and correcting them on the spot make it seem like his world has came to a end yell scream and just let him know that is unexceptable
Have you by any chance used bone meal for some of your plantings? They will dig in that every time. I know you can go online and find dog repellents that will work. You just scatter them around where you don't want the dog to go.
We have three Goldens and the oldest is about 9. He does dig a little, but only under the bushes to make himself a cool spot. The other two (brother and sister) about the same age as yours dig after the gophers and such. What I do notice is that where ever we have a thick mulch, they do NOT dig at all. But they do run and scatter it all over the place, they don't like to walk on the shredded bark pathways but like to chew and eat it, they would rather walk on the dirt or grass.
Like irish says, let him know that it is not acceptable behavior while he is in the act of digging, you may have to remind him often. We have one that steals the food off the counter and doesn't even drop a morsel or make a mess (we rarely catch him doing it) he does it behind our backs. They are very smart.
edited to say: There is a Pet Forum here and the people there are so experienced with animals, they probably have tons of ideas for you.
This message was edited Apr 20, 2004 4:11 PM
Gourd posted: There is a Pet Forum here and the people there are so experienced with animals, they probably have tons of ideas for you.
You can bet I'll try them, but I should tell you that I've been a Golden breeder for 25+ years and I'm on lists after list of Golden people and even a couple of all breed lists, and no one has had as good a solution as irish, and many thanks! Of course, if I could catch him, you can bet I'd put a stop to the digging, he is a very smart boy and also does not like to be in trouble. I COULD stop him very easily if the cat would only stay in the yard with Blueray, the dog is scared silly of the cat and hides and watches when the cat is around. But, the cat follows me every step I make and I'm responsible for lots of property and cannot always let the dogs go with me, as it is outside the fense.
What ever, I'm buying a crate of mouse traps and I'll give it a go. Oh, yes I will also get the baloons, my grands will love all this. I'm just so distressed about the digging because of the pool and we have lots of guests and it looks like the aftermath of an explosion....please remember me if you think of anything else!!!! SherryLike
lol.. I know what you mean about them not liking to be in trouble.. The younger male's name is "Bad Boy Harley" and it fits him to a "T".
Would love to see pics of your puppies, is there a site I can go to?
Bad Boy Harley...
weight 104 lbs. 18 mos old born Oct 2002
One other question that does not relate to this topic. I've never seen a brug open, these two plants are my first to watch all the way (the big plant I have from last year bloomed without me knowing it) - So, here's the question - when the blooms are opening, do they all look like banana peppers that have split ends??? The one that's in the process of opening is supposed to be orange, but, mercy me, it looks banana yellow to me, day oh, daaaaaeeeee oh. Come mister tally man, tally me banana - yep, the color appears to be banana yellow...ya think??? SLike
Have you tried sprinkling black pepper?
Brug often change color from day to day as they mature.
They also dig to lay down on the soil to cool off. I have 8 dogs please be good to you doggy. If that were me I'd put up a temp fence around your plants. Is the dog digging in the bed of plants or just in the grass? And yes they have superior hearing and can hear water pipes, bugs, moles,ect.Tell him no when you catch him/her and give him something else to do. Like rawhide bones or Beef soup bones. If he has one spot he works on, give it to him. He is only doing what comes naturally.Thanks, Jody
Most brugs will begin coming out of the calyx as a yellow. Once fully out, they will generally have their color the next day or even late that night, but can continue to darken as time goes on. Creamsickle would rarely show me color, even after 5 days. Others had good luck with it, so I guess some of the conditions surrounding growing brugs may affect how they act at different locations.
Brugie is so right about the bone meal; all my caladiums got dug up by my neighbor's puppy. Well, not all, but lots of them. The caladiums were not hurt though cause they had not yet begun to sprout. Try moth balls.
Oh, happy day!!! This is a photo of my first bloom, on my own, with some help from the nursery and lots of help from all of you!! So, might you be able to tell me his/her name?? I'm really excited to have my first bloom, thanks to all, especially Shirley!!!! SLike
Sherry, it is going to be pretty. It looks like it will be getting more color with another few hours of time. Right now I'd say it is a Versicolor hybrid and could be Versi. Peach, but it is really hard to tell with so many crosses out there. Whatever it is, I know you will enjoy it.
Tanks, Shirley, I'm so tickled and I'm so glad it's peach, I hope it gets brighter peach. I'm loving every minute of this, it's lots of fun.
SLike
Good luck sherry~~ i have this problem, I had a thread on the pet forum, I tried doggy doo, (yuck) didn't work... I tried sitting at the window and getting on to her when she started digging ( very tiring for me ) .... I tried hot pepper in the hole, (she must be mexican)... and then I took some ones advice and got a Kong dog chew toy you put stuff in it, like peanut butter, or they make a can of stuff like cheese wiz to put in them, this has worked very well except Bell, my rottie has buried Ella my yellow labs, some where and now she is digging again, tha funny bunny has started a new thing... she is chewing on my vines through the fence, always something new to have to conquer.... i moved my one brug on that fence, so she would not stick her nose through and chew it I didn't want a sick or dead Ella.....when they start digging i go out and oput something in their kong this has worked so far up till now.
I'v finally found something to stop digging or other animal damage to my plants and yard. It is costly but it works, with zero damage to the animals. It is a motion activated sprinkler and it is hooked up to water, no electricity, uses a 9v battery and uses approx 1/2 cup water each time it is activated. The only downside I see is that if a human walks past it, they will also be sprayed, it happened to me and it hardly wet me and it was on my legs. Like I said, it was not free, cost eighty bucks, but I've spent considerably more repairing the damage and replacing the plants. You can take a look at: www.scarecrowinfo.com
I've only been using it a couple of days, but the dogs, cats & squirrels won't even go to that side of the property and I didn't have to use anything electric. I'm very, very pleased! SherryLike