Your Dog & Your Garden

I am an avid gardener, spending hours working in my two gardens.  My collies often join me, hanging out in the shade to keep a watchful eye over my progress.  None of my current dogs are diggers, so I never worry about them digging up anything I've planted.  The only plants I have to watch are my strawberries as they all love strawberries and will pick the fruit before I ever get a chance!  And Henley did seem to enjoy the eggplant last summer, so I've not planted it again this year, opting for more tomatoes instead. 

If you do, however, have a dog who likes to dig, you will want to keep them indoors when you garden and here's why:  If you keep them with you when you are digging, you are basically showing them the best places to dig, and they will return there, often digging up what you just planted.  Dogs who love to dig will not be deterred, so providing them with an appropriate spot for digging is a must. You can cordon off an area of your garden just for them, or use a sandbox for that purpose.  Fill your dog's digging area with their favorite substrate (fresh dirt, sand, or even rocks) and then bury things there for them to dig up and eat like carrots, zucchini, chunks of apple, or dry cookies/dog biscuits and bones. If you catch your dog digging where they shouldn't, take them immediately over to their own digging area and show them why that's a better spot.  You can use fencing around or netting over your own garden beds to discourage digging there.  Water witches, basically motion-activated sprinklers, can also help to deter your dog (and neighborhood cats, squirrels, etc.) from entering your garden area.  Just remember if you do use a sandbox for your dogs to dig, you will want to cover it when not in use to discourage roaming neighborhood cats from using it as a litter box!

Digging is obviously a normal dog behavior, so it can't, nor shouldn't, be discouraged or punished. All dogs have the potential to be diggers and the behavior is quite adaptive as well. On a warm day, a dog may dig a hold in the cool dirt to lay in.  And if they are cold, they may bury themselves in a hole they've dug to retain heat. Many dogs with a prized resource like a bone, will want to save the treat for later and will cache the bone in a hole they've dug for that purpose. Finally, a lot of dogs dig because they see or hear moles, gophers, or other digging rodents just below the surface and they want to get at them!

So, embrace the digging by providing an appropriate outlet for the behavior AND reinforce and encourage your dogs to use the digging space you've created. While it is certainly true that some dogs can be encouraged to dig while on walks or at the beach, for example, this won't be enough of an outlet for the behavior.  You truly need a space appropriate for digging on their home turf. 

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

One of my gardening assistants on a break!