Can you dig it? Yes you can!
I commonly get asked “how do I stop my dog digging?!”
Usually this is followed by gestures to the garden where there are holes given away by flower pots and other objects trying to cover them.
Owners hope that if they keep covering areas their dog will stop digging. Some might. Some will just keep going until the garden is more hole than lawn!
And do we want to stop a fun form of natural enrichment? Well, yes, we might want to save our lawn and our flowers, but all can co-exist more easily with outlet.
So what should you do?
Rather than fighting against these desires, whether your dog has a hard wired job to do or just a digging hobby, work with it!
Set up an area in your garden somewhere you can contain a suitable substrate and bury some favourite toys near the top of it.
Then encourage your dog in an excited tone to find their toys in your chosen spot (away from your flowers or areas you might unwittingly trip over holes in the lawn!) and celebrate when they dig it up!
Do this enough times and your dog should start to head to this spot for all of their digging needs! You might need to cordon off other areas for now so they can’t keep going to areas you’d rather they forget about.