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  1. #11
    House Broken jake&Tex's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moby and Barley's Mom View Post
    I do think that digging is natural dog behavior - and difficulty to curb if it is an innate part of the puppy's natural drive. My question mainly revolves around how to redirect to a safe activity or to completely curb the digging. Thank you.
    The only way you've got a 100% chance at redirecting him is to supervise him when he has the opportunity to dig so that you can catch him in the act, and crate him otherwise (in a place that he does not have the opportunity to dig). I have never had a digging problem with any of my dogs using this method.

    And even a few minutes together in a dog run can be enough time for things to go south between an old dog and a 9 week old pup. Best to keep them separated when you are not able to supervise them.
    ~Laura~
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    Jake CGC TDI CL2S the Black Lab (8/28/06"Gotcha day"-4/4/16)
    Tex HSAs NAJ NF CL4 the ACD (12/25/07-2/22/16)

  2. #12
    Senior Dog Jax's Mom's Avatar
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    We built a digging pit for Jax with sand about 6X6. He loved to.dig in it and knew where to dig because every morning we took him there and said playfully lets dig. At first we buried toys and treats in it but he'd dig them out and not stop digging. He loved this and then at 10 months he began to dig less and less. Now it's been a month or more since he dug in it. So we are considering taking it out. Here's a picture of him in it.

    -photo-15-jpg

  3. #13
    Puppy kwillia's Avatar
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    Tucker is almost 16 weeks and will try and dig if I let him. I usually distract him from digging in yard or gardens. When we are at the beach he loves to dig in the sand and I do allow it there.

  4. #14
    Real Retriever Archie's Avatar
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    I remember everything Archie did as a pup I worried would become a lifelong habit - I went through phases of thinking "he's always going to eat flowers" "he's always going to dig" "he's always going to chew the coffee table" but after a week or so of being supervised and corrected, all these things turned into passing phases.

    But, if you aren't there to supervise and correct, any of these activities can become lifelong habits. If it were my pup, it would be crated or I would be actively supervising. It's exhausting, but before you know it, puppy is an adult dog with good habits.
    Laura, Archie & Quinn
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  5. #15
    Senior Dog
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jax's Mom View Post
    We built a digging pit for Jax with sand about 6X6. He loved to.dig in it and knew where to dig because every morning we took him there and said playfully lets dig. At first we buried toys and treats in it but he'd dig them out and not stop digging. He loved this and then at 10 months he began to dig less and less. Now it's been a month or more since he dug in it. So we are considering taking it out. Here's a picture of him in it.

    -photo-15-jpg

    What a great idea!

  6. #16
    Real Retriever
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    My spawn of Satan puppy was a digger when she was small. Liked to attack and destroy small trees too.

    I had three 'designated digging areas', the rest of the yard was off limits. If she started digging somewhere else (the usual case!) I would run to a designated hole, get on my knees and yell "OHH!! LOOK AT THIS!!!" and pretend to start digging. This, of course, was MUCH more fun that whatever she was doing so she would run over. I used the phrase "Diggin' for GOLD!" She LOVED digging and would bite at the dirt and roots as she dug!!! Five or ten minutes later that was no longer fun and we had to find something else to do. By the time she reached 1 year old her digging was over and done with.

    I look at it this way, We chose to have lab pups. I love labs. But, they are a bit different from other breeds, some lab pups are more different than others! If she wants to do something like dig, she will dig no matter what I try to do. Until she is old enough to understand. I go with the flow and just direct it in a certain way. Most of the time they outgrow most puppy nasty habits. I actually miss diggin' for gold now.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to Woodrow_Woodchuck For This Useful Post:

    MikeLynn (08-02-2014)

 



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