Has anybody got any ideas how to stop Moose my 10 month old Lab pup from digging.

She is not fussy where she digs but seems to enjoy digging newly planted flowers and also digging the shingle down the pathway to the gate.

I have caught her a couple of times doing it and she knows she is in the doo doo but I think she thinks it is a game:D

Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved.

Thanks

Lucy

Hi
Cannot really offer any productive advice, but am interested in the answers as although my pup does not dig she eats all of the flower heads and my baby weeping tree in the corner of my garden now has no leaves or branches Ruby height down!!

Moose likes to aswell. She also likes to strip the bark off trees.
We have taken away all the hounds access to the main part of the garden but it is when the conservatory doors are open when we are home. She will sneak out, do her bit of Moose re landscaping then come in and pretend she has been inside all the time. Not thinking that the soil all around her nose and the muddy paw prints leading back to where she is laying will in anyway incriminate her ! :D

Lucy

We turned the hose or water pistol on ours when we would catch them, but then we have sighthound type dogs who aren't keen on getting wet. Not sure it would put off a lab:)

Wendy

Nope have tried that! She loves it !

Lucy

I thought that might be what would happen. Another suggestion I was given, was that if she has any favourite holes to fill some cayenne pepper in some about a 1/2 inch down. Don't know if it works at all though.

I could have a try but her favourite places are where ever there is any soil or plants. I would need to get in touch with an importer of spices and purchase a container ship of the pepper !!

I remeber my eldest Lab Mars was a digger but in no way to such a degree as Moose !

Lucy

Hi Lucy

Laying some wire netting under the shingle may stop her being able to dig up the path.
My bitch was a real pain with plants when she was a pup. I'd find them strewn all about. After trying different methods and in desperation when I replanted them I collected one of her turds and squashed it around the base of the plant and then lightly covered it with soil. Instant cure!! She never dug them up again. Can understand if you don't like that method though :D

That sounds a really good idea. Just hope though it won't be too stinky !:D
Thanks
Lucy

Have you tried taking the shovel away from her?
Sorry, couldn't resist it....in my experience all pups ( an most of my adults too!!!) dig. Hound pups are the worst. Think you just have to live with it and offer her some more stimulating things like chews/bones as a distraction.

She has got lots of stimulation, bones chews, squeeky toys etc. I think she does it as a game! She is quite a clicked on girl and has got so much more intelligence than Mars or Min ever had !:D

Lucy

Lis I understand your problem. Lacey is 13 weeks old now and has just decided to take up landscape gardening as a career. I hope she thinks of something better to do soon. She also has loads of toys etc but although she plays with them a lot, gardening is her favourite outdoor activity at the moment. I love gardening and had a nice garden and I too do not know what to do top stop her.

2 of mine do it. have just filled in the holes in the lawn (again) and planted grass seeds in them (again), lasted about 3 days before they dug the holes again, don't know if it is more a girly thing as both mine are bitches, ones a rottie, pup is akita, akitas mum did the original excavations 2 years ago, if the poo trick works please let me and I'll be eternally grateful !

Lorraine

My Molly is 4 years old and still goes out to dig up my plants to hide her treats!!

Julieann

Hi, Charlie used to dig like a maniac in the garden. I ended up teaching him to dig on command, and he still loves digging, but he does it when I tell him, like at the beach or in a big pile of leaves.
The garden is now pretty much intact, there is a muddy bare patch, which is a path directly from the back door over to behind the shed where the neighbours cat likes to sit, but there isn't much I can do about that!
I don't know if Charlie stopped digging because he learnt that I didn't like it in the garden, grew out of it, or just likes digging in sand, leaves, and places he has never been before more.
It might be worth trying though.
Jo

That is a really good idea. Will try that the next walk we take her on.

Lucy

How about a rattle can?