Hey there lab family, Hope you are all very well and ready to celebrate Christmas. So River is our first lab, and she's absolutely stunning and kind. However there's one thing that I can't manage to seem to control and that's her desire to continuously dig up our lawn. I just can't work out why she's digging. She gets plenty of attention (and play), both my partner and I are working from home. And she gets a walk of 20 minutes, including off the lead playtime in the nearby park. Did you guys have any trouble with that too? I wouldn't mind if she just had one area where she's digging but there's several patches now and I have no clue how to stop her from continue digging. Any suggestions would be really helpful.
Yes, I've been there I am afraid. Maisy dug several holes in the lawn for no other reason than it was great fun .. for her. I filled them in and covered with a big rock. She then dug an area of dirt (not lawn) under a tree so we encouraged her to dig there as it was not ruining anything, just a few flowers. Strangely though she would not dig out in the woods or in other places, we got her digging on the beach a few times though. I wouldn't worry, I think all dogs like to dig. Maisy is 9 months now and has stopped making holes in the lawn although she does like to dig the bottom out of a cardboard box once in a while.
My dog was quite the digger as a puppy...it got pretty bad, but, he grew out of it and never digs anymore
I read once , why do dogs dig ? Answer , because they can ! My late boy Sam was a shocker of a digger as a pup , but he also grew out of it as he matured , but he never did stop pruning ! x
Thanks for the reply, Silver and Shaz. Just out of interest, are Maisy and Beau also working dogs? As you both say, it's a thing dogs like to do, regardless whether they're working dogs or show dogs I suppose. River is and despite only being 4 months old, I'm noticing she definitely prefers to be outside rather than being indoors, despite being winter. We have a set of bells at the back door, which we trained her to use if she needs to go busy. Since a week ago, little miss sunshine however can't stand the door being closed, so she's constantly ringing the bells with her nose. I'm gonna try what you suggest Shaz, perhaps get a few stones in and try to fill up the holes and direct her to one particular area where she can dig. The soil of lawn in the property that we're renting is very odd. We don't particularly have a wonderful patch of grass and I've noticed that River is finding a lot of stones in the soil. An area with loads of new stones, where she can dig exclusively is perhaps the best way forward.
That's a relief to hear. I keep having this horrible feeling that when we eventually move out, our landlord won't have a garden left. And I totally get what you mean about the pruning. We have a few small bushes on the side of the house and River is a master in pruning them. I'm so glad it is winter right now, because if anyone saw our garden in this state, I'd be mortified. At least it saves me on a gardener coming to trim the bushes during the winter I guess.
My two female dogs have been differs. My boy not so much (not that I think this is anything to do with sex, it's just how it panned out). Distraction and redirection worked and, in time they grew out of it. My two three-year olds (one boy and one girl) are field line and my yearling (girl) is show line. The two girls are both outdoorsy types and Luna especially so, as her coat is so thick. She'd lay outside in the snow all day given the chance!
Hi @Dimitri digging is a perfectly normal dog behaviour and Labradors are nowhere near as bad as some breeds. Some grow out of it, others don't . My advice to my clients is 1. Keep filling in holes in the hope they eventually stop digging. 2. Create an area in the garden that they can dig in. This can be a child's sandpit with a lid to keep it clean. Bury some treats and toys for River to find and let her enjoy herself. 3. Create an indoor digging box from a cardboard box. Fill with cardboards tubes, scrunched up paper etc and again hides treats and toys for River to find. I highly rerecommend 2 or 3 or even both, grwat enrichment for any dog and your pup will love you for it
Yes, it’s natural, fun behaviour which needs redirecting from your lawn I have a corner of the garden which I put sand in and allow my pups to dig. .
Boris as a pup used to dig up the lawn.if I filled the hole up he went back and dug it up again. The way I stopped that was to put a bit of his poo in the hole before filling it. Having done that he didn't dig in that hole,he just dug another one elsewhere. He now leaves the lawn alone.
Yes Maisy is from a gundog line and loves the outdoors, but just as much loves lazing about by the fire. If you are worried about your lawn then I would also train River to toilet in a hidden spot as I have not done this with Maisy and our lawn is a mass of yellow patches. I don't particularly care about that but your landlord might! By the way I had to cover the holes with a BIG rock to stop her getting to it again.
Harley was a digger when she was younger. We had a few big holes, kept filling them in but she kept digging it out again. In the end we left one hole and she hasn't touched it since!
Holly went through a digging phase. We think it started when she saw OH digging to plant some bushes. After a few months of digging she suddenly stopped and has never dug since.
