Can You Dig It?

We have two young Boston Terriers who we can’t stop from digging up our outside plant pots. When we see them doing it we give them the “ah ah” and they stop but they do not seem to learn not to do it. Have you got any tips?

Digging would, on the surface seem to be an easy fix. You tell the dogs "no" and they stop digging. Easy, right? Well, not exactly.

Why do dogs dig?

Let's start with why dogs dig. Dogs belong to the family Canidae, which includes domestic dogs, foxes, coyotes, wolves, and a few others. What do they all have in common? Well, plenty, including digging as an innate behavior.

Innate means that no one had to teach them how to do it. Some innate behaviors appear at birth and some are triggered by the environment. For example, male dogs squat to urinate until adolescence and then hormones and environmental triggers shape the behavior into leg lifting and marking.

Innate behaviors are very difficult (some are impossible) to stop because they are so deeply a part of the animal's natural repertoire. Digging is one of these behaviors, I'm afraid. Some dogs are even bred for their digging ability--terriers for example.

A few other reasons

Dogs dig to stay cool, make a bed, pursue prey, and to bury (or cache) food for later consumption.

Have you ever seen videos of dogs "saving" fish by seemingly using their nose to splash water on the fish? This behavior is actually part of the caching sequence, likely triggered by the smell of the fish. The dog is performing the "bury" portion of the sequence: the dog digs a hole, places the item in the hole, then uses his nose to "bury" the item."

Oh, yes. Dogs also dig because it's fun!

As cool as we think all of that is (we are dog nerds, after all), what can you do to help your poor plants?

Prevention is key

Management is the first line of defense. Is there a way to make the plants impossible to access? Problem solved! Perhaps bury chicken wire to prevent deep digging and protect the plant roots, depending on what type of plants your critters are digging up. Large decorative rocks to impede access to the plants may be an option.

Think inside the box (the digging box)

Provide an alternative. Some people have good luck in providing a "legal" area for pets to dig in. These digging boxes, much like a child's sandbox, can be made more enticing if you seed it with buried toys or items that have been scented. Check out hunting stores for scents or ask friends with pet rodents for a tiny bit of used litter, perhaps.

Consider giving up on expensive landscaping and enjoy nature's design. One of our team here (which may or may not be this author) has a backyard that looks much like pictures the astronauts sent back from the moon. Her dogs, however, are happy and likely digging as this is being written.

Listen to Victoria speak about dogs and digging at the 42:30 mark of this episode: https://positively.com/podcast/positively-podcast-episode-307/