Question
How do I stop my dog digging?
The short answer
Digging is normal, so first find out why your dog digs: boredom, heat, a smell, hunting mice or trying to get out. Then meet that need. Do not leave it alone in the garden for long, add sniffing walks and food games, offer shade on hot days, and build a sandpit with toys buried in it where digging is welcome. Block the spots you want to keep. Kroki, a reward-based training app for puppies and dogs, has short steps such as relaxing outdoors and chewing the right things.
How to do it, step by step
Watch when and where it digs
For a week, note the time, the spot and what happened before. Digging along the fence after the neighbour’s dog barks has a different cause from digging a cool hollow in the shade at noon, or from digging in fresh compost. The pattern usually points to the reason.
Do not leave your dog alone outside for hours
A dog with nothing to do and nobody around often invents its own job, and the lawn is right there. Go into the garden together, and bring your dog inside when you cannot keep an eye on it. Much digging stops simply because the dog is no longer bored out there.
Give its nose and brain more work
Sniffing walks, scatter feeding in the grass, food toys and short training games tire a dog in a way a quick lap round the block does not. Dogs bred to hunt or search, such as terriers and dachshunds, often need this most.
Build a place where digging is welcome
Mark out a corner with sand or loose soil, or use a children’s sandpit. While your dog watches, bury a chew or a favourite toy just under the surface and cheer it on when it finds it. Hide new things there often so the pit stays more exciting than the flower beds.
Make the tempting spots less inviting
Fence off fresh beds, cover compost, and lay large stones or chicken wire just under the soil where your dog digs along the fence. On hot days provide shade, a cool tiled spot or a paddling pool, so your dog does not have to dig its own cool hollow.
Interrupt kindly and show the alternative
If you catch your dog digging in the wrong place, call it cheerfully, take it to the sandpit and help it find something there. Do not shout, scold or fill holes with anything unpleasant. Your dog would only learn to dig when you are not looking.
Puppy or grown dog?
Puppies dig because everything is new: soil smells, roots move, and pulling at them is play. Keep sessions in the garden short and supervised, give plenty of chew toys, and set up the sandpit early so the habit forms in the right place. A grown or rescue dog may dig to cool down, to get out, or because it is left alone outside, so look at its day as a whole before you blame the garden.
Why dogs dig, and what is and is not known
There is surprisingly little research that measures why pet dogs dig. What animal welfare organisations describe is based on experience with many dogs. The RSPCA in Australia calls digging normal dog behaviour and lists the usual reasons: boredom, frustration, loneliness, worry or energy with nowhere to go, plus shelter from the weather, trying to escape along a fence, and attractive smells such as compost or blood-and-bone fertiliser (RSPCA Australia).
The same advice explains why a digging dog is not being difficult. Most of these reasons come down to needs that are not met: not enough exercise, company, things to do or a comfortable place to rest. Its suggested route is to check those needs first, keep the dog away from smelly areas, give an approved digging area with safe things buried in it, and praise the dog for digging there (RSPCA Australia).
It also warns against simply stopping digging or telling the dog off without knowing why it happens, because that can harm the dog’s welfare and lead to new problems (RSPCA Australia). This fits a wider review of training studies: aversive methods can harm dogs’ physical and mental health, and there is no evidence that they work better than reward-based training (Ziv 2017).
Common reasons and what helps
- Boredom: more company, sniffing walks and food games, less time alone in the garden.
- Heat: shade, water and a cool place to lie, especially for thick-coated dogs.
- Mice, moles or other small animals underground: supervise, and give the hunting drive a job in the sandpit.
- Burying treasures: give chews in smaller pieces, or let your dog bury them in its own pit.
- Digging along the fence or gate: secure the fence and find out what your dog is trying to reach.
What not to do
- Filling holes with water, pepper or your dog’s own mess. It is unfair and only moves the digging somewhere else.
- Shouting or scolding after you find a hole. Your dog cannot link it to digging earlier.
- Leaving your dog outside alone all day and hoping it will settle.
- Using spray collars or electric fences. They frighten dogs and do not meet the need behind the digging.
When to see a professional
Most digging has an everyday cause. Get help when:
your dog has eaten soil with fertiliser, slug pellets, cocoa mulch, plant bulbs or something else it dug up
Emergency: get help nowyour dog digs or scratches at the floor restlessly, cannot settle, pants a lot, or a female dog starts building a nest without being pregnant
Have a vet take a lookyour dog digs frantically at doors, gates or fences when left alone, or hurts its paws trying to get out
Get support from professionals
The help pages list services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland only. Elsewhere, ask your vet practice who they recommend near you.
Frequently asked questions
Which dog breeds dig the most?
Terriers, dachshunds and other breeds developed to hunt animals underground often dig the most, and so do some northern breeds that dig cool hollows. Any dog can dig, though, when it is bored or hot.
Why does my dog dig holes and lie in them?
Most dogs that lie in a fresh hole are looking for cooler ground. Offer shade, water and a cool place to rest, and check that your dog is not overheating on warm days.
Why does my dog dig at the carpet or the sofa?
Scratching at a bed, sofa or carpet before lying down is common and usually harmless nesting behaviour. If it becomes frantic, happens at doors when alone, or comes with restlessness, ask your vet or a behaviour professional.
Does a sandpit really stop a dog digging elsewhere?
A sandpit helps most when it is more rewarding than the rest of the garden. Bury chews and toys there often, praise your dog for using it, and block the spots you want to protect while the habit forms.
My dog digs under the fence. What should I do?
Secure the fence first, for example with stones or wire under the soil, and do not leave your dog alone in the garden. Then find out what it wants to reach: other dogs, wildlife, or simply company.
Should I fill the holes my dog digs with something unpleasant?
No. Filling holes with water, pepper or faeces is unkind and usually just moves the digging to a new spot. Fill holes with soil and work on the reason instead.
Is it normal for a dog to bury bones and toys?
Yes, burying food and toys is normal storing behaviour. If it bothers you, give smaller chews your dog finishes in one go, or let it bury things in its own sandpit.