Two of the most common dog behavior problems are digging, and stealing food from the trash. The following article will look at these more in depth and provide solutions around how to combat these.
Firstly let’s get to the bottom of Digging. Dogs dig for a number of reasons, they might find it fun, they may be bored or frustrated, they may be able to smell something interesting such as a rat or any other kind of garden rodent, or they may in fact be trying to escape.
If you think that your dog may be bored and frustrated, start stimulating its mind more. Daily training sessions of 10 - 15 minutes can be very fun and entertaining for your dog and in some cases will be enough to stop the digging totally. If you jog or run, take your dog along - the exercise will do it benefits not only physically but also mentally. Try buying your dog some new and interesting toys and swap them around from time to time. You don’t need to give your dog all their toys at the same time.
If you have a dog that simply really enjoys digging, you might be able to find a win - win situation by allocating a small area of your yard for digging. You can encourage your dog to dig there by burying food or his favorite toys and then starting to dig with him.
If your dog is digging in all the wrong places, try spraying some dog digging deterrent in the specific places you don’t want your dog to dig. Dog’s don’t like the smell or taste of this deterrent meaning they will most likely avoid digging in that spot.
The second common issue I want to mention is dogs breaking open trash bags. Dogs are programmed to take food whenever its on offer so doing this really comes naturally to them. Whenever a dog spots and opportunity to eat, they take it as in the wild they never knew when they would next get the opportunity.
Luckily there are a few different things you can do to deal with this problem. The most obvious solution is to put the trash somewhere where your dog can’t access it. Hide the trash in a small cupboard, or in the garage if possible. If you don’t have anywhere to hide the trash, try to discipline your dog that it’s not ok to break into the trash - to do this you’ll need to catch you dog in the act.
Another way you can teach your dog not to go through the trash is to booby trap the trash. Balance a few empty cans or nuts and bolts on top of the trash. When your dog tries to rip the bag open these will fall on the floor and hopefully make such a noise that it will be turned off returning any time soon.
As a last resort you can try using some spray or powder deterrent. Spray the trash bag with the deterrent or sprinkle some chilli powder on the bag and your dog won’t find it very appealing to rip into the bag.
The tips and tricks listed above should help you to overcome these two problems. If you want more information about these problems and much more, visit the websites listed below.
Viewed 474 times by 89 viewers
