Cheap Pet Insurance

August 27th, 2010 by Jerry Welsh

Digging holes is one of the unacceptable behaviors of dogs. An owner has to live with this destructive behavior because digging, like chewing and barking is a natural behavior of dogs. Whenever given a chance, a dog will dig. Because dogs do not know that the inclination to dig is an unacceptable behavior, an owner would come home one day to a lawn with crisscrossing tunnels and a dog with a very proud look on the face.

Dogs are affectionate pets that have the desire of pleasing the master and digging holes can be its way of repaying the master for all the love and the care it has received. Although dogs are well loved pets, the owner can’t help but be upset if the dog has the habit of destroying the garden. Keeping the dog leashed or in a kennel is one way of solving the digging behavior but since we always want to have the dog around, this would not be a very good solution. What about recognizing the reasons why the dog digs? This option can be more effective method of amending the dog’s destructive behavior.

The dogs’ unwanted digging behavior will always be attributed to boredom. Most of the undesirable behaviors of dogs were developed because of boredom. Dogs are not only energetic, they are social animals too. Not giving the dog opportunities to let off steam and opportunities to interact with the family or with other dogs will result to one bored dog that has the propensity to be destructive.

A dog may resort to digging holes to get the attention of the human family. In the eyes of the dog, the reprimands of an angry master would be more acceptable than being ignored. A dog would dig holes to escape confinement. Dogs love to roam. Dogs are curious animals thus the sounds and scents on the other side of the fence will be very interesting. Thus the dog will dig tunnels.

Digging is fun for the dog. When the weather is hot the dog will be seen frantically digging. A newly dug hole will be cool to the heated body of the dog. In the wild, these animals would dig holes to hide the prey. If we store our foods in refrigerators, dogs would use holes for storage purposes. Dogs will be seen digging holes to bury bones and other “treasures” that can be unearthed when food is scarce.

More about why dogs dig holes at Sarah’s Dogs.