How to Stop My Dog Digging Holes in the Garden

A dog digging holes in the ground is entirely normal, an instinctive behaviour for several reasons. From wearing down their claws to searching for an object whose scent draws them, or to hide one of their prized possessions, such as a bone or a toy.

What's normal behaviour for them can be a problem for us. Those of us with a garden know how much work it takes to keep it neat and tidy, but if the dog fills it with holes it'll look like we have moles. Let's see how to fix it.

Why Do Dogs Dig Holes in the Ground?

Dogs dig holes in the ground purely by instinct — they don't need to have seen other dogs do it; they'll dig in our garden instinctively, the same way they eat grass when their stomach hurts and they want to be sick — pure primal instinct.

There are several reasons they dig in the ground; it's not always for the same reason — there are several reasons they might want, or even need, to dig a good hole.

Digging Out of Boredom

Ridiculous as it may seem, this is the main reason a dog sets about mining our garden with dozens of holes everywhere. Dogs, mainly puppies and young ones, have a huge amount of energy they need to burn off daily.

It's a big mistake to think that because the dog has a large space in the garden, there's no need to take them for walks or exercise with them. Excess energy ends up turning into a mix of excitement and boredom that often leads the dog to dig holes repeatedly.

Digging Holes to Hide Something

Another reason our dog digs holes is to hide things. Entirely instinctively, dogs tend to hide food or toys for later, somewhere nobody can take them away — that is… underground.

When a dog wants to hide a bone to eat later, another day, another week or even another month… what they do is dig a good hole and bury it. That way they'll know where it is thanks to their excellent sense of smell, but we won't.

The same happens with toys, when they want to save them to enjoy later — they hide them.

Filing Down Their Claws

It may seem strange, but it's true: dogs wear down their claws on walks and runs over trails, pavements or asphalt. Even so, when the claws don't wear down naturally and bother the dog while walking, they look for a way to file them down.

Digging holes in the ground isn't just great fun for them — it also helps keep their claws well filed. If you're convinced this is the reason your dog digs holes, you can fix it by trimming their claws properly.

Home Tricks to Stop a Dog Digging Holes in the Garden

We're going to explain a couple of super simple tricks we can use to get our dog to stop digging in the garden. In barely a couple of days we'll have fixed the problem for good.

• Use Vicks VapoRub, rubbing a little on the edges of the flower beds where your dog usually climbs and digs. The smell of Vicks VapoRub is very unpleasant for dogs, so they'll avoid being in areas that smell like that.
• Blow up small balloons and bury them in their holes; that way, when they dig those holes again, they'll pop the balloon with their claws and get a little scare. It's a very simple, effective way of correcting this behaviour in dogs.