How to Stop Dog from Digging Under a Fence?- Almost all the dogs possess the habit of digging. When it comes to escaping from a place, the most popular technique they follow is digging under the fence.
Dogs used to dig under the fence to make a borrow to escape from the place, which destroyed the view of the house’s boundary. This is the reason why most dog owners look for steps regarding how to stop dog from digging under fence.
Your dog’s digging behavior can cause a lot of disturbance, especially when it is digging in your neighbor’s backyard. You have to figure out why they are doing so. You can use a chicken wire around the fence or put gravel under it.
In this article, we will discuss the solution to these problems, like what steps a dog owner should follow to stop the dog from digging, the causes behind the dog’s digging behavior, and what are the precautions to take. Continue reading the article to know more.
Why Do Dogs Dig Under a Fence?
There can be various reasons responsible for your dog’s digging behavior, which we are going to discuss below to give you an exact idea about why dogs used to do this.
For Entertainment
If you used to keep your dog alone at home all the time without giving him any kind of toys to play with, then the canine gets bored and looks for work to release the energy formed in the body.
Most puppies remain very energetic, and they always urge playing sessions from their owner to release their energy and also to get some entertainment.
But when the owner doesn’t give the pet access to the playing sources and keeps him alone at home, the canine used to dig; thus, digging is mostly seen in those dogs whose owners remain busy throughout the day as they used to do it to release their energy.
Whereas some dog breeds are bred to dig, for example, the terriers and beagles. This means that the behavior of digging is in some dogs from the time of their birth, due to which they
keep on digging here and there in the ground or under the fences of the yard. The dogs find it as a source of entertainment, due to which they keep on digging.
To Escape from the Yard
Sometimes the reason behind the digging of your dog under the fences can be just the intention of the dog to escape from home.
A question might arise in your mind if the dog is happy or not in the house due to which he is trying to escape, but you should not worry about the escape of your dog from the house.
This is because when the dogs used to escape, they simply wanted to roam outside by playing with the street dogs out there.
The dogs which are not spayed or neutered used to do this behavior more than the other ones as they were in search of other canines with which they could mate after attaining puberty.
Non-neutered dogs try to attract their opposite genders by roaming here and there in the street, which they use to dig under the fence to make way for them to easily escape from the house.
For the Attention of the Owner
If you notice that the dog is continuously trying to dig in front of you, then the most probable reason behind your dog’s digging can be the pet’s attention-seeking behavior.
When the owner keeps on ignoring his pet and doesn’t give play sessions to the canine, then the dog starts to dig in the ground. They used to do this to signify to their owners that they wanted some time from the owner.
The above-discussed points are the main facts behind the digging behavior of the dog. So if a dog owner is looking for the reasons behind dogs digging to take the proper preventive measures, they can go through the points mentioned earlier.
How to Stop Dog from Digging Under a Fence?
Now, as we have discussed the causes of the digging behavior of the dog, it’s time to discuss the solutions to this problem.
The solution to solve the digging behavior of the dog can be very difficult and time taking, too, but a bit of practice can add perfection to your work.
A dog owner can follow steps to stop the dog from digging under the fence are discussed below.
Figure Out the Reason Behind the Digging Behavior
The most important step to follow in this case is to figure out the reason behind the digging behavior of the dog. This is important because it will help the owner take preventive measures as per the problem detected.
If the digging behavior is due to the attraction to the opposite genders for mating, then the owner can go for spaying or neutering the dogs. Thus finding out the reason is necessary to follow the appropriate strategies.
Use of Chicken Wire to the Fence
It is a type of wire that acts as a barrier between your dog’s digging behavior and the fence. It is made up of galvanized steel that maintains hexagonal gaps, which, when inserted into the fence, stops the dog from digging.
This happens because when the chicken wires are used on a fence, they are inserted by maintaining an angle of 180 degrees to the ground, which prevents the dog from digging under the lower edge of the fence, thus stopping the dog from digging under the fence.
Construct a Digging Zone
The formation of a digging zone is a good option to go with, but it works only when the digging is in your dog’s DNA.
As we have discussed above, some dog breeds are bred to dig, so in this case, to stop your dog from digging under the fence, all you can do is provide him with a separate place and let him know that this was the particular place where the pet has to dig whenever it wants.
You can make the pet know about the digging area by making the digging area different in appearance from the rest of the lawn.
The owner is also suggested to use some cue words like “No dig” whenever he notices the canine digging in another place, and this will make the pet understand that digging in any other place instead of the digging area is not allowed.
Use of Gravel at the Base of the Fence
Using gravel at the base of the fence is one of the best choices, as dogs find it difficult to dig in gravel.
This is because gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments which are commonly known as crushed stone, and it is difficult for the dogs to move by using their paws as the friction between the particles is more than the sand particles.
So placing two to three layers of gravel at the base of the fence will create difficulties for the dog digging. Due to those severe difficulties, the canine will stop digging under the fence on its own.
Increase the Workout Sessions of the Pet
Sometimes, the dogs might use digging to release some energy from their bodies. The excessive amount of energy stored in the dog’s body makes the pet anxious when he doesn’t get anything to do to release the energy in his body.
Introducing exercise sessions in the pet’s schedule will not only maintain the good health of the canine but will also help the dog to release the energy stored in its body, thus making the pet less anxious and will also stop the canine from digging under the fence if he has been doing this out of anxiety.
Proper Praising and Ignoring the Behaviors
When the dog is digging into the ground to seek the attention of the owner, then it is the responsibility of the owner to spend some quality time with the canine friend to make the pet feel less lonely.
The main fact that the owner has to take care of is that the dog might also generate a misconception that his digging brings the owner close to him, due to which the pet continues to do this.
So ignoring the digging behavior after you have spent enough quality time with your pet will help avoid such misconceptions about your pet.
All the above-discussed methods are one of the best and the most preferred methods for dog owners to stop their dogs from digging under the fence. So if a dog owner is looking for steps to prevent their dog from digging, they can completely rely upon the above-discussed steps.
So, here we are done with the entire article and have discussed all the information that can help you in obtaining knowledge regarding how to stop dog from digging under fence.
We hope that the information discussed in the article has cleared all your doubts regarding the matter. Thanks for staying till the end with us and reading the whole article.
