I suddenly have a digger:(

[Star and Goldie]

Since today was the first day in a very long time that it has been nice outside, I left work early to tidy up the yard a bit.  In doing so I found several holes in the yard- what a mess. The culprit? My 10 year old Golden.  For 10 years she has NEVER been a digger but suddenly here we are... a digger!

My little doodle is never allowed outside unsupervised so I know it's not her. I caught Riley in the act so I know for a fact that it's her. 

This is a habit I want to break fast. I read that you could bury chicken wire under the area where they dig and that will detour them and they'll stop digging.  Has anyone tried this and had success? I definitely don't want to hurt her and chicken wire sounds like it would hurt her feet.

She gets plenty of exercise- well as much as she can withstand right now. She has plenty of toys outside and things to keep her busy so I'm not sure why all of the sudden she digs. She loves being outside and when she's ready to come in she will sit by the patio door. When I'm not home she's in a big kennel in the garage. So she's only outside when I'm home and when she wants to be outside.

I searched some old discussions and found people saying things that they read you could try but I was wondering if anyone out there ever tried those things and did they work?

I don't want Goldie learning this habit from her. I'm already dealing with Goldie teaching Riley the poop eating habit- YUK! So in 10 years Riley has never been a digger or a poop eater and now she's both:(

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Hmmm I was going to suggest patching up the hole and putting a piece of their poop on top.  This works for my dogs but if they eat poop that might not work :(

[Becka]

When Sadie was a puppy I used the poop-in-the-hole trick (you put some poop in a place where they've been digging, and it deters them) and it worked very quickly. She never digs in our yard, but sometimes she does dig at the dog park (lots of bad habit to pick up there!) However, since Riley is also a poop eater, this trick would probably just seem like the best possible game for her! Some people at my dog park have discouraged their dogs from digging by sprinkling a little bit of hand sanitizer in the area where the dog digs. It seems to work (and is supposed to be harmless for both dogs and the environment) but not permanently. Worth a try, I suppose.

[Star and Goldie]

Haha yep that would probably be a fun poop finding game for her now that she's picked up that nasty habit:/ I've never heard of the hand sanitizer trick but anything is worth a try!

[Sheila & Finnley]

GOOD LUCK with that !! If you discover the magic trick to stop it, please post it right away ! :)

I'm thinking that my house is going to end up in some kind of a sink hole before the summer is done.

[Star and Goldie]

If I had to prioritize the bad habits I want to break, the poop eating definitely takes precedence but I've pretty much given up on that one since I've tried every trick in the book.  I thought maybe I could tackle this bad habit and feel accomplished. HA!

[Bonnie and Kona]

We put poop in the holes Owen was digging, and then he decided to try digging under the fence to the neighbors. That's when we put plastic mesh just below the surface of the dirt along the fence line. It worked. Seems safer than chicken wire.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

our last dog was a poop eater, so gross. Quincy is not, thank goodness. He has not done any digging, but then again, the weather has been awful.  We'll see what the spring brings since he likes to dig up the blankets on the bed!  

We did use chicken wire to deter our lab.  She used to dig holes in a few particular spots on the lawn/garden, and it did stop her without hurting her.  Nothing hurt her though-she was a tough cookie!  

[Star and Goldie]

Thanks Lori. How did you do it with the chicken wire? How much chicken wire and how far do you bury it?

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

She used to dig around one of our trees on the lawn.  we just put down chicken wire and covered in with a generous amount of mulch since it was near the base of the tree.  here's a google link that may help   http://www.ehow.com/how_6717336_use-wire-stop-dogs-digging.html

[Star and Goldie]

Awesome! Thanks so much! I'll be giving this method a try. I'm glad to hear someone's success story with it.  It gives me hope :)

[Linda & Charity]

I have had Charity for 6 years.The same thing happened with her this year.  I have heard that they eat poop  because they are missing something in their diet.  Could that be true? I find that hard to believe.       Charity eats grass also.

Charity has started digging also.  She only digs when I'm outside not paying attention to her. (example-gardening)  I  think she is bored and wants to play but we have just finished walking and/or playing fetch. 

[Star and Goldie]

they could eat poop due to something missing but that was ruled out by my vet. Goldie has eaten her poop since day 1, she's 5 months now. My 10 year old Golden has never done it but after watching Goldie every day for the last few months she's picked up on the habit.

There are many reasons for poop eating (Coprophagia). I'm glad that in our case it's not health related but it's a terrible habit that is absolutely disgusting and it's so discouraging that Riley learned it from Goldie. Ugh!

If anyone has a poop eater I'd definitely talk with a vet to rule out any issues related to diet/nutrition.  Once that's ruled out then you've just got a nasty habit on your hands. We've tried every tablet, powder and home remedy out there with no success. YUK!