Saturday, August 4, 2012

What encourages a dog to dig holes

By Jerry Welsh


Dogs have many undesirable behaviors - digging holes is one of them. Pet parents have to learn to live with the unwanted behaviors of the pet not only because dogs are well loved pets but also because these are innate behaviors of dogs. All dogs 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.

The silly dog would think that digging holes would please the master. We love our pets but surely we do not love their destructive behaviors. 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. Would knowing the reasons behind the dog's unacceptable behavior help? This can be a more effective way to deal with the dog's unwanted behavior.

Boredom, as always would be on top of the list why dogs dig. Most of the undesirable behaviors of dogs were developed because of boredom. Dogs, apart from being energetic are social animals as well. 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.

Dogs would always want to receive attention from the family but because of tight schedules, pet owners may not have the time to bond with the pet thus the destructive digging behavior will be developed. 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 do not enjoy being leashed because these energetic animals love to roam. Dogs are curious animals thus the sounds and scents on the other side of the fence will be very interesting. The dog will dig tunnels under the fence to get to the other side.

Digging is fun. When the weather is hot the dog will be seen frantically digging. Lying on a newly dug hole will cool the dog's heated body. In the wild, these animals would dig holes to hide the prey. Dogs use holes to store food in the same way that we humans use refrigerators. Dogs are really intelligent animals as they would dig holes to bury bones and other food in preparation for lean days.




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