Many people and families enjoy having a dog or other pets in their lives. They provide love, entertainment, companionship, and other various positive life benefits. Dogs are great pets because they are smart, most are pretty easy to train for 
basic commands, and they can protect you and your home or at least warn you of trouble. Families with children even sometimes get a dog to teach the children how to have responsibility and take care of something. All wonderful reasons to have a dog, but sometimes that lovable dog ends up destroying your backyard.
One of the biggest reasons a dog ends up destroying a backyard or other things is because he or she is bored and doesn’t get enough exercise and attention. This may be because his or her owner is busy or you have a breed that just has a LOT of energy. Scheduling in play time or a long walk (or two!) are a great way to help prevent your dog from being bored enough to do damage. A tired dog wants to take a nap, not dig holes, chew things up or other destructive behaviors.
If your dog is digging holes in your lawn, you are probably not very happy about it. Boredom is definitely a cause for many dogs as they find that the soil and roots and things are engaging. If you think this may be the problem try to increase play time, people time, or make their environment more interesting to them. You can try introducing new toys to them every few days, just have a few of their favorites and swap them out every few days, or taking them to play at the local dog park. Dog parks are great because your dog gets to socialize with other dogs and people and run around enough to get tired.
Another reason your dog may be digging holes in your lawn is for comfort, shelter, or for temperature regulation. This is most often the case if you find that your dog is laying in the holes that they are digging. If your dog doesn’t have a shelter, or it is too hot or too cold, your dog may be taking things into their own paws. Often dogs dig holes in the summer to lie in the cool dirt to cool off. Remove this temptation by providing them with proper shelter that is cool or warm depending on their needs. Make sure to also provide plenty of water for them.
There are other reasons that your dog may be digging, like pursuing a rodent, trying to escape to get something or get away from something. Identifying the most likely cause of their digging is the first step in stopping the behavior and teaching your dog something better to do. Check out part 2 for ways to dissuade your dog from digging whatever their reasons!
Greenfeet Lawncare Provides Service to the Following Areas
770.619.2929
North Fulton, East Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth Counties - including Alpharetta, Canton, Cobb, Cumming, Dunwoody, Gwinnett, Johns Creek, Marietta, Milton, Roswell, Sandy Springs
