There's no way to stop dog digging is there?

[HelgatheHairy]

Male Golden Retriever, just over a year old. We sowed a new lawn but with the weather there are a few bits where the grass hasn't taken and the soil is dry and crumbly. Ddog is loving digging in these bits. I keep an eye on him but at 37+3 and a BIG lawn he can have quite a bit of progress made before I can get to him. He's not digging randomly, he's picking bits where there are tree roots under the surface.

There's no way to really stop him is there??

(I have a 2 acre field where I don't care how much he digs but he can't go in there for a few days)

Get him a sand pit, bury treats and toys and let him have at it. Will leave alone what he isn't supposed to dig and can exercise his digging need and his brain to his heart's content

I second the sandpit idea.

Once he gets the idea that he only finds 'treasure' when digging in the one particular area he should leave the lawn alone.

We built our golden lab a sand pit and have halted the lawn excavation. We bury her bones, balls etc and she goes and digs them out.

Chicken wire type fencing laid over favourite digging spots until he has forgotten about it ?

The problem with the sandpit treasures idea is he loves digging up the roots, he considers them treasures so a sandpit would just be an "extra" and he'd keep at the holes.

I did cover 2 of the holes with slate today (was all I had to hand) and it kind of stopped him (plus the fact he was too tired and hot to do anything!)