Garden sos: digging for Britain

[AlwaysAFaithful]

Our 1 year old lab is a gorgeous, mischievous boy. Generally not too bad in the house but arghhhhhhh in the garden he is digging holes like there’s no tomorrow. We now have a garden that looks like it’s a soil quarry. I can’t spend 100% of the time he’s outside watching him. He is v well walked and doesn’t dig all the time, but just every now and again he goes for it. He likes to revisit holes that he’s already started digging.

I’m just wondering if anyone has found some solutions to reduce this kind of garden anarchy. I used to have a lovely garden. Now it looks like something you’d see on DIYSOS. Please let me know strategies other than just watching him constantly. I want him to be able to get out in the garden because he has a lovely time playing with his toys and parading round the perimeter of the garden. Suggestions very welcome…

Quite sure he can have a lovely time playing with is toys inside, so not outside unless you are supervising him.
which is so much easier in Spring/Summer.

My last Lab started to do this. My garden has only just recovered and now I’ve got another Lab puppy ( last one I was raising for guide dogs so left us at 15 months old last summer).

I wish I had a solution but I don’t. I like my puppies to be able to potter outside on their own as it’s good for learning independence. However, if this one starts digging for England too then I will probably start accompanying him for the sake of my garden.

The new puppy has already brought me some bulbs with a full expectation that I would be pleased 🥴

Don’t let him out unless he’s being supervised - the more he digs, the more rewarding it will be and the harder it will be to stop it.

Thanks folks. I know supervision / restricting access r probably the only answers. Also wondering about laying something like a grid over the areas where he’s very keen on digging up but I suspect he’ll then just choose another place.

Can you give him a sandpit to dig and redirect/reward him digging in that?

Yes. This. Build him an area where he can dig, and every time he starts to dig somewhere else, redirect him to the area he is allowed to dig in. Bury some good stuff in therefore to encourage him to use that bit

We had a terrier who was a big digger as a puppy. We restricted her to a small area of the garden that consisted of paving and a few raised beds. I covered the bare soil between the shrubs (roses, mostly) with tiles and old bricks. She gave up digging and found her outlets elsewhere.

A friend did the whole 'redirect into an approved area' with her dog, but it didn't really work. As an adult dog he caused havoc in the rose bed...

My poodle puppy is also digging up my garden. I starting filling the holes in and adding grass seed yesterday, so the next plan is to only let him out on a lead or supervised until it grows back. Have also been looking at sandpits for him to use instead. 😬

Thank you everyone-there are some good practical solutions there. I have filled in the holes and covered them with heavy tubs at the moment. There is a bit at the end of the garden where I could make him a digging zone but he is always drawn to the area that he’s not allowed to go in. So I think the idea of putting tiles or pebbles in between areas of planting to discourage him from digging up the plants would be good. I suspect that the lawn is just going to look terrible for the next year or two…