Remember that since the dog digging will almost always occur when you are not present, punishing your dog or puppy afterwards will not do much to stop the problem. They will most likely not even remember this behavior, so you will be wasting time and energy and will also be creating a confused and possibly even scared dog. Of course, if you catch your dog digging, immediately pull them by the leash away from the digging area, firmly tell them “no” and move them away to another part of the yard or remove them from the yard altogether.

Of course, figuring out how to stop a dog from digging holes will become easier if you can determine exactly what causes the behavior and then can take measures to stop the behavior from happening again.

Dog trainers will always comment that if dogs are not given constructive things to do, they will find something destructive to do instead. With this in mind, try solving the digging problem by walking your dog in the morning before you leave for work and taking him on another walk when you get home. Even if you only have 10-15 minutes for walking time, this is better than nothing and you may be amazed at how quickly this solves the problem.

While some dogs may actually catch and kill these pests, they can also do a great deal of damage to your yard in the meantime. Unfortunately, the only real way to keep dogs with a high prey drive from digging for prey is to get rid of the prey in the yard. Depending on the type of pest you have, this may be a costly task, but it will be far cheaper than having to resod or replant grass seed for your entire yard. Remember that if your measures for killing off pests include using any chemical products, you will need to remove your dog from the yard for a sufficient amount of time to ensure they do not get sick from the chemical products.

If this is the case, you may come home to a place in your yard that has been dug up simply because your dog was seeking protection from the cold, the heat, the rain or the wind. While this may be a one time occurrence, dogs that are regularly left outdoors will begin to make a habit of digging in the same location. This is usually a place that protects them from the sun in the heat of the day or that protects them from the wind on cold, rainy days.

If you notice that your dog digs in the same place and when you fill in the hole they only dig it up again, you may have a dog trying to tell you that they are in need of shelter. Your choices are to bring the dog in on cold or hot days or to install a dog house or covered awning to keep them safe while you are gone. If the dog digging occurs because your animal is seeking protection, a dog house or covered shelter will easily solve this problem.