By Adam Katz
A dog owner contacted me the other day and said, "Adam: I'vebeen using your dog training techniques for six months now andZac, my Labrador /Heeler cross (two years old) is just about anangel now.
The only problem I have is that he digs up the lawnapproximately once every two months. I have him on a runninglead when I'm not home and this prevents him from digging.However, he is off the lead over night. Most of the time he'sgood, but now and again he digs a hole (at night).
I'm reluctant to put him on the lead at night because this iswhen he goes to the toilet (he can't go during the day). Can youplease provide me with some advice so that I can stop thisproblem?
Thanks, Night-Digger
Dear Night-Digger:
Thank you for your comments about my dog training techniques,which I write about at Dogproblems.com.
A good solution to your problem would be to confine the dog atnight. This can be done either by putting him in a crate, or ifyou want him outside, build him a kennel run with concreteflooring so he can't dig. Because you can't catch him in the actof digging, the way to work with this behavior (especially ifit's only at night) is to prevent it from happening.
From your email, I understand that your dog is tied on therunning lead all day without access to the yard to do hisbusiness. If you can't be home to let him out during theafternoon or evening hours, perhaps a responsible neighbor oreven a professional pet-sitting service would be willing to dothis for you. He should also be having plenty of exercise, bothmental and physical to tire him out, and again this is where theneighbor or pet-sitter can come in handy, as well as yourselfwhen you come home. Tiring him out will assure you that he staysout of trouble, all the more so if he's confined properly
Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com
