As originally Published in the Bradenton Herald

Question:  Emma is a seven-month-old Westie whom we brought home a month ago.  I have never owned a dog.  My friend has more experience than I do with dogs, but both of us want to do what is best for Emma without letting her rule our lives.  Actually my question has to do with Emma digging up our yard, which we know it is in her nature to do.  I have trouble with the idea of not letting her do it since it is in her nature, but at the same time, I am not wild about the holes in the yard nor the very dirty dog, both on a regular basis.  What are your thoughts?

Answer:  Digging is one of the most common and frequent problems we have with our dogs.  As you indicate, Westies are natural diggers.  Historically, they are known for chasing small varmints who routinely go underground to escape capture.  Knowing this, you must decide whether to tolerate the behavior or not.
 One school of thought has pet owners set aside a special “sandbox” to accommodate the digging by controlling where the dog digs.  Mark off the area and dig up the dirt about three to four feet down.  Return the dirt loosely to the hole (do not pack it too tightly) and, when there is about a foot of dirt left to return, deposit a fresh, juicy beef bone as a prize.  Then finish filling in the hole.  On average, “bury” a new bone once every week to 10 days to keep the dog interested in the sandbox instead of your flower garden.
 Another school of thought requires time and patience on your part.  Understanding that we cannot remove the natural tendency to dig, we can condition the dog to not dig in our yard.  In the early stages of training, you must supervise the dog during every outing into the yard.  At first, I recommend letting her out for bathroom activities only.  Playing with her in the yard is also acceptable; however, she is not afforded enough alone time to begin any new excavations.  If she starts to dig, yell a distracting sound, call her to come to you and return her to the confines of the house.  Do not scold, punish or rub her nose in the hole.
 After about a week of successful yard trips, allow Emma a small amount of what she perceives as unsupervised yard time.  In fact, you may step inside the house, but keep a watchful eye on her activities.  The first sign of digging means you must revert to stage one of the conditioning process.  You can progress back to stage two much more rapidly, but obviously Emma wasn’t ready for quite so much freedom yet.
 As Emma earns the privilege of increased unsupervised yard time, you may gradually extend the duration until you can successfully leave your observation perch with the confidence that she will not provide you any new craters during your absence.  Accidents should be met with starting all over at level one and then accelerating the gradual freedom program
 This technique can be used with only slight modifications for the “retriever” who goes after the neighborhood ducks, the “hunter” who likes cats or even the “demolition experts” who like to remodel things during unsupervised playtimes.
 The final option I call “management.”  It is the most time-consuming in the long run; however, the dog should theoretically never dig again, unless you decide to allow it.  This method requires you to walk your dog on leash whenever the dog is to go outside the home for any reason.  It is simple and technically foolproof.  I wonder which method you will use.

Scott Holloway