Have a dog problem, any suggestions?

I recently bought a house with a large backyard. My dogs, a husky and a lab mix, are now in the backyard for some of the day while we are home. Like most huskies do, my dog likes to dig. She has dug a few small holes around the back fence, which is chain link. The rest of the fence is wood, and she hasn't dug at at the wood fence. I think she digs at the chain link because she can see through it, and see the yard behind where kids are usually playing. She is a social dog, and is most likely just trying to get to the people.

I've looked around the internet for some ideas, but nothing seems all to great. I've also heard of hammering railroad ties into the ground at angles so she can only dig a small ways down. I've also debated just replacing the whole fence with vinyl, but have other things to do around the house first.

So, I'm curious, I know a lot of people have dogs on the site, and I'm sure I can't be the only one with a digger. Anyone have any personal experience with this, and any other ideas to fix the issue?

 

My brother has a husky, he also loves to dig.. lol. He just lets the dog dig, it's not in any specific spots.. just digs in random places where he likes to lay down.

 

Gotcha. My husky is a little different in that she doesn't dig randomly in the yard, only on the one fence line where she can see people.

 

Our dog is a pit mixed with some kind of hunting dog so she loves to dig too....We just layed paver rocks along the fence so she couldnt dig in that spot

 

If the dog is trying to get through the chain link fence because it can see through it, what about adding those strips through the chain link so he/she cant see through as well. also provides a bit of privacy. of course if they like to dig it'll probably just dig elsewhere anyways

 

Place your dogs poop where she has been digging or might dig. It sounds weird but it works (at least it did for my lab & beagle).

 

You can attach chicken wire to the bottom of the fence, and lay it flat out along the ground, using lawn staples (or bent coat hangers) every foot or so. This will create a digging barrier at ground level that the grass will grow through. It'll last for a year or two. If the dog is stronger than the chicken wire, you can move to welded wire mesh.

 

oh, boy. I'm putting on my fire-retardent suit...

Run a 1-strand electric fence wire 6" off the inside of the fence, 4-5 inches off the ground. Hook it up to a fence charger on a car battery with a solar panel, or use 110v if you have an outlet outside.

The dog will hit it once and wonder wtf happened... then will hit it again and figure it out. 2-3 weeks later remove the wire and the dog will stay 6" away from the fence at all times and never mess with it again.

Call it inhumane all you want but what do you think corrective shock collars do?

Ok I'm ready

 

We used an electric fence for cows and it worked well. And cows are some stupid mofos.

 

This.

Shock collar = crutch for a poor owner. Not much better than putting your dog on a chain in your yard IMHO.

 

m3bassman What about those plastic slots you can thread down through the links. Ot should prevent her seeing through? Also I bet its much cheaper than replacing the fence.

This is something I didn't even think of, thanks guys. I've also debated the electric shock thing as well, but don't think the girlfriend will go for it. I've also read quite of few things about the chicken wire idea on the internet. Seems like most people say its works well.

 

I agree somewhat, and I was only using the collar as an example of what the dog would feel, not as an example of how to combat the problem.

But IMHO, going out of your way to make it harder for a dog to do what it's going to do is not the right way to fix it. As a proud owner of an extremely loved and cared for dog, I give my dog the credit of being smart enough to learn what to do and not to do by humane discipline whether it be reward with a treat, a pop to the nose with a newspaper or by protecting him from trigger happy neighbors should he decide to break out of the fence.

Dogs are capable of knowing right and wrong to a small capacity and by blocking up a fence is not giving them the credit they deserve.

/endrant.

 

Wow easy there tiger. That's not what I'm saying at all it's probably pointless for me to keep defending my position because most people are just going to extract the negative aspect and use it against me but for clarification....

the "pop to the nose with a newspaper" would apply if your dog growls at your kid or something that you witness him do with the ability to discipline him on the spot.

the electric fence idea works for me for the cases in which you can't be there 100% of the time watching your dog waiting for him to dig so you can walk over and correct him...(not that digging is inherently wrong, I'm referring to an effort to go through the fence.)

Trying to be as clear as crystal here don't dissect this and call me an abusive owner because I'm not.

 

This is the part I was talking about with teaching them not to dig around the fence rather than just modifying the fence to make it stronger.

 

I do this. Works for a little while but only temporary for me.

 

Even if you go with the plastic slot idea I'd still line the edge with stone of some sort.

 

Like I said, get some large paver rocks and line the edge of the fence. Worked perfect for us

 

Cayenne pepper, sprinkle where he has been digging. Also the poop thing works too.

 

we have a husky also...backyard looks like a minefield...tried all of the humane suggested options with no avail...needless to say, gave up on the backyard...the one thing that REALLY drove me nuts was she decided to find the fiberoptic cable for ATT and ate through that...luckily I wasn't charged because they only buried it an inch underground (think the min is 6" here).

she has been trying to tunnel into my neighbor's yard to play with their 3 pups, got a good hole in about an hour enough to put her face under so they were licking each others faces lol...

we exercise the crap outta her, walks in the morning and afternoon and about every other day at the dog park (weather depending).

 

Husky? You might as well give up lol, you might be able to find a solution, but my husky is very strong headed. I just fill in the holes