Dog’s Gotta Dig—Dig It?

In a previous installment of the , I gave a brief mention to the idea of burying canine puzzle toys in a doggy digging pit as a way of saving your yard from dog-made potholes. 

Digging is a very strong instinctive behavioral impulse for many dogs, so teaching your dog where to dig rather than not to dig may make you both happier in the long run.   

Please note that if your dog digs to escape your yard, the digging pit may only be a very small part of the solution.  You’ll want to seek the help of a qualified dog trainer right away!  If your dog digs to bury treasure, find treasure, self-entertain and/or get cool, a doggy digging pit could be a big help. 

Arlington dog owner and Weekly Yip reader, Meghan Henning, wanted to hear more about how to build one of these for her own dog, Barkli.  Actually creating a spot in which your dog can dig is the hardest part of the process, in my opinion, so I’ll focus just on that this week.  Check back again next week for ideas on how to teach your dog to dig in the pit rather than your flowerbeds and lawn. 

Designing the right doggy digging pit for your dog will depend on a number of factors, including the size of your dog, its reasons for digging, your budget and your level of “do-it-yourself-ness.” 

You may opt to have your landscaper design an aesthetically pleasing pit that blends in seamlessly with your yard or you may decide to set up your own pit.  If setting the pit up yourself, you may decide to build it from scratch, or go for something a bit quicker and easier. 

Of course, if your budget can bear it, having your landscaper design and implement your doggy digging pit plans will save you the backbreaking work of digging up dirt, carrying heavy bags of sand and extra topsoil and toiling in the sun to assemble your project.  Just be sure to discuss critical elements of a doggy digging pit with your designer. 

• Your doggy digging pit should be located in a part of the yard that gets ample shade, since one of the reasons dogs sometimes dig is to make themselves a cool bed on a warm day.  Dogs may also suffer from sunburn where there is not enough fur to protect them.

• Your pit can consist mostly of the dirt that is already there, but you may wish to mix in some sand for better drainage and easier digging, according to a blog entry by Denise Grant of the The Gardener’s Rake.

• The pit’s minimum size will vary based on the size of your dog.  A good rule of thumb is that the pit’s sides should be at least twice the length of your dog (but no less than three feet) and its depth should be roughly two feet.  If you have more than one dog, consider how much extra space will be needed.

• A digging pit with no bottom is preferable, to allow for adequate drainage after a rain.

If you’re on a budget, or just have a passion for DIY projects, you may want to check out the instructions I found for “How to Build a Simple Sandbox” on the website of This Old House.  Being hopeless with assembly instructions of any kind, I’m afraid that I found even these somewhat maddening, although I suspect that for the more handy among you, this would be a reasonable day’s work. 

My one thought on the design as applied to a doggy digging pit: leave out the landscaping fabric which is meant to keep plants from growing up in the sandbox.  Your dog won’t mind these, and will probably want to dig deeper than the fabric layer. 

I was delighted to find a sandbox kit online at www.allsandboxes.com for less than the estimated cost of the DIY project above (with free shipping.)  While I suspect that I’d find the assembly instructions for this sandbox a bit of a challenge, too, not having to lug lumber appeals to me. 

Now, if all of these options seem like too much work or too much of a stress on your wallet, consider the ultra-low-tech and less visually stunning option of a deep kiddie-wading-pool.  The only tools you’ll need are a hammer and something sharp, like an ice-pick, for punching drainage holes every couple inches. 

If digging up all the dirt or hauling in bag after bag of dirt and sand seems a daunting task for one, why not have a doggy digging pit party and rope all your favorite people into helping you.  You could turn this into a socialization and training activity all at once for maximum multitasking effect! 

Alas, “If you build it, they will dig,” probably won’t apply to your new doggy digging pit.  Check back next week to learn how to get your dogs hooked on their new play space.  With the pit assembled and ready to entertain, take heart in knowing that the hardest part of this project is behind you!