Letters from readers:

Terrier mix enjoys digging

Hello,
I have a small terrier mix, and she is a delight – active, naughty and totally sweet natured. But she has one problem common to terriers – she digs holes everywhere. There are holes in my garden, holes in the lawn and holes in the children’s sand pit. I know this is just typical terrier behaviour but do they ever grow tired of digging? Must my back yard always look like a construction site? Is there anything I can do to encourage her to stop digging? Any help would be appreciated. – Anna, Worcestershire.

Hello Anna,
Well, as you have already pointed out, it is in the nature of terriers to dig. This has been bred into many of them as they were used for hunting small animals like rabbits, and digging them out when the lurchers had chased them down their burrows.

However, there is a lot you can do to help. Terriers are intelligent dogs and active ones so they do need to have plenty to do every day. Many begin digging when they become bored.

A great help with boredom is the kong. It can be stuffed with all sorts of foods such as rice and cottage cheese, leftover chicken or other meats (no bones), potato and vegetables, or any other doggy delights. This will keep her amused and busy for quite some time. Another great help is a large RAW marrow bone. A terrier can chew on one of those all day and it is exhausting work.

There are also many dog games that you can buy, or invent your own, that encourage the dog to get treats out of puzzle containers (boxes or plastic containers, treat balls, in the hot weather throw a handful of treats in a shallow paddling pool and watch the dog retrieve them). Anything that encourages brainwork and nosework is good!

And since you know you can not stop a habit like digging altogether, why not make a digging pit especially for her? Perhaps a convenient square of garden soil or soil/sand mix, in a convenient place where you can top-up the soil when it is depleted (this is important because an empty hole is just boring!). To encourage her to use that area just bury an occasional treat in it wrapped in newspaper so that she has to unwrap it first – when she finds out how easy the soil is to dig there, and that she sometimes finds a treat buried there, that should become her favourite place to dig.

I hope this is a help – do let me know if it solves your problems and keeps her out of the garden. - Ed