Why Do Goldens Dig? + How To STOP IT!

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golden retriever puppy diggin a hole in the ground

Golden Retrievers Dig because of many reasons. Goldens dig when bored, stressed, trying to escape from heat or cold and also they dig to bury food for later use. digging is a natural instinct in golden retrievers and as an owner, you should channel their digging energy into something positive by using effective techniques such as exercise. positive reinforcement and redirecting their attention.

Golden retriever dogs are the choice of many people because of their friendly and tolerant behavior. These dogs are brilliant, which adds to their ability. The high intelligence, good-naturedness, cuteness, and loyalty of golden retrievers have made it possible for any family with any number of children to take care of these dogs with minimal difficulty.

One of the characteristics of golden retriever dogs is that they dig the ground.

This has also caused golden retriever owners to be upset with this feature of their dog and sometimes become annoyed if repeated continuously.

Golden retriever digging yields the beautiful green fields of houses to be damaged, and the beauty of the environment is reduced.

In addition, dogs get dirty after digging, and their owners must bathe them again.

All these problems have caused golden retriever owners to look for a solution to overcome this moral trait in their dogs.

In the following, while mentioning the reasons for this apparent moral characteristic in golden retrievers, we offer suggestions to control this habit.

Why do golden retrievers dig the ground?

golden retrievers dig the ground for various reasons.

Knowing why they search the earth is the first and most crucial step to prevent this trait. Below is a list of things that golden retrievers dig in the ground:

Instinct

The spontaneous nature among them is the first and most important reason for digging.

In the history of golden retrievers, it is stated that the purpose of  this breed in the past was to help their owners hunt and find small animals such as mice and ducks, etc. Therefore, the ancestors of this race were fond of digging in the ground to find mice and near the nests of animals such as ducks.

Anxiety

Being anxious is another reason why golden retrievers start digging.

In these situations, It is possible that stress is caused by changing their place of residence or that a new neighbor has come to their place of residence;

In this case, they get anxious, and by digging into the ground, they want to reduce this stress until they are sure that the neighbor will not be a danger to them.

Read More: Stress in Dogs : Causes, Signs and solutions

Lack of enough exercise

Since this breed was a hunting dog in the past, they have a lot of energy and need heavy activities to drain their energy.

If the daily exercise you have planned for them is not enough, they may start digging in the yard to entertain or exhaust themselves.

smiling golden retriever tretenning to dig the ground

The Heat

The golden retriever breed feels hot on hot summer days because of their coat, which makes them uncomfortable and annoyed.

Therefore, to solve this problem, they start digging in the ground because the lower parts or ground have a lower temperature on hot summer days.

So, if you notice that your dog has dug a land the size of its body on hot summer days, know that they are trying to cool themselves.

Read More: Panting in golden retrievers. What you didn’t know!

Food more than they need now

If you give your Golden a lot of food, he may try to hide it in holes in the yard or garden, so when you are somewhere and forget to feed him, he will find the food that he has hidden.

This behavior happens instinctively. If your dog has just started exploring the world, it is better to control the amount of food he eats.

If you can understand why your dog is digging, you can make this problem more solvable.

Methods to prevent this digging behavior:

  • Find out the reason for their digging and help them to leave it. For example, if your dog is digging because of the heat, take him to a more relaxed environment, or if your dog is searching because of boredom, make him exercise.
  • Spend some time walking with your dog every day, this way, they will get tired and will not have the energy to dig anymore.
  • Go with your dog to where he is always interested in digging and try to understand why he is digging that particular place.
  • As we said, the desire to dig is one of their moral characteristics, a common instinct among them. So if you want to control it, consider an area for them, put some sand and dirt there, and let your dog dig only in a particular site. To let them know that they are only allowed to explore in that area, take them with you to that area and then allow them to dig and then call your Golden and encourage them and reward them. If this action happens again, they will realize you are happy with their digging behavior only and only in this part of the house.

Read More: 19 Ways to Encourage Good Behavior in Your Pup

i found this very helpful video about dogs digging that i suggest you watch fully to get the info you might have missed in this article

How long does it take to stop a golden retriever from digging?

Since golden retrievers desire to dig the ground, stopping them in a few days is impossible.

Digging the ground is one of their spontaneous characteristics; naturally, they need much time and proper training to get rid of it.

What you should keep in mind when training golden retrievers not to dig the ground is consistency in training and making sure they understand each time you teach them not to dig.

The second point is that if you see your golden digging after a few days of training, you should not get angry and treat them violently because it will have the opposite result.

It is better to reward them for good behavior instead of punishing them, which will be much more effective.

If you cannot prevent them from digging even after your long training process, seek help from a veterinarian or an expert trainer in this field because they know better how to train dogs correctly.

Conclusion

Golden retriever digging is one of the prominent features among them. Therefore, if you, as a parent of a golden retriever, suffer from this problem, you should help them to abandon this moral trait after learning about the reasons for digging among golden retrievers and try to teach them with positive reinforcement. training by a trainer can also help you as a last option.

 

Read More: Do you have a disobedient Golden Retriever? Causes and Solutions

Read More: Does Your Golden Retriever Beg For Food? Reasons and Solutions

Read More: Does your golden retriever bite a lot? Find out why and how to prevent it.

Read More: Does your golden retriever come when called? If not, read this to fix it

Read More: Does Your Golden Retriever Jump on People? Ultimate Guide to prevent it!

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