Dog Training & Health

[Duffman21]

My 6 month old german shepherd puppy won't stop destroying plants in the backyard. At first we thought she just wanted the plant container to chew on (a plastic plant pot) so we planted the plants in soil. Now she is digging up the plants, and she scatters it on the lawn and they end up dying. How to i get her to stop doing this?

[meezermom]

Hi Duffman and welcome to SeeFido..............and the wonderful world of German Shepherd Dogs!!

You have a baby there and she is just full of energy and fun... She may simply be bored in the yard and is entertaining herself. Digging is a delightful pasttime in her book, you just aren't on the same page!! Is she outside all the time?? If so, that could be part of the problem. Shepherds are not really outside dogs per se. They need to be with their people and if they are not, they usually will become wonderfully destructive dogs. This breed requires people attention and training. If she has not gone through puppy socialization classes, she needs to. It is important to start her training now. She also needs things in the yard that are acceptable for her to chew on! You can get her a big bone to chew, a big hard plastic ball to chase around, a nice big kong to chew on and play fetch with and if you don't have a real issue with digging, just enclose an area where she is allowed to dig and teach her that she is allowed to go there to dig.

[scotther12]

Hello !

Dogs dig for a number of reasons and it is important to keep in mind that your dog is not digging to

spite you. If your dog likes to dig, you know that it can be a hard habit to break & his digging is

unacceptable behavior. If you don't clearly communicate to your dog that his digging is unacceptable

behavior he won't even realize that he is doing anything wrong. It also can endanger your dog's

health.So you should try to prevent your dogs digging habit.