Dog that Digs & Scratches

The first type of destruction is manifested only in the exterior of the house, but can cause prejudice on the owner's side or some neighbor. The dogs that dig holes sometimes only try to imitate their owners. If the dog shows this tendency, we will try to fix our garden when it is not watching us. It is fun for the dog to see its owner bury something and to imagine that later it will dig it out. Sometimes owners allow the puppy to do this, but we must scold the puppy as soon as this happens. Digging is also the manifestation of the instinct of the construction of a den. The gestating females tend to do this; if they don't have a garden they will scratch cushions or the rug. We are dealing with a normal behavior here. To avoid any problems, it is enough to give the animal a box with rags in the inside so that it can build its nest. The females who suffer from fake gestation can also show this behavior. Another solution is to place a cardboard box in the garden. We have to give the dog sometime until it gets installed in it, without demonstrating impatience, since this can cause the dog to be anywhere else, except in the cardboard box. There are cases where the dogs dig holes to express frustration. This is the case of a dog that has been punished in the garden. It is not exactly revenge, but the dog tries to compensate the feeling of exclusion by digging. The garden is a place to play, not to be isolated. If the dog digs a hole in the ground to pass under the fence in the garden, we can distract it by placing a ball in the hole. This way, the dog will be more concentrated in getting the ball out of the hole than in escaping. There is a possibility that the dog wants to escape at any cost. The dogs that scratch usually do this with doors or furniture. 

There are females that scratch the owner's habitual sofa. This is the case of the dog that has not been rejected when she got to puberty and she has sexual attitude toward the owner. It is not convenient to caress the dog when it is in heat.

A dog also scratches when it is locked in a room because visit has just arrived. The animal is at home and it shouldn't be isolated.