Why does Great Dane dig?
Pretty little puppy inexorably grows. And the damage, he causes,
increases inexorably as well. “How can I make him stop digging?”-
asks the owner. There are a lot of different methods to solve this
problem. However, only some of them are effective, while others
aren’t. So, if you noticed, that your Great Dane digs and you don’t
like it, before searching for a way to stop it, you should determine
why the dog does it.
Wild dogs very often do it for the
following reasons:
Hunting.
Dogs have fantastic scent. They can smell things, that human would
never think to search with the help of his nose. For example, some
dogs may distinguish salt water from fresh by the odor. Needles to
say how many odours are underground! Countless number of bugs,
worms,remains of dead animals, trash and, the main thing - rodents,
e.g. voles or moles. If you saw Great Dane, digging pit in the yard,
he might have been hunting for rodents. If the dog digs near bushes,
he may hunt for bugs.
Digging to make a burrow.
Many dogs spend hours in the yard, that’s why instinctively they
make a shelter, digging a burrow. Wild dogs don’t choose, should
they live in kennel or under the stairs. They live in burrows. So,
even if your Great Dane has big separate doghouse with bathroom and
kitchen, being in the yard, he will feel safe and more comfortable
in a self-made burrow.
The burrow may be right under the kennel or near your house, it’s
almost impossible for the burrow to be made in the center of your
yard. Dogs are social animals and if they can’t be by your side,
they will do everything to be as close as possible to you. That’s
why they prefer “to build” burrows at least to be able to hear human
voices. If your Great Dane dug several burrows, he tried to decide
what burrow would be more comfortable.
Of boredom.
Dogs are social animals. If your Great Dane digs for the whole day,
may be he is boring? Dogs like to communicate. Dogs, especially
Great Danes, like to be in the center of attention. If you spend 20
minutes with your dog in the yard, it’s not enough to make him feel
his is a part of the family.
For fun.
Dogs like to be busy with something. So, why not digging? This is
very active and natural process for them. The dog may just express
himself by digging the whole yard. If your pet have many energy to
spend, digging is a great way to do it. Or may be he just likes the
smell of the ground? Or enjoys the process?
