I have a dog that digs!

I am so unhappy about this. My backyard was beautiful before Sadie came home and now there are holes and dirt everywhere you can see. She’s even taken an interest in the neighbor’s dachshund. Now, she pulls down pickets of our six-foot wood fence. Yesterday, I received a call from my neighbors that Sadie was in their yard. She actually pulled down enough pickets so she could fit through the fence to play with their dog.

If that isn’t a cry for attention, I don’t know what is. My wife and I sat down last night to set a game plan. The main issue is that we’re not exercising her like we did. I won’t lie, it’s cold outside. We don’t take the walks like we did. I really only go outside on the weekends with her. During the summer my children were outside every day, for hours at a time. She’d be out there with them, playing. I guess when the weather changed, our thoughts didn’t. I’d like to think this is a common mistake for new dog/puppy owners. We just expected that Sadie would run around the yard playing with her toys and entertaining herself. Man, were we wrong.

Last night, after the kids went to bed I took Sadie for a walk, around the neighborhood. We’re still working on the leash and walking next to me. She’s a big girl now, so until she learns how to walk while on the leash, I’m restricted on the area(s) I can walk her. I know my neighborhood fairly well and I know which houses to veer away from and which blocks to just not go down, because of friendly or non-friendly dog presence. We walked for about thirty-five minutes last night.

Sadie slept an hour later this morning. I just needed to share that. As a family, we all got up at the same time and weren’t woken to a whimper or bark. I actually got up before she did.

So daily walks are back. I’m not sure if I will do them in the morning before I leave for work or at night, before she goes to bed. My wife will be taking Sadie to the corner to get my daughter from the bus. Sadie loves kids, so that will be a nice break for her. Because we live on a dead end, we can let Sadie off her leash to run home, after the bus comes. It’s cute to see the kids trying to race her back to the house. I just hope this will help the situation in the yard.

Please post any suggestions or tips you might have. We’re certainly open to everything at this point.

- Joe

Tags: dog training