# Ep 116 Help! My Dog Won't Stop Digging Holes in My Garden!

An episode of [Help! My Dog: The Podcast. Dog Behaviour & Training Strategies that Work!](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1721245241), 18 Feb 2026, 9:31.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2287608/episodes/18370444-ep-116-help-my-dog-won-t-stop-digging-holes-in-my-garden.mp3

Does your dog think they’re the next Monty Don? Have they got a real love for landscaping - even if you’re not quite so keen? This week we’re answering a listener question and exploring why your dog might be digging holes in your garden. Rehearsals aren’t just for actors - it might be that your dog’s brain is telling them that being in the garden means destroying the garden! We’ll discuss an easy framework that you can use to help your dog re-learn their relationship with the garden, a simple reframe to achieve the results you DO want, and how to increase the challenge when their skills are strong enough. If you’re ready to say goodbye to molehills, muddy paws and messy lawns, and hello to a relaxed, garden-friendly and responsible dog, then tune in now! ................ Whether your dog is unpredictable with other dogs or predictably bad… Whether it looks like freezing, barking, lunging or running away… Whether you are just starting out on your dog-owning journey or your dog has been labelled as having a “behaviour problem”… … this episode is for you and is going to give you huge insights! Want to join the Help! My Dog Online HUB? Here's the link: www.helpmydog.com/hub Dr Tom Mitchell is a world-renowned veterinarian, behaviourist and dog trainer and director of the Behavet behaviour clinic (rated Excellent on Trustpilot), which sees over 400 pet behaviour consultations each and every month no matter where you are in the world. In 2023, he founded Help! My Dog, an online dog behaviour learning platform to help even more owners all over the world and show that dog behaviour transformation is not only possible but it's FUN, with the right know-how! Make sure to subscribe/follow the podcast for the free weekly episodes! Useful Links: Follow Help! My Dog on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpmydogofficial/ Schedule a Consultation with Behavet: https://www.beha.vet/ Follow Behavet on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/behavet

## Transcript

[0:00] SPEAKER_00: Your dog is digging holes because, well, that's what they do in the garden.
[0:06] SPEAKER_00: And they've got that blueprint and they've got that rehearsal history.
[0:10] SPEAKER_00: Before we dive in, a warning.
[0:13] SPEAKER_00: The content of this podcast may not be appropriate for some young listeners.
[0:18] SPEAKER_00: This is real life, and that means that sometimes it can be a little bit graphic.
[0:23] SPEAKER_00: So listen on at your own peril.
[0:25] SPEAKER_00: As a veterinarian, dog behaviourist, best-selling author and trainer over the past decade, I've had an obsession with transforming the behaviour of dogs.
[0:35] SPEAKER_00: Understanding their brains and creating practical strategies that you can implement easily at home.
[0:40] SPEAKER_00: I know all too well when the dream you imagined when you first got your dog is far from your daily reality.
[0:47] SPEAKER_00: In fact, out of the blue, a few months ago, my little dog Gorse was bitten by a dog 20 times her size.
[0:53] SPEAKER_00: And suddenly our life of stress-free walks, a calm and cuddly household, and being teammates was replaced with reactivity, anxiety, and worrying about what's around the next corner.
[1:04] SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
[1:05] SPEAKER_00: Tom.
[1:06] SPEAKER_00: This is the Help My Dog Podcast, and this is me documenting that journey of transformation, sharing my knowledge and experience with you and having a few laughs along the way.
[1:16] SPEAKER_00: Alright, welcome to this episode of the Help My Dog Podcast.
[1:19] SPEAKER_00: And today we're doing a listener's question.
[1:21] SPEAKER_00: And the listener's question is help! My dog won't stop digging holes in my garden.
[1:28] SPEAKER_00: And uh it's interesting, this isn't one that really comes into my world because it's just not something that my dogs um uh do or are inclined to do, partly probably because of of everything that I'm I'm gonna share with you today.
[1:42] SPEAKER_00: Um but I get that it is a problem that that does um that does crop up, okay, and that that you might um that you might be dealing with.
[1:49] SPEAKER_00: And so let's let's talk about what you should do about it.
[1:51] SPEAKER_00: So first things first um first things first this struggle is a struggle of rehearsal, right?
[2:03] SPEAKER_00: Your dog is digging holes because, well, that's what they do in the garden, yeah, and they've got that blueprint and they've got that rehearsal history, yeah.
[2:14] SPEAKER_00: And so what we've got to do for th for this this training process is we've really got to not leave them unsupervised in the garden.
[2:23] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[2:23] SPEAKER_00: This is the the the fact that they're digging holes would suggest that they are spending some time in the garden to be able to do that.
[2:32] SPEAKER_00: And actually, what we need to do is create a clean slate, 100% no rehearsal three weeks, let's say.
[2:39] SPEAKER_00: Now, in extreme instances, you might go out into the garden, even supervise, and if they're off lead, they'll go to their, you know, the last hole and start digging.
[2:48] SPEAKER_00: Then we might need to think about them being on lead for three weeks, okay?
[2:52] SPEAKER_00: So that they can go to the toilet and this other stuff that I'm gonna that I'm gonna talk about, okay?
[2:59] SPEAKER_00: That's step one.
[3:01] SPEAKER_00: Step two, what I want to do is I want to create a dog that um that effectively goes out into the garden, goes to the toilet, and then goes um comes back to the door.
[3:13] SPEAKER_00: And what we like to do with these dogs is we like to teach them to get on a bed by the door, okay?
[3:19] SPEAKER_00: So they're outside, they're on the bed, they're still being a dog, they've got their freedom, right?
[3:23] SPEAKER_00: But they're just chilling on their bed, which is you know way more um way more appropriate.
[3:27] SPEAKER_00: And so what you're gonna do to teach this is you are going to get some high-value food and you are going to um pop the bed next to the door, just make sure it's a waterproof bed that can, you know, stay out there all the time, or a platform or something.
[3:43] SPEAKER_00: Um, and you're going to lower your dog onto said bed and you're gonna feed, feed, feed, feed, feed them, and you're going to just um then um lead them away, um, walk them back over to the bed.
[3:55] SPEAKER_00: They're probably gonna get on the bed because they're like, oh, that led to food, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed when they do, lead them away and repeat until you've got a dog that's really suctioning to the bed by the door, right?
[4:06] SPEAKER_00: Um, and then what you're going to do is you're going to start to build out going outside with your dog off lead, go to the toilet, you've got your high-value food in your pocket.
[4:17] SPEAKER_00: What are they going to do?
[4:18] SPEAKER_00: They're probably going to go and get on that bed, aren't they?
[4:20] SPEAKER_00: Because now they've got a new pattern.
[4:21] SPEAKER_00: They go and get on the bed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed.
[4:24] SPEAKER_00: What you can then start to do is you can start to have the confidence to let your dog out of the out of the door.
[4:30] SPEAKER_00: They can go toilet themselves, and what you should start to see is that they suction back to the bed.
[4:35] SPEAKER_00: Okay?
[4:36] SPEAKER_00: Now, the beauty of this is that it gives them a it gives them something to do instead.
[4:42] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[4:43] SPEAKER_00: And what it also does is gets them from being in the garden area where probably they can dig to actually being in an area where they can't dig and they are waiting to come in.
[4:54] SPEAKER_00: And you can periodically open the door, chuck some food on the bed, periodically open the door, let them in, right?
[4:59] SPEAKER_00: Um, bearing in mind this is happening over three weeks and they've not rehearsed digging and you've covered up the holes, yeah?
[5:06] SPEAKER_00: Um and um and now we've got a very different pattern of behavior.
[5:11] SPEAKER_00: And then the final layer of this puzzle, um, I actually like teaching on speaking on this, even though it's a bit of an unusual one for me to talk on, because it's quite a fun, complete plan to share with you.
[5:21] SPEAKER_00: The final piece of this is we can go, right, okay.
[5:24] SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, I just want to take a moment to answer a question that has been coming in in literally 10 emails a day, and that is how can we help you with your dog's behavior struggle, whether that be reactivity, separation, anxiety, resource guarding, maybe you've got multi-dog household struggle right now, maybe your dog's just so overaroused on a walk that they just can't listen to you and they're chasing everything inside.
[5:48] SPEAKER_00: Like, can I get Tom's help?
[5:50] SPEAKER_00: Um, and the answer is that actually you can, and you can do that by booking a behavet behavior consultation.
[5:57] SPEAKER_00: That's where literally my team give you the plan on how to transform your struggle and get you to that dream that that made you get a dog in the first place, right?
[6:08] SPEAKER_00: Your world's got smaller and smaller and smaller, and actually it doesn't need to be that way.
[6:12] SPEAKER_00: You just need to reach out for help.
[6:14] SPEAKER_00: Now, a couple of things to say on that.
[6:16] SPEAKER_00: First of all, if you're insured, if your dog's insured with Pet Plan, Kennel Club, Agria, or many pets, we actually do direct claims with them, which means that that's covered by your insurance.
[6:26] SPEAKER_00: So you don't pay out of your pocket, your insurance covers that.
[6:30] SPEAKER_00: And the second thing to say is that we have loads of options if you're insured with another provider, or if your dog's not insured at all, that's also totally fine.
[6:38] SPEAKER_00: We have loads of options that we've developed to make this so accessible for you.
[6:43] SPEAKER_00: Um because we're aware that you've already invested a load of time and a load of money in getting your dog, looking after your dog, caring for your dog.
[6:50] SPEAKER_00: But the last thing we want is for you to have done all that and still not be living the life that you deserve with your dog.
[6:55] SPEAKER_00: And we know we can get you there.
[6:56] SPEAKER_00: So all you need to do is go to the Behave Vet website, and the way to do that is go B-E-H A.V-E-T.
[7:06] SPEAKER_00: That's behotvet, and it will take you there.
[7:10] SPEAKER_00: Or just Google Behave Vet, right?
[7:12] SPEAKER_00: Um, and you can get scheduled in and we can literally get you booked in for a consultation as soon as possible.
[7:18] SPEAKER_00: We normally can accommodate it within a week, right?
[7:21] SPEAKER_00: So that you can be getting to your dream ASAP.
[7:24] SPEAKER_00: The final piece of this is we can go, right, okay.
[7:28] SPEAKER_00: We don't need we we can now open up the window for them to potentially dig the hole, but they're not going to because they've not rehearsed it in a few weeks, and when in doubt, they should get on this bed.
[7:40] SPEAKER_00: And what we can do is we can start to then incorporate scatter feeding into the garden where we get them back to mooching around the grass, we throw bits of food around, they're sniffing and scenting it out, eating the pieces of food.
[7:53] SPEAKER_00: When they are done, or when they've decided it can't be bothered anymore, what we should hopefully see is that they then go and get back on the bed by the door, which we can feed them the high value again.
[8:02] SPEAKER_00: And now what we've done is we've recreated the picture.
[8:05] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[8:06] SPEAKER_00: It's not about digging.
[8:07] SPEAKER_00: It's about if in doubt, get on the bed by the door.
[8:10] SPEAKER_00: And yes, you can be a dog, and you can mooch around and sniff, and if you get bored of that, you get back on the bed by the door and you can come in.
[8:17] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[8:18] SPEAKER_00: That is a perfect picture that we have rebuilt, but you have to do two things.
[8:22] SPEAKER_00: You have to make sure they're not rehearsing the bad stuff, and then what you have to do is rebuild the picture that you do want, right?
[8:31] SPEAKER_00: So actually, that was quite a straightforward listener's question.
[8:34] SPEAKER_00: Um, and um, and importantly, you've got to get the management right, yeah?
[8:38] SPEAKER_00: And then be really proactive in rebuilding it.
[8:41] SPEAKER_00: Three weeks and you can absolutely transform this, um, and hopefully, you know, you get value, and we can't wait to hear how you get on.
[8:47] SPEAKER_00: And hopefully that was useful to some other listeners as well.
[8:50] SPEAKER_00: And next week there might be another listener's question.
[8:53] SPEAKER_00: If you ever have a question, guys, and you're not in the help my dog hub, obviously, if you're in the help my dog hub, then stick it in the community because we can help you directly.
[9:02] SPEAKER_00: Um, and if you are not in the help my dog hub, then email team at helpmydog.com um with your listener's question, and we will add it to the mix, and I will pick it out at random from the magic ball of questions that is on constant rotation in our living room.
[9:19] SPEAKER_00: It's not, but it was a nice idea, wasn't it?
[9:22] SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next week, guys.

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