New Puppy digging up lawn

enilorac2

My beautiful Cavapoo pup has taken to digging in the lawn (well, really only grass) and whilst I’m prepared for damage to the garden while she’s still quite young, it really is making life difficult.  I have tried reseeding and covering with fleece but she likes to sit on the fleece!   Every year I open the garden but had already decided not to this year, in favour of her.  I expect I will just have to live with it but any thoughts, ideas or advice would be most welcome.  Please!   (Getting rid of my puppy, by the way, is not an option ... )

Lyn

Never too early to start training a puppy, don’t leave her untended in the garden and tell her a sharp NO when she starts digging.
Take her out for plenty of walks so she doesn’t need to spend so long in the garden, then keep eye on  her.
The dog has to get used to living with you and your rules. 
We've always had dogs, never had the garden dug up. 

Pete.8

There's not a lot you can do other than train your dog to use a 'toilet area'
20 years ago I had a nice lawn, then I got my first dog...
I re-seed a couple of times a year, but where she wees on the grass and kills a patch a depression appears and over 20 years it's got really bad.
I'm toying with the idea of rotavating the lot and re-turfing, but that's a possibility for next year, if I've got the energy.

Brexiteer

The trick is if you want a nice garden don't get a puppy because the 2 don't go together 

Lyn

I can’t agree with that Marc, we’ve had dogs, when my children were small they weren’t ever allowed even a pee in the garden, from very young she would go to the back gate and one of us would take her out.
my dad had a GS at this house, he was never allowed in the garden, he took him out 4 times a day for a walk and at other times if he needed a pee. 

AnniD

I agree, she is too young to be let out unsupervised. As Eglantyne said, if you can fence off an area for her to use that will make your life easier (also if you have to leave her alone it will be less of a worry). Again a firm "no" when she starts to dig and praise her when she stops. She just needs guidance. 

raisingirl

You could make her a nice shallow sandpit with play sand and bury some treats in it for her to excavate. Then teach her a command like 'find it' and play the game with her. This is better than just 'no' in that it's more positive (you can praise her for doing the right thing rather than admonish her for doing the wrong thing - they learn positive lessons much faster), helps to teach her to understand that rules are not always consistent and that there are things she's allowed to do 'there' that she's not allowed to do 'here' (working dogs are always taught this sort of thing by the way - they are entirely capable of understanding, for example, that you can chase the rabbit but you can't chase the ferret. Don't underestimate her intelligence or the benefit to you in encouraging her to use it), it helps her recall if she has more fun when she's with you than when she's alone and it makes sure that you spend a bit of time just playing with her rather than always telling her off, which is good for both of you.

NB If there are cats in the vicinity, your sand pit needs a lid or it will become a cat litter tray.

Copperdog

I can only offer my sympathies Enilorac2.  I know how you feel ☹️.  We have a puppy that is eating absolutely everything in the garden.  Soft perennials to chewing on the shrubs.  I have put small bits of fencing up to deter him.  I supervise but even when my back is turned for a moment he is chewing another plant.  The latest are the phlomis emerging flower heads; he's had around 10 of those.  We do have the lawn sectioned off presently thank goodness but he he has access to other parts of the driveway.  I have never had it with our other dogs.  He is an 8 month old bulldog and I think it is common that they want to graze on anything and everything.  Unfortunately our older 14 year old is now doing the same too!  Just as well we love em eh! 🤪😍

Alchemist

We too had a GS when I was growing up and she only ever used a 2x2 meter of the garden that was paved at the read end of the garden for her needs. 

Greg4

We trained our dogs to only wee where we wanted them to, never had a problem with them weeing  on the lawn. You need to start as you go on, lead the pup where you want it to wee every time and it will learn, reward when it wees where you want.