Problem behaviors
How to stop a dog from digging
A Houston yard in July tells a dog to dig, because the dirt a foot down is thirty degrees cooler than the grass, and the yard in March tells a terrier to dig because the moles are moving. Here is how our trainers read the holes and what they do about each kind.
Last reviewed September 11, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
Why it happens
Five reasons, and the holes tell you which.
Boredom digging is scattered, shallow and happens when the dog has been left in the yard with nothing to do; it is the most common and the most fixable. Heat digging is a single deep hole in the shadiest spot, against the foundation, under the deck or beneath a shrub, and the dog lies in it; it means the yard is too hot. Escape digging is along the fence line, usually at a corner or where the ground is soft, and it has a reason on the other side: a dog, a smell, a female in season. Prey digging is at roots and in fresh mounds, in short frenzies, and there is something underground: moles, grubs, a chipmunk, fire ants. Den digging is a pregnant or anxious dog making a hollow. Breed matters: terriers, dachshunds and huskies dig because they were bred to, and for them the answer is a legal place, not a ban.
- Scattered and shallow: boredom
- One deep hole in the shade: heat
- Along the fence: escape
- At roots and mounds: prey
- Terriers, dachshunds and huskies: give them a pit
The method
Six steps, starting with less yard and more job.
The yard stops being the dog's daycare. Every version of digging shrinks when the dog is in the yard only with a person, for a purpose, and spends the rest of the day with a job indoors.
Cut the unsupervised yard time to near zero for a month: the dog goes out on a leash or with a person, for a purpose, and comes back in
Give the dog a job: a structured walk morning and evening, a search for kibble through the house, a training session, a chew on place in the afternoon
For heat: a cool place to lie indoors, a raised bed or a cooling mat in the air conditioning, and never a dog left in a Houston yard between ten and six from May to September
For escape: the fence line checked and reinforced with buried wire or paving stones at the base, the reason on the other side dealt with, and a wait at the gate taught
For prey: treat the moles, the grubs and the fire ants, because the dog is right that something is there, and a leave-it for the mounds
For the breeds that must dig: a legal pit, a sandbox or a bordered bed, with toys buried in it, praised when used, and the rest of the yard made boring
The mistakes
Filling holes, punishment after the fact, water in the hole, and a yard as a babysitter.
Filling the hole does nothing, because the dog did not want the hole; it wanted the cool, the mole, the escape or something to do, and it digs the next one. Punishing a dog for a hole it dug an hour ago teaches it nothing about digging and something about you arriving in the yard. The old trick of filling the hole with water and pushing the dog's head in it is cruelty, and it produces a dog that fears the yard and its owner. And the yard as a babysitter is the root of most digging: a dog left outside for six hours in a Houston summer with nothing to do and no shade worth the name will dig a bed, and it is right to.
Digging is also a sign of a dog that needs more than it is getting, and a digger that is given a job, a walk and a cool place indoors usually stops without ever being told to.
- Filling holes treats the symptom
- Punishment after the fact teaches nothing
- Never water in the hole
- The yard is not a babysitter
- A digger with a job stops
Proofing around Houston
Dirt that is thirty degrees cooler, moles in the spring, fire ant mounds, and a fence with a dog behind it.
Houston is a digging city: the ground a foot down in July is far cooler than the surface and a dog left in the yard at noon is digging a bed to survive; the spring brings moles and grubs under every lawn in Cypress and Katy and a terrier that digs for them is doing its job; fire ant mounds invite digging and punish it; and the master-planned yards share a fence with a dog on the other side, which is the most common reason for a hole at the fence line. Our trainers' answer is the same in every section: the dog indoors in the heat with a job, a supervised yard, the pests treated, the fence reinforced, and a pit for the breeds that need one.
- Cool dirt at noon in July
- Moles and grubs in spring
- Fire ant mounds
- The dog behind the shared fence
When to call
A digger that escapes, a digger that is anxious, or a dog that cannot be left in a yard for a minute.
A dog that digs out of the yard and is loose in a Houston street is a safety case, and the escaping dog page covers the wait at the gate, the fence and the recall; a Platinum stay at $3,750 builds the boundary and the recall on a long line for a dog that has got out more than once. A dog that digs frantically when left alone is anxious, not bored, and the separation page is the method. A dog that simply has no off switch and treats the yard as a job site is a Gold case at $2,500, where the structured walk, place and impulse control give it something better to do. In-home lessons at $220 get the yard set up and the job started in an afternoon.
The programs
Programs for the digger.
Gold for the job and the off switch, Platinum for the escaper with a boundary and a recall to build, lessons at home to set up the yard.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
Why does my dog dig holes in the yard in summer?
Because the dirt a foot down is far cooler than the grass, and a dog left in a Houston yard in the heat digs a bed to survive. The fix is a cool place indoors in the air conditioning and no dog left outside between ten and six from May to September.
Does filling in the holes stop a dog digging?
No. The dog did not want the hole; it wanted the cool, the mole, the escape or something to do. Read what kind of hole it is, fix the reason, cut the unsupervised yard time and give the dog a job. The holes stop when the reason does.
Should I give my dog a place where it is allowed to dig?
For a terrier, a dachshund, a husky or any dog that digs for the joy of it, yes: a sandbox or a bordered bed with toys buried in it, praised when used, with the rest of the yard made boring. The instinct does not vanish; it gets a legal address.
My dog digs along the fence. Is it trying to escape?
Usually, and there is a reason on the other side: a dog, a smell, a female in season. Reinforce the base of the fence with buried wire or pavers, deal with the reason if you can, teach a wait at the gate and build a recall, and do not leave the dog in the yard alone until it holds.
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