hi everyone,as you know we got another gsd a couple of weeks ago.He is a fantastic dog,he has fitted into our family no worries........except that the ratbag has started digging rather large holes in the garden.What does one do to discourage this behaviour,i'm a little weary as he has only just come into our lives and home. We have some new photos of Mac ,we will put them up later. hope you are all having a great day......Claire& Alex

Hi Alex & Claire, I use cayanne pepper it works a treat on my dogs. My young shepherd Chloe came to me as a rescue dog so scared that she wouldn't do anything. In april I started her at agility & this has built her confidence. So much so that a couple of months ago she started acting like a puppy as she had never had the chance to. She started digging the biggest holes that you have ever seem, I'd fill them in put something over the top of them but next day there was another next to it. So out came the cayanne pepper (which I used on my first shepherd years ago) & sprinkled it all over the holes she had dug & I'm pleased to say she has stopped digging now. Hope this is of some use to you.

Hi Claire & Alex,

I have two Shepherds, my four year old boy Tyr (Teer) has never dug a hole since we got him. But Jarna she's 18 months old and she has helped dig up my gardens around the section, she would pick a spot at least once a week for ages and dig up the same hole to her hearts content! When ever I found a hole I would call her and say no in a deap voice at the same time filling the hole back in and she would know that I disliked what she had done. Her muddy paws and nose was the tell tail sign. Fingers crossed and touch wood she hasn't dug any holes for at least 3 months now. So good luck, I know how it feels. Liz the cayanne pepper is a good idea. Thanks I will try that if it happens again.

Regards
Diane, Tyr & Jarna

Thanks you guys,it gets really frustrating.He is so cute and so loveable,it's amazing how they can melt you with their gentle faces and innocent look.I have replanted at least three minature aggies this week and found dirt being sprayed over the tramp as our newest furbie dug a hole to china by the tramp.I was wondering if mac was lonely as he had alot of other dogs for company at the kennels we got him from,even though they spent their days in a cage/kennel.He has three cats to torment and tolerate.......Claire

I haven't actually tried this myself but I know others who have had success in burying the dog's faeces in the holes he has dug. Apparently won't dig that up! The other thing they hate the smell of if citronella. Try spraying an old cloth and bury that in the holes. We had to fence off our garden for Kala (she even pulled an outside tap out of the wall) We just got over that and Shelby arrived! It's no good telling him off when you see the hole or when you get home - he has no association even if you take him to the hole and tell him off - he'll look at it as if to say - 'Yeah it's a hole - so?' If you can catch him at it that's when the correction will be most effective.

I have tried the burying of the faeces trick & it worked on my old Lab. Also bury some moth balls or napthylene flakes, tied up in a piece of muslin (or similar). They dont like the smell at all ; works on cats as well :-)

Another trick is to blow up a balloon (after you have added a bit of water), bury that in the hole they have dug - the water keeps it weighted down - when they next dig, they pop the balloon and get a face full of water and stops them going back to dig.
I used this with Maya when she went through a phase of wanting to bring the washing off the line. With her being deaf I could not reprimand her in the usual way so I got some long balloons and filled them with water and encased it in the sleeve of an old sweatshirt and left the 'bait' hanging. She got caught a beauty, face full of water. My washing has been completely safe since.

How is the digging problem Alex & Claire?

Hi Denise,he seems to have got the message with the digging at the moment,we are now finding clothes strewn all over the back yard.He's such a ratbag,i'm finding him with clothes in his mouth and really growling him as i catch him, hopefully this will sort him out. He is really chewing on things at the moment so he is obviously teething. He is very protective of us as a family and we have had to put him in his kennel when friends or family come over, have you got any helpful tips with this??????? Hope you have all had an awesome day.
claire

What do you mean he is very protective of you. What does he do. Putting him away is not going to solve the problem. He needs to learn to deal with it. He is a bit young to be 'very protective'. Sounds like he is being more territorial of HIS kennel and you have to let him know it is YOUR kennel. I do need to know what behaviour he shows though as we can't put anyone at risk.
He should alert bark when people come in, YOU take charge and he should accept visitors in YOUR kennel.
Let me know exactly his behaviour

Alex & Claire, could you send me a contact number privately to info@gsdrescue.org.nz and I will forward it onto my Hasting's rep, with your permission, who could be johnny on the spot for you.

Hi everyone, we had an interesting day yesterday with our big furbaby. My mum came round to drool over her latest grandson and Mac nutted off. Mum came outside with me and sat at the table ,I praised mac like mad when he didn't growl or bark at her, in the end he sat next to me at the table and went to sleep.What can I do to make him not so possessive of us when people call in for a coffee e.t.c??????
Claire:)

Alex & Claire. A lady called Gail will be contacting you to come and observe the situation to give her insight - I have filled her in on the background and given her your number. Sometimes an outside eye picks up on little triggers.

Thanks Denise,Mac is such a lovely dog ,we would really like for this to get sorted. I took him for a walk this morning with my 3month old son in the front pack without any drama.He doesn't get bothered by other dogs or people when we are out walking.It just seems to be when we are at home.:)

Hi Denise, Gail is coming around tomorrow to meet Mac and to see how things are when people call in. Thanks for putting her onto us and our situation.Have a greta night.:)

Hi Alex & Claire. How are things going with Mac - how about an update.

Hi Denise,our new boy is doing wonderfully well.We had to attend a function in Rotorua on the weekend and Mac couldn't come with us as we could not fit all the kids ,gear and our big boy. We put him into the Cloverdale kennels and he loved it. The guy that owns it was fantastic ,he picked him up and dropped him off. Mac was so excited to be back home with us.He has helped us to heal over the loss of Kohl and has really completed us a family.As for him being protective he is soooo much better,gail gave me some awesome tips in dealing with him and it's working ,he is great now with visitors calling in,he stays on his mat and goes to sleep.Mac knows that i can protect myself and he doesn't need to stress out about us or me.Thank you for all your advice and encouragement.

Excellent news Alex & Claire. From what Gail told me Mac just needed to know where he fitted in the family rank as far as YOU were concerned and not as far as HE was concerned. Taking the decision making away from him is obviously make him a lot happier so he can now relax and chill out. He has previously been the only one to protect his kennel and run but now he doesn't have to do that anymore. I look forward to continued updates on good progress.