Does Bitter Apple Come in economy size?

[Dolly's Mom]

I am at my wits end! My two little monsters have gone clear off the deep end and are destroying my yard, not to mention fence. I need some serious advice. They are so into this digging thing that Dolly had me up 2 times last night wanting out. Now this is the girl who can hold it for a LONG time, so I knew THAT wasn't the problem. I'm seriously thinking of (gasp) crating them at night knowing darn well there will be heck to pay if I do. They will not sit still for it and will bark and cry all night, I just KNOW it. Well, maybe I should try that anyway. Can anyone help me with this?

[Meemoo]

Maybe instead of a crate you'd want to try an x-pen? It's much larger and no floor or top and the dog can see through it. You could put Dolly's toys, food, blankets in there to make it homey for her and next to your bed so you're next to her too.

[dutchman]

A couple of quick ideas. First if you have some place you can buy spices in large quanties at a low cost (a Sam's Club) purchase a large container of Ceyenne Pepper. Be very liberal spreading the pepper over the area they like to dig in. You could also try putting some large gravel or garden rive rock into the holes and then just covering it with a thin layer os dirt.

For nights try just putting a baby gate in your bedroom door. That took care of my boys wanting to get up and go out at 3-4 in the morning. I don't know what they were up to at that time of night but now they hold off till some time after 5:00 when they hear the paper hit our sidewalk out front or when a neighbor lets their dog out and it barks. Frank and Dexter will settle back down but Tanner waits by the gate till I get up at 6:00.

Good luck,

To

[MARTHA]

I don't have a lot of ideas on the subject. I did read at one time if you had a "digger" that you should give them an acceptable place to dig. Sorta' like the chewing, when they chew something they shouldn't take it away and give them something they can chew on, a toy, etc.

lol - I'm sorry I just gave myself the mental picture of you picking Dolly up and carring her to her designated digging spot with all four feet still "digging"...then you set her down and go back for Maddie and guess who beats you there... Again I'm sorry...I strayed from the subject...

Anyway, the idea makes sense, I'm just not sure how you can make it work...

Sadie has this game that she plays every morning with the shadows. She digs and chases and stalks... The shadow is the prey or the enemy. I just have to make sure that nothing is in the shadow pattern in the morning that she can tear up. This is also why the Girls do hall duty when no one is at home. The fun ny thing is that she only doesn this in the morning. The afternoon shadows don't seem to phase her.:devil:

Anyway, good luck with trying to discourage her...The little stinkers are quite stubborn and determined...I guess they can't be secrdibed as ADD, they certain can concentrate if they want to!

Martha and the Girls

[TessieMom]

Oh no, as I recall you are renting... I know what I did for Kibby, who decided that some of that Chinese food would be good, but it might not work for you. First, I took some of this plastic edging that you pound in the ground (comes by the box and interconnects, goes down about 6-8")... put it next to the fence base where the digging was focused, really spoils the fun. I have a chain link fence, so we had lots of things to see walking down the street. Concrete is poured under the gate with a couple inches of soil over it. I understand that you can bury wire mesh or chicken wire a few inches down and it really deters the digging. Other places have the biggest bricks I can find. Good Luck!!!
Rena, the 4 girls and 3 foster boys (dealing with population explosions)!

[Dolly's Mom]

Tom, I'm going the Ceyenne pepper route. Do you spread it as is in powder form or do you dilute it with water? I've been making up a pitcher of special ceyenne water, but if I need to actually spread the powder, I'll get a big container of Ceyenne pepper this weekend. Can you clarify either watered down in about a gal of water or straight powder? The water seems to deter them slightly but they still want to go over into that section of the yard.

Thanks!
Sandi

[dutchman]

When I used the Ceyenne pepper I applied it directly to the ground in pouder form. Depending on your weather conditiona and or how often you water the area you may have to repeat applications evey couple o f days. The Ceyenne pepper seems to loos it potency after a few days. I can't remember but how long I used it to keep Frank from digging. I suppose a economy size bottle to Tobasco sprinkled in the area might do the same job. Like I said a warehouse store where you can get things in the giant economy size helps a lot. IF you have to purchase the spices at the local grocery story they can be very expensive.

Good luck, let us know if this works for you. IT works for some dogs and not for others.

Tom and the boys (Frank, Tanner, and Dexter)

[rocky2002]

My trainer recommends filling the holes your dog digs with their own waste. Just put a 1-2 inch layer of dirt over it so they don't smell it but discover it upon digging. They will learn very quickly that they do not like what they find when they dig.

Good luck. ;)

[Molly's Mom]

I don't know about all dogs, but Molly doesn't mind Tobasco. Her wastes are considered a delicacy, so that wouldn't work either. We're kind of lucky that she picked only one spot to dig, so we decided not to fight it. After a few weeks, she eventually realized she wasn't going to make it to China any time soon and gave up on the digging idea.

As annoying as a dog wanting to go out in the middle of the night is, I don't let mine go, especially if I know they just want to play. Been there, done that. That only lets them know that tomorrow night it will be fun to stay up late and play too. Crating or a baby gate might be a decent answer for the night time hours.