Digging Enrichment: Make Your Dog Happy and Save Your Garden!

Contrary to popular belief, digging isn't "naughty" behaviour. It's actually very normal, instinctive behaviour for dogs. 

...But what about the garden? I get it, I like a nice garden too. Luckily, the two aren't mutually exclusive.

Instead of trying to prevent dogs from digging altogether, we can facilitate this behaviour with an appropriate outlet. It's the best of both worlds. 

We'll look at ways to do this, including a dig zone, indoor digging set-ups and curated digging games. This satisfies your dog’s needs and reduces stress and frustration. As counterintuitive as it may sound, providing more digging opportunities can help prevent your dog from digging the garden beds you love.

For easy everyday enrichment ideas, my Enrichment Deck includes step-by-step activities you can rotate through all week.

Why Dogs Dig (and Why We Should Let Them)

Dogs dig for many reasons:

• Seek prey
• Bury or retrieve treasures
• Cope with heat or cold
• Relieve boredom, stress or frustration
• Get your attention (it works, right - they are smart!)
• Or simply because it’s in their breed makeup (Dachshunds, terriers, huskies, malamutes, etc). 

So if digging is a species-typical behaviour, punishing it or trying to eliminate it can actually increase frustration and intensify other behavioural issues.

From a welfare perspective, providing appropriate outlets for innate behaviours is part of meeting a dog’s basic needs.

Environmental enrichment - including problem-solving games and natural activities like sniffing, chewing, licking and digging - helps to reduce stress and, in turn, improve behaviour.

When I was looking at writing this article, the most popular search terms were “prevent dogs from digging” or “stop dogs from digging in the garden”. 

In reality, you’ll have far more success (and a happier dog) if you redirect the behaviour to a designated place and set boundaries your dog can understand.

This is at the heart of enrichment for dogs: We’re not fighting nature, we’re facilitating it.

Step-by-Step: Teach a Digging Game (with a Cue)

Goal: Give your dog a satisfying digging outlet you can “turn on” and “turn off.”

1. Pick your dig spot. If your dog is a super digger, you may want to go for a garden option. A sandbox or dig pit - this could be a children’s sand shell, a wooden planter filled with play sand/soil or whatever you can find. There are loads of secondhand options on Facebook marketplace! Place this away from delicate beds. You can always put it somewhere less visible, such as next to the compost heap or bins, or grow some plants in front of it to soften the look.

2. Hide the treasure. Bury a favourite toy (or treat container) below the surface while your dog watches.

3. Add a clear cue. Once your dog is digging, pair this with a cue “Go dig!” (or your chosen cue). Keep practising this cue until your dog forms that association. Being part of your dog's fun is so wonderful for your relationship. 

4. Celebrate the win. Praise your dog for finding the toy and let them play with it, or open the treat box for them to snaffle.

5. Re-bury 3–5 times. This creates a reward loop and a short, satisfying workout without overdoing arousal.

6. Wrap it up. Use a consistent end cue (“All done”) and put the pit away or cover it so the boundary is clear. A good way of training this could be to have your dog on the lead to begin with. That way, once you're done, you can say "let's go" and lead them back into the house for a treat. Create a positive association for the end of the game, rather than "fun's over".

Design a “Yes-Place” To Save Your Beds

If your dog adores excavating your dahlias, don’t just say “no” - offer a better “yes.” Here’s how to make a dig pit more appealing than your borders:

• Incentivise: Treats, chews or toys should hopefully be more appealing than your plants. It's not guaranteed but if your dog is already digging your borders, it's worth incentivising the dig zone.

• Vary the difficulty. Sometimes scatter on top; other times bury deeper or wrap items in paper to extend the sniff-and-dig sequence.

• Make it comfy. Dogs also dig to cool off or get cosy. Provide shade, accessible water, and a softer substrate they’ll prefer over hard soil.

• Fence off fragile zones. Low garden fencing or temporary barriers prevent mistakes while your dog learns the new boundaries.

• Use management early. Supervise, redirect to the pit with your cue and reward well for choosing the right spot.

Blue Cross specifically recommends sand pits/dig zones as a manageable outlet to stop dogs from digging up flower beds - this is not just me being a bit extra about enrichment.

Repeatedly pairing the digging cue with one location, your dog learns where digging is rewarding. Over a couple of weeks of consistent redirection and reinforcement, you will hopefully see less holes elsewhere. 

Alternative Digging Set-Ups (Great for Renters or Winter)

Not every garden is dig-friendly and that’s fine. Here are some options you can try:

• Indoor: Whip up a mound of towels/blankets, use a sturdy cardboard box filled with scrunched paper and a hidden treat or go wild and get a ball pit. A snuffle mat or snuffle toy are also good options for dogs who like to ferret about.
  
  
• Beach or outdoor setting: If you're lucky enough to live by the beach and it's dog-friendly, then you're well away! Instead of just racing around, get your dog digging. This is a great workout. Another option could be making use of the Autumn leaf litter or having a clamber around in the woods.
  
  
• For terriers, it may not be just the digging instinct they are trying to fulfil, but the tunnelling one too. Add agility tunnels or collapsible play tunnels for a “burrow and seek” vibe.

 

These variations give the tactile, foraging experience without all that messy soil. They also blend beautifully with other mental stimulation for dogs (sniffing and puzzle-solving), which is proven to reduce stress behaviours and increase relaxation.

Excessive Digging (and How To Help)

If your dog’s digging feels “excessive,” look for the root cause:

• Breed Traits: Breeds such as terriers were bred to locate quarry underground; they may need more structured outlets. Ever heard of Earthdog Trials or Barn Hunt? Take a look - a class could be fun. Even if you can't find anything local, it can help with ideas and a starting point. 
  
  
• Boredom/Under-stimulation: Dogs left with little to do self-serve with “jobs” such as digging. This is such a common one for dogs who are left in the "yard" all day. Enrichment sessions and mental stimulation solve the cause, not just the symptom.
  
  
• Overarousal/Stress: Some dogs dig to cope. This can be for different reasons, which you may need a behaviourist to indentify, but providing enrichment outlets is so foundational and can really help dogs feel more content.

As the RSPCA notes, punishing digging or attempts to make certain areas “unappealing” often just moves the behaviour elsewhere or triggers new issues (chewing, barking). Redirection + enrichment is the ethical, effective path.

Safety & Set-Up Tips

• Substrate: Use play sand or clean topsoil; avoid mulches like cocoa shell (toxic) or builder's sand as this is sharper, dustier and may contain unsafe chemicals.

• Drainage: Use an underlay to keep the sand in place, but don't make this plastic. An outdoor dig pit should drain freely.

• Cover: A tarp would act as a cheap cover option and prevent it from getting sodden.

• Pest control: Don't leave treats in the dig pit, this may attract rodents and the treat itself will degrade quickly, making it unsuitable for your dog to eat.
  
• Depth: If you're going to put in the effort to construct a full-on dig pit, make sure you don't stop too short. British Dog Fields recommends 2.5m square and 75cm deep. That sounds big but you could taper it to that depth in the middle. Having a wider surround helps to keep the sand in the area once it starts flying. 
  

• Supervise: Always supervise your dog when using the dig pit and prevent them from eating any sand or substrate, as this can lead to impaction in the stomach.

These safety tips aren't exhaustive, do your own research.

When To Get Extra Help

If you suspect separation anxiety, escape behaviour or high stress, or if digging escalates despite good management, working with a qualified trainer/behaviour professional is your best bet. As ever, dogs vary; what suits one may not suit another. They’ll help you identify triggers, adjust routines and create a tailored plan. 

Add Variety with the Enrichment Deck

If you’d like more mental enrichment ideas that balance active outlets with calming decompression, my Enrichment Deck gives you a range of activities across categories like Play, Find, Puzzle, Calm, and Bond. Rotate a few cards each day to keep your dog mentally and physically fulfilled.