How do I stop 4 month old pup digging up garden?

Although I'm dog 'free' now, I still have terrible yearnings and read the doggy threads. Our spaniels all dug when they were pups. It's fun. We got them out of it by playing hide and seek with a toy hidden somewhere in the garden. The springer could go for 20 minutes before he gave up and asked us for clues. That and bawling at them every time a paw scratched the surface.

(We're borrowing DS's dog for the weekend next week. Can't wait!)

Concrete over the garden! Well you did ask.!

Our JR ferociously digs holes but on the plus side he never goes into fields where there are sheep or cows. Our chickens walk right under his nose and he doesn't bat an eyelid.

It's uphill work, very uphill.
Playing with her is certainly a good way of suggesting alternatives to digging, so is trying to confine her excavations to a restricted area of the garden.

Does she understand the word NO? If not say it calmly while removing her from her digging, Repeat this until you are blue in the face.

My childhood fox terrier never stopped digging, but we did manage to teach him only to dig in one flower-bed where he buried bones. My mother's dachshund refused point-blank to learn not to dig holes.

Right now I am trying to stop a cat from lying on the draining board. When I put him down on the floor for the second time within ten minutes and asked him sarcastically if we could just not pretend I had said no however many times are necessary, he stalked off in a huff and is now lying in the bathroom hand wash-basin!

That sounds like a JR. I havent had a dog I am not starting with one at this stage in my life but a JR is the breed I would have.
I have a friend who has this most lovely marked JR rescue dog. She is naughty but she is adored by her "Mum and Dad." I understand they can be wayward.

They look right because they have good leg at each corner and a proper un-squashed nose.

Thanks all. She's nearly 5 months old. I am trying out your suggestions.

Still waiting for mine to grow out of it niggly thirteen years and counting.

Well, my very lively working cocker doesn't dig anymore having been a contender for Australia!! Mind you she is three now. The odd telling off might have helped!!

Er......They grow out of it, niggly?

Can you have a word with mine.

You can't stop them, loads of chain link till they grow out of it!!

Peggy looks like she is a great help in the garden Merlotgran so cute.

Peggy thinks she's helping to turn the compost heap!

Your JR's are so well trained Merlotgran just like ours. They are such characters, we are entertained every day by Mr Bossy.

Our JRs spend hours in the garden with us. They know they Must Not Dig on the borders so they try to kid us they're doing us a favour by digging into molehills. As soon as I spot the mess I yell, 'STOP DIGGING' which they do straight away like the well trained doggies that they are

They then go round the back and dig somewhere else.

Just realised you said he’s only four months old. He’ll grow out of it. He needs a doggy pal, get another pup!

Lol!

Newquay ?

Newquay

Tegan, I note what you said about whippets racing about. My whippet lurcher has worn paths through the grass where she sprints her barking circuits. I have bought a lot of white clover seed to put on the worn bits in the hope that it may be harder wearing than grass.

I don't know. My lurcher tries to dig holes in the sofa.

And when younger she dug near the garden fences and I had to instal part buried wire netting so as to keep her in the garden.

Sorry-just get rid of dog!

Oh Smurf and it’s so wet and muddy out there isn’t it? How old is she?

I think she needs lots of long walks, prefersbly in areas where she can run off some of her excess energy, and play dates with other dogs. Lots of toys, ball fetching, tuggies and one of those things you hide treats in and it takes lots of trying for the dog to get them out.

In other words exhaust her mentally and physically (and probably yourself in the process). It probably won’t work 100% but it’s worth a go. And dump her in the sink and wash her down to save your floors and furniture.

That made me laugh Tegan2. It also had me wondering (again) why on earth do people have dogs! Not that I'd ever want not to share my life with dogs of course

I have fenced off half the garden for the dog [and it isn't a big garden, either]. Whippets don't dig, but they will rip up every plant they see and run round the lawn in circles at 35 mph so there's little chance of any grass surviving.

They are practising burying bones and digging them up again.
Distraction techniques as Iam64 suggests are the way to go I think.