Okay, I have tried everything I can think of to get Koda to quit digging, I have tried throwing pop cans with pennies in it, I have tried pepper on the yard, I have tried suprising him and putting him in his kennel(10x20 with wire mesh on the floor so he can't dig) when he digs in the yard. I have tried squirting water at him, I have tried to work with him on Distraction, if I catch him digging giving him something appropriate to do. We have even tried the "pit" idea with no success because he will not dig when I tell him to, not even for treats or toys. Plus, he doesn't like the pit, he like the middle of the backyard. My trainer has said that she cannot think of anything else other then a remote shock collar so he associate digging as a bad thing, not nessacerily associating me as bad with digging. I am at my wits end and this is seeming like a good idea. Koda does use a shock collar for barking and it works AWESOME. He only really uses it when we are gone because my neighbors have said he will bark continuosly for hours at everything, people walking by, he barks at the house, he barks just to hear himself I think. He is getting better and I have left him without the collar a few times and the neighbors have said there was a dramatic difference. This is not something I would use all the time or forever, but I just want to use it as a training technique. What do you guys think?? I am out of ideas other than this. I think that this will help alot.
I'd say go for it. We had to get a shock collar for Lexie for her incessantly pestering Chopper. It really worked. Just make sure you get a good one. The one we got was the cheapest one you could get and it was $100. I think if we would've gotten a better one for her, it would've even worked better. But I think anything would help him.
Well it sounds like you have tried every other avenue I would have suggested and this is the next in line. If you do decide to use one start out with it at the lowest setting and gradually increase until you find the lowest setting that gets a reaction. This is the main thing I worry about when someone (not to say you would!) goes to using a remote collar for this type of reason - some people tend to think higher is better when in fact it is usually not only not necessary but it can create more problems than they originally started with. You can even hide the remote in a pocket so that Koda doesn't see it (you can still push the button as necessary) and associate the correction with you as I have seen dogs be on their absolute best behavior just because they see the remote but when the remote is out of sight they seem to think they are safe to do as they want. Sometimes they are just toooooo smart!
lol, yeah Koda knows how to outsmart the bark collar, he will bark once, wait for it to reset itself(it gives a warning beep first) and then bark again in a minute or so. I know Koda so well that he would only need pretty minor settings, he is a very emotional dog. Do male dogs have PMS?? LOL I swear he is that way, he is taught with minor corrections during obedience training andsuch but for some reason this digging is just something he is being hard headed about(I think his chow has come through on that one! lol)
Digging and barking are fun. My dogs do the same thing. E-collars are a god send as far as correction goes. The dog blames the collar, and himself[they don't know where the shock is coming from]. One funny thing that mine did was try to check her own neck to see if the collar was on, when she wanted to bark. You have to tell them, no digging! when you give them the zap, so they understand the word with their action, and the impending correction. That way you can just tell them, no digging, or you will wear the collar. They figure out pretty fast that wearing the collar is no fun...
