# Will the digging stop, or will he end up in China?



## nekkidfish

Are Maltese diggers? Do I need to get something that will satisfy his urge to dig?

I just got a new carpet for my kitchen (the tile floors are killing my knees, ankles and back) ... and I knew what was coming. Poppy just loves to dig on rungs or carpet ... and the new kitchen carpet keeps calling his name. :blush:

The majority of our house (where he is allowed) is hard wood floors, so no worries there. But, if I am in the hall bath (large rug in there) and now the kitchen, he is a digaholic!!

Needless to say, when I'm in the kitchen or bathroom, my hands are busy, so diverting him can be a major challenge! Any ideas?

Thanks and HUGz! Jules


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum

Mine don't dig ALL the time, but they love a soft surface to dig at ... sofa, cushions, bed etc .. they don't do it a lot, it seems they do it to make that particular spot comfy.

Does he do it for a long time, or just a little bit? Is he doing any damage to himself or your furnishings? Mine only do it for a short time, and so far, they haven't done any damage, so I just let them have at it.

Sorry, not much help here!


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## allheart

Actually Jules, my Leo ended in in China, had to go back and get him 
Mia would scratch at the rug as well. We had layed temporary rugs down throughout the house, during their puppy stage, one, because most of our home is hardwood and we also layed a temporary rug down in the kitchen, and knew that sometimes pups do this.

Leo came up with some fantastic "artwork" on the kitchen one. But once the scratching stage stopped, then we just layed new carpet down.

Perhaps when your little guy is unattended, you could crate him for the short time that you need to. We didn't do this, but it is an idea.

My whole house is carpeted, because the way these two play and romp, I worry about them slipping on the floor and injury.

But have peace of mind knowing, the scratching phase does stop, at least from my experience.


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## Nikki's Mom

Nikki only digs when she is ready to sleep. She digs herself a little imaginary nest and then curls up for sleep.


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## theboyz

Chase and Oz both dig to make a nest for sleeping. Chase loves to dig outside and when I ask him to "stop" he runs around in a crazy run, gets back to the hole and digs until I ask him to "stop" which only makes him dig and crazy run....such a game!


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## kathym

Baci also digs when he is ready to rest or sleep..


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## camfan

Side comment--I never understood carpeting in a kitchen--how on earth do you keep that clean?? I'd love to see a pic....

Anyway, mine are not excessive diggers. They "nest" before sleeping sometimes. 

When Ollie is doing a repetitive behavior that seems to be bordering on obsessive, like licking (which isn't all that often) I'll just do something to snap him out of it like clap my hands or give him a loud "HEY!" and he stops and does not continue.


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## allheart

camfan said:


> Side comment--I never understood carpeting in a kitchen--how on earth do you keep that clean?? I'd love to see a pic....
> 
> Anyway, mine are not excessive diggers. They "nest" before sleeping sometimes.
> 
> When Ollie is doing a repetitive behavior that seems to be bordering on obsessive, like licking (which isn't all that often) I'll just do something to snap him out of it like clap my hands or give him a loud "HEY!" and he stops and does not continue.


 
LOL, it's an area rug. Vaccum and sponge and dry clean, then remove the rug and clean the floor. Sooooo much fun NOT. But we are so paranoid about floors since our Kara (RIP) tore her ACL on hardwood . Maybe overkill on our part, but it was really painful for her and part of her treatment, was to ensure all floors, including kitchen was covered (and we had just got a new floor). But for us, it's so worth it. My Kara was in so much pain when it happened


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## jmm

It is a nesting behavior which is normal for all dogs. Of you don't like it just interrupt him. 
Outdoor digging is also a natural dog behavior. Some people have luck making a doggy sandbox and hiding treats and toys for the dog to dig out. It is a lot of fun.


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## nekkidfish

camfan said:


> Side comment--I never understood carpeting in a kitchen--how on earth do you keep that clean?? I'd love to see a pic....


I hear what you're saying 100%. It will be an effort to keep clean, but the tile floors were killing me. I am in the kitchen a whole lot, and my swollen ankles and achy back sent me shopping for an extra thick rug. It feels so fabulous, and I am so excited to be able to cook barefoot. The tile is freezing year round, so I always have shoes on ... but I love being barefoot!!

Thanks for all the input! Poppy just seems to do it before he gets sleepy, and when he's bored. So far he has not torn up anything, but I don't want my new $200 kitchen rug to be the first victim. :HistericalSmiley:

HUGz! Jules


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## LJSquishy

London is a huge digger, and tries to dig on our area rug in the living room (we have hardwoods) as well as the bathroom shower rug if we leave it down. I interrupt her behavior when she digs on those things.

I let her dig in her beds & blankets. Sometimes if I let her on the sofa she will try and dig herself a nest up there but I also interrupt that behavior.

I hide toys under her blankets & pillows & in her beds (easy for her to find) and she loves that because she digs so much.

Oh, we also let the dogs on our bed for 10 minutes before bedtime to snuggle, and she almost always tries to dig on our bed...again, we interrupt it. lol But yes, they DO go to China and usually don't grow out of it.


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## Maglily

yes I think he's headed for China. I always ask Jodi that but he never answers...he's a digger when getting his bed ready for the night.


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## almitra

Luigi does this quite a bit (sofa digging)....I think it's cute, but then again I don't have leather furniture...LOL!


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## spookiesmom

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they used to be called Maltese TERRIERS? And way back in their history they used to chase and dig for mice and rats? So that might explain the digging? Terriers=tera=earth.

Spookie likes to dig in dirt too.


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## Dora's Mom

It might be because he smells something in the carpet. I know Dora digs at places in the carpet where she or the cat had an accident (or a hairball) so when I see that I give the spot an extra shot of Nature's Miracle.


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## Rocky's Mom

Rocky does the same thing...in fact he loves to lick into the carpet and give it little bites. I catch him doing it and say Rocky or heh and he stops immediately, so he knows he is doing something wrong, LOL. I understand you wanting a carpet..we have a lot of tile....we have a great room instead of a living room and dining room...that is all tile. That's why I got him stairs to go up and off the couch. We used to have a big area rug there but when he was a baby he would pee on it, so we got rid of it. I do miss having a nice big area rug...I hate all this tile. We do have carpeting in the bedrooms...Rocky brings his treats in there to eat on the carpeting. I always wonder why they do that?


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## Terry36

Kodi digs when she's about to take a nap or go to bed for the night. It's too cute.


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## Purple-peep

How's the new rug holding up? LOL!:aktion033:

Libby loves to dig on anything soft right before she goes to sleep. She also likes to dig my head/hair while we're playing.:blink:

I'm so glad she doesn't dig outside!


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## Cute Chloe

Nikki's Mom said:


> Nikki only digs when she is ready to sleep. She digs herself a little imaginary nest and then curls up for sleep.


 
Chloe is exactly the same. When we turn off the lights, she starts digging a personal "coccoon" using the bed sheets then goes to sleep.

She shakes the bed so much it feels like we have a 20 second earthquake..LOL!

Other than that, she is not a digger at all. Our house is 100% tile--no carpet or rugs anywhere.

:blink:


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## Louis

I agree to most of everyone's post in here.. my Louis does his digging when he's ready to hit the sack.. thats my queu to turn off all the lights and as he needs to start his cute little snore  Hope this helps!


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