Use Astro Turf????????????
My little male Shih Tzu has destroyed my lawn by pawing it up every time he goes. The lawn has several holes in it and patches of what was once a beautiful lawn are now bare. Here's the questions. ...
Forum Discussion
The scraping thing is a display of DOMINANCE - the dog (male/female/neutered/any size or breed) is trying to spread its scent and mark its territory against all invaders (or inviting a member of the opposite sex to come visit). My daughter's Golden does this when visiting my house - he's too laid back to actually engage Jack in battle - but the scrape-a-thon would go on and on if I didn't put an end to it.
Yes, it's "dogs being dogs" - but so is barking/biting/digging/rolling in carrion, etc. We generally don't let our dogs do THOSE things, so I don't see what's wrong with stopping the scraping, too. And it's not hard to recognize the whole-body message of an impending scrape: head up, aggressive stance with back feet extended.... a well-timed "NO!" can stop the whole process before it begins (assuming YOU are the most dominant in the house and that's why NOT being able to stop it is the equivalent of a doggy-middle-finger directed your way)
Yes, it's "dogs being dogs" - but so is barking/biting/digging/rolling in carrion, etc. We generally don't let our dogs do THOSE things, so I don't see what's wrong with stopping the scraping, too. And it's not hard to recognize the whole-body message of an impending scrape: head up, aggressive stance with back feet extended.... a well-timed "NO!" can stop the whole process before it begins (assuming YOU are the most dominant in the house and that's why NOT being able to stop it is the equivalent of a doggy-middle-finger directed your way)
