Beagles digging holes

Question
Hi Jill, my parents have two beagles, mother and pup.  They are very friendly dogs and love to greet me with gusto when I come over.  I am not sure if there is an answer to this, but they are quite proficient hole diggers !!  I mow the lawn there regulary with a riding mower.  Their area is a relativley large fenced in back yard.  I keep filling in the holes as they can be large enough to potentially cause a problem if I would run over one with the riding mower, not a huge problem.  If you have any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

Robert

ps A couple of times they have even dug under the chain link fence and made the great escape !!  The street they live on has little traffic so mostly it is just a matter of herding them back to the yard !! lol

Answer
whatever the initial cause, the pup most likely learned this behavior from its dam (mother).  Regardless, digging is often the result of boredom.  Dogs should not be left alone outside for many hours at a time.  If they must be left outdoors, they should have plenty of distractions (rotate toys, bones, kongs with peanut butter, etc.)  The Beagle is a scent hound.  It's possible this digging behavior began as a result of the dog scenting critters (such as moles, etc.) living beneath the sod.  It may even be the result of fertilizer used on the  lawn!  Unfortunately, the dogs have now generalized this behavior for escape issues, and this is NOT GOOD because it is highly self rewarding.

There are several methods to stop dogs from digging (providing it isn't plain boredom that's driving the behavior.)  You can bury the dog's feces in the holes it has dug (the Beagle will immediately scent this), but of course the dog can then begin excavating elsewhere.  You can "scent" the dog's holes (with cayenne pepper), which of course might (again) cause the dog to begin digging elsewhere.  You can tie balloons to rocks over the holes (dogs are notoriously fearful of balloons, but of course a popped balloon -- if ingested -- can block the dog's airway and kill the dog.)  But in this instance, THE most important thing is to keep the dogs from digging OUT.  Dig a trench (not difficult) along the fence line and (using garden wire intended to keep rabbits out of vegetable gardens) literally plant the wire into the trench, stapling it (with heavy gauge staple gun) to the wooden fence itself.  When the dog digs along the fence line, it will come up to the wire and be unable to exit.