Dog Run? What to Do at New Home So Dog Won't Destroy New Sod and Dig up Sod! Pls

I had goldens which are pretty close to labs. The more you restrict the area they are in the more they destroy. My dogs didn't dig much and when they did it was because I forgot to put out water. Yup they dig for water. Leave a hose out they will chew through it for water. I put a device on the faucet that they can lick and get all the water they wanted, they never dug after that.

Maybe I had strange dogs, who knows.

Okay I just caught the tree part. How hot was it? They will also dig to get to the cool dirt if they are hot.

Grady, our 15 month old Boxer/Pit mix, has a dog run - it is sold at Pet Smart and Home Depot - ours runs from a tree at each end of our yard (we don't have a fenced in yard). When you install the run (not the fenced kind, I personally don't like those), you can determine how much run space your dog gets.

Good luck!

you need to crate him inside. Labs are people dogs and will only cause trouble if left alone outside. Bored = destruction.

We have a four year old lab, and for the first 2-3 years, he was pretty busy! While we were gone, we left him in his kennel with a heavy duty chew toy. If we did not, he would chew things in the house, or go out the doggy door and bark for hours at the neighbors.

When we were home, we played with him alot - plenty of stick throwing in the back yard, long walks, obedience training practice, etc. so that he could get his wiggles out.

Starting at @ 2-3 years, he could stay out by himself without having any problems.

Labs are extremely social and need a LOT of exercise. I have had labs most of my life. In my experience, when they have been exercised, and by that I mean a vigorous run twice a day, and not isolated, they are the best dogs in the world. They tend to chew and dig out of boredom and/or separation anxiety. If you are not able to provide the dog with that kind of exercise, then perhaps doggie daycare, hiring a dog walker, or finding another breed of dog better suited to your lifestyle is an option.

AHHH the joys of labs. haha! For all of their wonderful qualities, they are, as others pointed out, high energy and they are "puppies" until about 4 years old (we have had 2 our vet is a Lab man).
I agree with the vigorous running - out labs love fetch "throw the bumper, throw the bumper pleeeaaasssse throw that bumper" and swimming. My husband hunts with ours, so he does a lot of retrieval practice in open fields, but our lab before this one, I'd hook her up to my bike and we'd take off for a 25 minute jaunt through the neighborhood in morning and evening.
A dog run would be another option for those times where they need their space, but be sure to keep it tidy :)
good luck!

bury chicken wire under the sod. it hurts their paws. they quit digging on their own.

"Dog run" is exactly what he needs. He needs to run! If he is digging, it is usually a sign that he isn't getting enough exercise. Labs need a lot! We have had several. The one we have now is almost 2 and she has never dug in our yard because she gets tons of exercise. We live on acreage, though so she can run to her hearts content. Unless you start taking him for several walks/runs a day, he will probably keep doing it. We adopted a lab from a relative that was 8 and he was still digging up their flowers and grass. Very frustrating when you are trying to sell the house!! As for kennels, we have a chain link fence kennel that we use when they are pups and we aren't home. The sides are about 8 feet tall and one of our labs figured out how to climb out in about 5 minutes.
I think he just needs more exercise. I know that is hard as a single mom.