Originally Posted by WarChild

My dogs tend to create paths through the yard as well. Not sure there's anything you can do about that habbit. If you cover his path, I suspect he will most likely continue to use it and not create a new one so that should help you out anyway.

Hyper active dogs are almost always a product of not enough exercise. A dog like Buddy needs at least 2 walks a day from 30 minutes to preferably an hour each. I know it sounds like a lot, but you'd be surprised what a different it makes.

Maybe you can try hiring a local dog walker to take Buddy for a good long hour run each day and then take him in the morning yourself as well. If you burn off some more of his energy he'll be more content and less likely to "patrol" the backyard when you're away.