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Yes I'm the AlphaDog, which is why this is so frustrating! This is my entire reputation on the line here! 
As Louie and I were watching the Puppy Bowl Sunday, he asked why that one feisty little dog was called a "Pugle" and yet he's called a mutt because of his mixed parentage. We decided he's a "Malatreiver." Louie's got some Malamute in him, judging from his markings, and I know they can be diggers, too.
I think you might be onto something when you suggest he might be looking for a buried treasure. Normally he didn't eat any of those treats I left out, unless I was gone a particularly long time. The first time I came home and found a hole, his treat bowl was also empty. I wondered at the time if he'd buried those things instead of eating them. He's only interested in digging in that one area. He did catch a rat in the yard once, but the critters (rats, squirrels) are usually at the back of the property and not around the patio, which is where he digs.
As far as a place to dig is concerned, he can have any other spot in the yard that he wants!
I think Louie is just being a spoiled brat. Racer X suggested separation anxiety, but I don't think that's it. Louie knew exactly where I was today, and I hadn't left the property.
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[quote AlphaDog]He's only interested in digging in that one area. He did catch a rat in the yard once, but the critters (rats, squirrels)
are usually at the back of the property and not around the patio, which is where he digs.
Might be chipmunks - they like to build their burrows under concrete slabs
I fought the great chipmunk patio war of '02 and finally won with a hose : -)
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Nice thought, but we don't have chipmunks around here, and I haven't seen any mole hills in years, either. They probably can't penetrate all the tree roots.
I'm leaning toward Baby Tats comment about buried "treasure" that might be his ration of dog treats. I already thought about whether there was something I might have added to the soil, like bone meal or fragrant fertilizer, but I didn't add anything the last time I was working around it, because it was Fall and I was going to wait until Spring. Louie didn't start digging until sometime in either late November or early December. Maybe I'll try something smelly to try and cover the smell of his precious hoard, because, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes that he keeps going in there to find those silly things - which have probably disintegrated in all the rain by now anyway. 
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Some patio blocks may deter him,
but if he's got a good nose and some determination, you might not keep him from his stash.
Figures he'd pick the softest /easiest spot to dig.
I've only had Labs dig. For coolth in the Summer. Usually under a cool bush. Sometimes you'd only see a pair of eyes looking up at you. :-)
My sister had a lab/bassett mix that would dig 4 (once,5) feet down under the back door steps.
(presumably to get back in the house. ) Via the cellar apparently.
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I'm not sure how committed Louie will be if the area doesn't smell "good". I remembered that I have a box of moth balls in the garden shed, which were left over from treating the planter boxes at the other house. (If anybody is interested, they worked really to keep the neighborhood cats from using my planter as their private litter box!) They won't last too long out in the rain, but they should last long enough to see if Louie finds them offensive. The way they smell, I wouldn't think he'd be able to detect the aroma of his buried treats. I hope. It's raining pretty hard again now, so he might get in another dig before I get out to put the mothballs down. Although Louie is a wimp and doesn't like to get wet, so...
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[quote btfc]Catch him in the act.
Louie isn't long on brains, but he's too smart to do it when I'm watching. I've been hoping I could catch him, but he only digs when I'm not around. By the time I show up, Louie is looking and acting like an little angel, except for those filthy feet.
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As the "mother" of two wire fox terriers, I can tell you that Baby Tats has given you great advice and I strongly suggest that you do what he says. This is exactly what I did over the years with two sets of wire fox terriers and it worked beautifully. I fenced off a 3' x 8' section where they had started to dig and directed them to another spot and it worked. You can also buy horrible smelling sprays that won't harm your plants and they worked well for me, too. All you need to do is redirect their attention to another area.
Good luck to you. It does sound to me as if Louie may be a bit smarter than you think. ;-)
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....uh-h-h, I'm not a dog expert, but if he has become attached to that one area perhaps you might consider letting him take ownership and plant your rhubarb elsewhere.
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