Gardening with a dog.

If you've got a dog, then he is gonna pee, if you wanted a perfect garden then you shouldn't have got a dog!!

Val

 

I'm happy with my garden/dog situation (will def stick to bitches though!)! My friend is not looking for a perfect garden, we're just wondering what we can do to improve the situation and if there is anything anyone else does that helps.
No small plants is a good tip Gazania thank you. The garden is a typical small modern garden that is wider than it is long so I think it would be hard to fence any bits off. I like the idea of encouraging him to pee up pots too. We are about replant the beds so maybe we'll experiment with some evergreen shrubs to see if they can survive.

 

It can be annoying when you look out into the garden and the dog is stomping on young shoots so he can pee on a bush! Low growing plants all taking a stomping! Upcoming bulbs in spring are at risk too.
Any young or tender plants could perhaps have a ring of cheap chicken wire around them fixed with ties and small bamboo sticks until they establish themselves. Like you see in parks sometimes. Shrubs would be my choice. And don't forget roses. Prickles could be a deterrent, ouch!
Gazania

 

Hmmm... I love my newly emerging garden.. I equally love my dogs! But they do not always see eye to eye, I have just planted some hedging to separate two parts of the garden but the dogs don't seem to recognise my baby hedge! And without the funds to buy 7 meters of mature hedge plants we will just have to see who wins

 

I find the main difficulty comes when Willa (now 5 months) tries to help. The way she sees it is that I accidentally leave these plants in the ground after digging (the fun bit) so she will then bring them back indoors for me.

 

Oh this is comical, reminds me of a Golden retriever we had years ago, my husband spent nearly all afternoon carefully planting his dahlia tubers, when he came in and while we were having our dinner, Toby was outside bringing them all back in again, one by one!!! Fortunately our love for Toby was greater than our love of dahlias!!!!

Val

 

My dog,Tilly does the gardening for me!!!! Check out the picture by my name.

 

Try putting a bamboo stick next to each plant. Okay they might get shoved by the dog but it might just save the plant from getting snapped long enough to establish itself. Might be worth a try?
Gazania

 

You got to love your dogs. I was walking our dog last week and for the very first time, he is 14 years old now, he cocked his leg up on an electrified fence! Okay, just a small shock but he sure did yelp. And the look he gave me! He looked convinced I had something to do with it!
mmmm ... electrified fencing no, now that would be cruel.
Gazania

 

Oh this is SOOO cute!!!!

Val

 

I remember my mums Jack Russell.....if we dug a hole in the garden ready to plant a shrub he'd stand there for ages peering into it and still be there after us breaking for a cuppa. He was probably waiting for a rodent to run, as is the nature of the breed.

 

our two have a habit of sitting really close to you when gardening which is fine if im just planting something small or potting on (i often do that sorta thing out on the lawn) but it doesn't work if your doing anything that requires actually moving...cos you forget to check every single time you move your feet & run the risk of standing on one of them dogs they can be such daft creatures sometimes...well most of the time

 

Good idea thanks!

 

Both my GSD's were taught NOT to go into any gardens at all ever. And they never did. They would run around them, but never through them. NEVER. There were plenty other areas down in near the woods they would go to do their business.
Dogs can be taught to not go somewhere, it just takes a little time and continued reinforcement from humans. I also taught them not to come in the dinning room when we were sitting eating our meals, they sat at the threshold politely. They were also taught to sit in the next room to wait for their food. Both were taught a ton of things, and it just takes consistancy, reinforcement and positive rewards. They were also taught boundry, as in stay on "your property", with no fence, and they did.

 

I kinda wanted the bigger garden for the dogs really, and they really can go for it here so the gardening is a close second to them..... a plant has to earn its keep by being tough in my garden but I will keep trying to accommodate both!