Have A Dog? Plan A Garden That You And Your Pet Can Enjoy

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Hartford Courant

By Beth Botts

We love our dogs. We love our gardens. But sometimes our dogs love our gardens too much.

They love to dig. They love to romp through carefully designed plantings. They love to sample the plants, which may not agree with them. They love to use the entire lawn as a bathroom. They love to explore what's stored in the garage. They love to burrow under the fancy fence and take it on the lam.


Here's how to tame the beast: Plan a garden to be enjoyed by dogs as well as people, rather than a people's place that dogs damage or a cage for animals we don't have time for. And plan to be out there, enjoying the garden with your pet.

"Dogs will want to use the landscape in ways that may be a little different from the ways humans might want to use the landscape," says Cheryl Smith, a Seattle-area trainer and author of "Dog Friendly Gardens, Garden Friendly Dogs" (Dogwise Publishing, 180 pages, $19.95). "Trying to accommodate that makes things easier for both."

For example, if the dog likes to run on a circular path around the house, don't plant a hedge that blocks it. Leave an opening where it likes to run, and it won't break down the shrubs.

A frequently changed selection of interactive toys, such as rolling balls filled with treats, can help if you absolutely must leave a dog outside alone. But the best cure is your company. And make sure you have an open area in your garden for playing fetch and other games.

Dogs like to hang out around gardeners. Sometimes they like to help, or at least imitate what they see.

Don't fight it. Instead, make sure the dog can dig in a safe place.

"Give them their own little dog garden," says Stephanie Smith, director of outreach for the Humane Society of the United States in Washington. Fill a child's wading pool with sand, or loosen a wide pit of soil with a shovel. Then take the dog out and let it see you bury favorite toys or treats. Bury new ones from time to time, and you can teach your pet that "the people garden is not a good place to dig, but the doggie garden is. You might find bones," Smith says.

A special place is also a good solution to another gardener's gripe: the lawn as a bathroom. When you are house-training a puppy, anyway, it's no problem to train it to go in a particular area, Cheryl Smith says. With older dogs it may be harder, but it may be worth it. Keep that special place cleaned up, though, so it won't be a turnoff for the dog.

What about spots in the lawn? They are the result of a high concentration of nitrogen in the dog's urine, which over-fertilizes the plants and burns them. The best way to prevent spots is to flush the lawn with water immediately after the dog urinates to dilute the nitrogen, or train the dog to go in its own special place.

The greatest garden danger? Getting out. A fence is essential, says Stephanie Smith, but even the best-trained dog can succumb to a sudden temptation to chase a squirrel or check out another dog.

The best policy, therefore, is never to leave your dog outside when you are not with it and to pay attention when you are. Usually the place your dog wants to be is near you.

[rmci]

I've heard about

"Dog Friendly Gardens, Garden Friendly Dogs" (Dogwise Publishing, 180 pages, $19.95).

Does anyone here have this book and is it any good?

I'd like to plant more in my yard but I've been having trouble picking out plants. That and some of the ones I did have Rusty destroyed during his puppy crazies.