Gardening with Dogs
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
- Margaret Atwood
There are only a few things that I love as much as dogs. They are fresh dirt, new plants and cheesecake. Cheesecake has nothing to do with this post, but it’s always worth mentioning.
I’m one of those crazy people who think yard work is synonymous with total relaxation. The excitement of creating something that wasn't there before, rearranging what is there and being surprised at what appears on it's own (like the Elderberry tree that volunteered in exactly the right spot last year) is more satisfying to me than anything else I can think of. Well, okay, excluding THAT.
This year, however, is the first time that I am gardening with the help of five dogs. Two of them did an excellent job of pruning my palm tree. Really, they did it perfectly!
Of course, not everything they think of doing is "perfect" in my opinion. So, here are some of the things I’ve learned so far this year:
1. Spend the extra money to buy the larger plants. Dogs will be more likely to go around them than over them. (I said “more likely”.)
2. Give your dog(s) a legal digging area and bury great surprises there for them. I have one dog who will fight over “treasures”, so I’ve been experimenting with animal scent. It comes in a bottle and is meant for training hunting dogs.
3. Use gardening time as training time! My Mastiff Mix, Emma, thinks its fantastic to bite at the water coming out of the hose. We have used this to practice, “Wait”. Emma has to “wait” (sitting) while I water my plants. When I say, “Go ahead”, she can bite the water until I tell her to “wait” again. (Most “problem behaviors” can be put on cue so that you can at least control them.)
4. Don’t forget your sense of humor! Mother Nature often has her “gardens” destroyed by heavy rain, hail, volcanoes, people…but she just keeps gardening. When my dogs dig up something I just planted, I say to my husband, “I guess they didn’t like that one.” What else am I going to do? (See #7)
5. Make use of tomato plant cages. These are great for putting around newly planted items to keep the dogs out until the plant gets established. If you have larger dogs, you’ll have to anchor the cages.
6. Let your dog(s) plan the landscape. I don’t know about your yard, but with five dogs in mine, there are distinct paths of frequent travel. I am now going to gravel these paths and plant along side and around them. Dogs are creatures of habit, so it makes no sense to plant a beautiful, tender Lilac right in the middle of where the dogs usually run through.
7. Supervise!! What if I said to you, “My three year old keeps burning herself on the stove.” Would you wonder where I was when this is happening? Trainers often think of this when clients tell us about dogs who chew up furniture, tear up landscaping, bark at the neighbors or pee on the floor. Leaving dogs unsupervised in your garden paradise is like…well, leaving dogs alone in a garden! (Remember, dogs have no concept of monetary value and are unable to understand our emotional attachment to what we’ve created.)
9. Be consistent in the garden, just as you need to be with any other training. We have two ponds. One is dog friendly, one is not. I MUST be outside whenever my dogs are so I can say, “Out!” every, single time that one of them steps foot on the perimeter of the small pond. If I’m not, they will learn that sometimes they CAN go in the small pond (when mom’s not looking).
10. Don’t plant anything that you love more than your dog.
This is just my little list. If you want more info on gardening with dogs, I think the best resource is the book Dog Friendly Gardens, Garden Friendly Dogs by Cheryl Smith. You can order the book here:
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DEG725
Oh wait! One more thing! Many garden centers are dog friendly. Check to see if yours is and use the frequent trips to the nursery as socialization and training opportunities.
