How to stop your yard from going to the dogs
While there are few things greater than the privilege of having a dog for a pet, they can cause some considerable damage in a yard, particularly when they are young. Dogs, like chickens, pigs, and cows, are extremely effective landscapers but deeply terrible gardeners. To make matters worse, if you are attempting to transition a landscape to make it more drought-tolerant or adding more beds or a vegetable garden, there is no way to establish a new installation (even just as small as a single shrub) without careful governance of your dog. Even worse, more than one dog often leads to exponentially more damage. This article will concentrate on practical solutions to having a happy, engaged outdoor pup AND a nice garden.
Make a dedicated dog space
An area where a dog can be outside without the need for supervision is the best case for protecting aesthetic and edible gardens. Dogs need shade in the summer and cover/warmth if they are outside in inclement weather. Putting a dog run on the south side of a house and filling it with gravel is very dangerous for outdoor pooches, especially in the summer. Ensure there is ample shade and comfortable areas to rest in the run (it should not be all gravel). Also, if it is possible to make the run away from a neighbour’s yard, dogs will likely be quieter when they are on their own. Packed dirt and animal bedding (like straw, hemp, or wood shavings) is safer and more comfortable for your dog to enjoy (digging is fun for them). If the dog has previously had the run of the backyard, expect some escape and be ready for corrections.
Fence your vegetable garden
Annual beds are too enticing for any dog: old or young. That fluffy, bare soil is just made for digging! Furthermore, while many vegetables are digestible by dogs (and they will find them before you can), many are toxic and can cause vomiting and diarrhea (for example, any part of alliums – onions and garlic – should never be ingested by dogs as they cause vomiting and diarrhea at best (usually with just munched tops) and severe health concerns at worst (if the bulb is eaten). The same goes for any spring bulb (crocuses, tulips, etc). A simple and attractive fence can be made out of 3-inch doweled posts and stucco wire, and will be high enough at about forty-eight inches to dissuade jumping. Furthermore, wire fences without a top rail tend to be invisible to dogs, so they believe the fence goes up forever.
Secure the wire to the posts with screws/washers at the top and the bottom and use heavy-duty stapled down the post. Ensure the wire is snug between posts so dogs can’t push under (you can re-inforce the base wire with stakes). Simple gates can be made with a square of wire fence cut to fit and bordered with bamboo poles (you can also used pruned branches from a mature hedgerow). Make a hinge with screw-in eyelets and wire!
Make urine spots into a drought-tolerant turf transition opportunity!
Female dogs and all young pups will both tend to urinate in a single spot (some mature male dogs do too). Because urine contains nitrogen, any plants under that pool of urine get burned by the salts and nitrogen (that’s why there is often a bright green ring around dead urine spots in your grass). You can follow your dog around in the garden with a bucket and douse the area where the dog urinates with water but chances are you’ll miss some spots. Dig that dead plant out with a shovel, add some soil to level, then sprinkle a native seed blend on the spot. Water gently then add a square of fencing to protect until germination. Reseeding dead turf grass spots in this way helps to slowly transition a Kentucky bluegrass lawn to a drought-tolerant alternative.
Prune out dead branches
Tall male dogs will tend to urinate by lifting their legs on shrubs and trees. This won’t have any effect on a mature tree but can cause shrubs boughs to yellow. Regularly prune out any unsightly branches with sharp, clean pruners either to the main trunk or the larger (still healthy) branch. A physical barrier like a short fence placed far enough away from the shrub that the urine stream cannot touch the leaves will save you the pruning.
There are ways for gardeners and dogs to coexist in the backyard. Remember, have patience and take the time to correct when you catch your pooch landscaping where she shouldn’t be!
