My Dog is peeing all over my shrubs and plants...help!

[KD717]

New user here....We built a new house almost 4 years ago and had our landscaping done almost 2 years ago. We have a male Golden Retriever and he is peeing on all of our shrubs and killing most of them. I have replaced several twice already, only to have the same thing happen again. We have tried training him, but it isn't working to keep him out of the landscaping. We live in Ohio, Zone 5. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep our shrubs alive or know of any shrubs / plants that can withstand the dog pee? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[opabinia51]

You can buy these little fences and put them around your plants to keep your dog out of them Also, pepper seems to help to detur mammals. And you can buy a sprinkler that will shoot a jet of water at your dog if it goes near your plants. Furthermore, you can get one of those invisible electric fences.

Urine is very high in N so, there is not much you can do once your dog has urinated as the plants will already be burned.

[MaineDesigner]

Opabinia51 is spot on. If you can't train the dog your only other option is to create a barrier to keep the dog away. You could use Invisible Fence or similar products, electric fence, build a fenced run for your dog elsewhere on the property or fence off the plants. No ornamental plants will stand up to the salts and high nitrogen from regular applications of dog urine.

[Lexy1700]

Hello, I'm a new user as well. While plants are somewhat of an enigma to me, I know dogs! I owned a kennel and trained dogs for years. Marking territory is an extremely natural thing for a dog, so its a very tough habit to break. There is always the option of building a barrier, or confining the dog, but those options can really adversly effect your landscape, and can be costly. There is always the dreaded shock collar. I know it sounds inhumane, but shock collars work mostly with the element of surprise, rather than by inflicting pain upon your dog. You should always monitor your dog when using this, and timing is important! Your other option, and this is one I've found to work wonders for people who can't stand the thought of zapping their dog on a regular basis is the citronella collar. It comes with a remote much like the shock collar, but when the dog is in the process of doing the unwanted behavior, I.e. peeing on your bushes, you press the button and a citronella mist sprays from the collar. Being that dog's noses are so sensitive, and they hate the scent of citronella, your dog will have a negative association with your bushes right away. The great thing is its all natural, and wont cause any side effects at all...besides maybe some green bushes!! I hope this helps!

[KD717]

We have a wireless fence, which is great to keep the dog in the yard, but it doesn't have the ability (that I know of) to bury wire to keep him out of the shrubs. The wireless fence gives him a 360 degree circle to stay in and if we shortened the circle he wouldnt be able to get much past the door. I like the idea of the citronella collar. I have never heard of that before. I think I will definetely check that out! Thanks for the advice! Any other ideas would be appreciated also.

[opabinia51]

That Citronela Collar is a great idea, thanks for the tip! I'll have to remember that one for the future.

[karenb]

I had a rather large and newly landscaped fenced back yard before getting a black lab puppy...big mistake after a while...or so I thought. Puppy was going to the bathroom everywhere so I built him a bathroom in a corner of the yard along the fence line facing the front and just around the corner from the rear basement door. Dug up a 15'x10' patch of lawn and put down landscaping cloth and crushed gravel, which turned out to be rough on poor puppy's tootsies. So covered the gravel with some fine gravel and that did the trick. I picked up some drift wood from the beach and deposited it around puppy's bathroom for when he started lifting his leg. I also used longer pieces of drift wood to define the area. Took some of puppy's doo doo and put it on the gravel and took puppy there on a leash. It took only a short while for puppy to get the idea. I then took him there on the leash for about a week before taking him there without it. The driftwood defined the area and if he started sniffing close to the edge of that area I just said "no". Pretty soon I would go out with him and just stand there and he would immediately go about his business...lots of praise. Puppy grew up and if he was in the back yard he automatically went to his bathroom every time he had to go. The gravel dried out the doo doo which made it easy to pick up. I kept a doo doo bag hung on the outside faucet and picked up every time he went. Used the water sprinkler in that corner just like the rest of the gardens because I didn't want to be smelling urine when the temperatures soared. Had that black lab for almost 13 years and to my knowledge never lifted his leg anywhere else in my gardens, although in his latter years I did find the odd doo doo elsewhere in the back yard : )

[AnnaIkona]

I should totally do that for my pup. she's peeing all over the yard currently. Thank you so much for the advice!

[imafan26]

That is marking behavior and it is natural for him to claim his territory. It is hard to train him out of it. Fences will work as a training aid. So will neutering the dog, it decreases the hormones that make him mark although it won't eliminate it. It does become a habit after a while. You can use outdoor no in some places and provide him with other things he can mark instead. There is the doggy fire hydrant which is used as a marker to get him to do his business in a particular area instead of anywhere he chooses. You can use vertical markers like painted stakes. Paint the stakes yellow and actually smear some of his pee on it. He will refresh it to mark the spot. Place the stakes in spots that are close to where he is marking now. It is better if it is a high stake not a short one. Dogs have pissing contests and they want to always mark higher than anyone else.

Female dogs leave brown spots in the lawn, but they don't have to stop at every tree to mark it, they just have to stop to smell it.