Gardening setback.

[Allegre Nee]

Sigh. We had a storm the other night and it seems to have blown open the gate to my garden. My bratty dog got in there and dug around in several of my beds. She did this last year and killed EVERYTHING in March, prompting me to put in a metal fence. She got in AGAIN (squeezed through the bars in May) prompting me to line the inside of the fence with chicken wire. HA! Take THAT, naughty dog!
This year she only managed to severely damage an established tarragon plant and dig up areas I had seeded but which had no real growth yet.
Thankfully it's early enough that it won't be a major setback, and I have since reinforced the garden gate latch....but I'm still mad.
They have the WHOLE YARD to dig in. Why does she have to dig in my garden??

[KeriFord]

Oh no!

You are not alone. when mine escapes, his favorite place is to run right through the middle of the garden. He doesn't stop and dig, just runs back and forth...not even aware he's trampling.

Hopefully you can recover quickly and get back on track before you know it.

[greenstubbs]

I know dogs wil be dogs but. This is a classic case of, "sounds like someone needs to spend more time displining and training the dog". That or get rid of it for a smarter breed of dog. Glad all was not lost.

[Allegre Nee]

That or get rid of it for a smarter breed of dog.

I do hope that you're joking. As all of my pets - 3 cats and 2 dogs - were shelter animals or strays, I think your response is kind of offensive. She's a shelter dog, so I guess I know now why she was there. It's a shame especially since that particular shelter is a Kill Shelter. She's a very sweet dog that apparently wasn't "smart" enough for her previous owner either.

How do you keep your dog out of your garden?

[PunkRotten]

I had to make a separate section in the backyard sort of like a pen that I keep my dogs in. One of them will dig up and/or chew plants, the others don't but they like to run around and also go to the bathroom inside the garden. They have not done that much though cause I quickly made this separate area for them away from my main garden.

[KeriFord]

How do you keep your dog out of your garden?

My dog has a pen that he goes directly into when he goes outside. It keeps him out of it...unless he escapes that. Which tends to happen because I have a toddler who occassionally forgets to the lock the gate.

My dog is so hyper and runs so fast, I can stomp my foot and get on to him all I want. by the time my voice gets out of my mouth, he's well out of the garden and has no idea why he's in trouble (which causes a whole new issue for trying to get him BACK in the pen so he doesn't run off next door!). So I just fix the damage, remind my son to lock the gate and go on.

[greenstubbs]

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. Either build a fence around the garden, or I'm sure this will sound crude but tether the dog long enough so that it can roam the yard, but short enough to keep out of the garden. If the dog is still young enough, start training it to know that that area is off limits. Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. Good Luck

[jal_ut]

At present I don't have a dog. Over the years I have had many dogs. I never did have one that tore up the garden. Maybe step on a few small plants but that's about it. Dogs can move fast and be pests if not restrained. I kept the dogs in the kennel or on a leash most of the time. They could run if I was taking them out for exercise or hunting. They did not run without supervision. That is the key, I think, for well behaved dogs, supervision. They will quickly discover what their master doesn't like them to do.

[Allegre Nee]

We do have a fence - a double fence in fact! We have a 3' metal decorative fence which is lined inside with chicken wire held by zip ties. It's just that the heavy storm we had here the other night blew the gate open.

She knows she's not supposed to be in the garden but unfortunately, the gate being open wasn't caught and well...you know. I think no matter how well she was trained the wide-open gate and lovely soft dirt was just too much temptation for her.

I was being a tad sarcastic about asking how to keep her out. I know how to keep her out - keep the gate closed.

She's a digger and has dug under our double privacy fence (7' wood on our side, chain link on our neighbor's side) to sneak into my neighbor's yard as well. So....we have reinforced the bottom of THAT fence with cement pavers. I blame my husband - this is "his" dog. "My" dog (who is perfect, btw ) never digs anything up.

[greenstubbs]

Maybe take a section of chain with a clasp on it and when the weather looks nasty just clasp it closed. Kinda like a double lock that way if one fails, you have a backup.

[Allegre Nee]

Maybe take a section of chain with a clasp on it and when the weather looks nasty just clasp it closed. Kinda like a double lock that way if one fails, you have a backup.

Right now we've got it wrapped with two tight velcro bands above and below the latch but I might consider chaining it as a more permanent idea.

Haha, nasty weather in S TX?? You must be joking again. It only rains like, twice a year here! OK, maybe a LITTLE more than that...LOL. On the PLUS side, I had put out my new rain barrels the day before so I managed to collect quite a bit of runoff from the roof.

[greenstubbs]

Velcro's not a bad idea but I'm sure that the burning sun will tear that up in not time this summer. Great on the rain barrels, which I had a couple but it only rains during the winter months and I'd hate to see how nasty it would get baking in the hot sun out here. You loose some plants but gain some H2O for when you need it. Oh the compromises we have to make and deal with. Happy growing!

[cynthia_h]

What breed or combination of breeds does your dog appear to be? Some breeds are GENETIC diggers. They need a dedicated digging area to be happy and content doggies. Since she saw you digging in the garden, it probably seemed natural to dig there....

Give me some info and I'll see what I can come up with. In the meantime, there have been some extended and thorough "How to keep my dog from destroying my garden" threads here in the past (since June 2008, based on my own memory), so use a Search to find them. I'll look later (dinner was just announced), too.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Allegre Nee]

What breed or combination of breeds does your dog appear to be? Some breeds are GENETIC diggers. They need a dedicated digging area to be happy and content doggies. Since she saw you digging in the garden, it probably seemed natural to dig there....

Give me some info and I'll see what I can come up with. In the meantime, there have been some extended and thorough "How to keep my dog from destroying my garden" threads here in the past (since June 2008, based on my own memory), so use a Search to find them. I'll look later (dinner was just announced), too.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Thanks, Cynthia! She was a rescue so we don't know what she is but we *think* based on her traits that she is part schipperke. She is small, slightly bigger than a Jack Russell but with the same kind of energy. I think in the face she looks like a rat terrier. She has short-ish soft (not wiry) black fur and she has a long tail but it's curly. She and her "sister" (a stray that we believe to be a black and tan coonhound/Rhodesian ridgeback mix) have free roam of our fenced in yard. We know the schipperke is a digger as well as a paper-destroyer. She's quite naughty which is why we think she was put in the shelter. But....we love her. We don't know how old she is...she is young though. Maybe 2 or 3 at the most. We've had her just under a year now.
My husband is actually a military working dog trainer with nearly 20 years of experience. Both dogs are truly good dogs...but you can't combat genetics in all cases. He has done wonders w/ the coonhound but the schipperke is harder to train. Like....I can't get the schipperke to walk on a leash to save my life and she fights my husband hard. The coonhound is a total (80lb) doll that walks like a champ.
I'll try to get some pics up.
I tell my husband I'm going to build them a doggie obstacle course to keep them busy.

[cynthia_h]

I'll just start a list and add to it as I find stuff.

[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28766]This thread[/url] is a general discussion (from summer 2010) about the pets of various THG members and the dietary needs of dogs/cats.

[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20812]Discussions about breed behavior[/url], and some mentions of a popular TV trainer whom I personally have no use for. Spring/Summer 2010.

[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28165]Preventing[/url] dog destruction in garden. Summer 2010.

[Wannabeegreen]

Apparently if you mix pineapple with dog poop and mix it through where your dog is digging the smell is a dog ( and possible human!) repellent, maybe it would also serve as fertilizer?!
Source of this info was a dog training website...

[Allegre Nee]

Apparently if you mix pineapple with dog poop and mix it through where your dog is digging the smell is a dog ( and possible human!) repellent, maybe it would also serve as fertilizer?!
Source of this info was a dog training website...

Lol, ew!! Unfortunately...no can do on that one, I don't want dog poop in my raised beds. I have never heard that before???

[Wannabeegreen]

Haha yeah I know it sounds gross but I did some diggin ( haha) and came across it and thought...how do people discover this stuff?!
I found it on a google search for stop dogs digging !