Tundraco's Daily Living Guide to Pets How to Discourage Your Dog from Tearing up Your Garden

Let's face it. Dogs like to dig and one of their favorite areas in which to pursue this passion is in the garden. If you think about it, gardens are wonderful doggie playgrounds.

• Manure if often used as fertilizer.
• The dog's other family members (i.e., humans) seem to like to play there to.
• Moles, mice and other fun things often live in a garden or stop by for a visit, such as rabbits.
• In addition, dirt is cool to lie in.

• If you were a dog, would you be able to keep from digging?

Another potential dog toy is the plantings themselves. Some smell good, and this may encourage the dogs to nibble. Your dog may also feel the necessity to mark its territory by scenting your plants. If this is done frequently enough, it can kill the plants. Your dog may also enjoy simply pulling your plants up.

Barriers - The simplest method may be to simply fence in your garden, so that the dog cannot get in.

• This can be an important safety measure for your family. A dog's excrement can contain worms and worm eggs which can migrate into the soil. As you work in the garden, you may get these eggs on you hands or under your fingernails. If you accidentally put the 'infected' finger in your mouth, you can become infected, if any of the eggs are ingested.
• As a side note, never use dog or cat manure as fertilizer.

If you don't want to fence in your garden areas, consider fencing in the dog. Providing a secure area in which the dog can dig to his hearts content, may be the best solution all around. He can do what he wants and you can have an unmolested garden.

Repellents – Many pet stores sell repellent sprays that you can put around your garden. Most dogs will find this scent offensive and stay away.

• If your dog likes to eat your garden, you can make a home made repellent that has an icky taste. My favorite recipe requires one bottle of Tabasco sauce, half a dozen eggs, a 2-liter plastic soda bottle, and some water. Mix the eggs and Tabasco together in the bottle and fill it to within an inch of the top with water. Seal and let sit for two weeks. Do not open the bottle indoors! After the mixture has aged, sprinkle it on the plants that the dog has been bothering. After his next nibble he should leave the plants alone – assuming that he even gets close enough to nibble – this stuff STINKS!!
• This repellent also has the added bonus of also being a deer repellent.

Shock therapy – Consider putting an electric fence around your garden. One strand of wire, strung at dog level, should do the trick. Once your dog gets shocked a couple of times, he will associate the pain with the wire, and stay away from it – long after the current has been turned off.

• Electric fences are not legal in all localities.

• If you have small children, be sure to keep them away from the fence. A low voltage electric fence, if properly installed, will not give them much of a physical shock – but it will still hurt.

• Be sure to put flags on the wire, or otherwise mark it so that no one accidentally trips over it.

• Invisible fences work on a similar methodology. However with these fences, a wire is buried under ground and the dog wears a receiver that shocks them when they cross the line.

Make digging harder – Try keeping your dog's nails cut short. It will not stop a do from digging, but it will help slow him down.

• Another preventive measure is to place chicken wire under your mulch. Just make sure that it is weighted down with rocks or is well anchored. Otherwise, the dog may simply pull it up.

Constant Vigilance – If your dog's destructive tendencies are not controllable by other measures, don't allow him outside unsupervised.

• In many cases, a dog simply digs because he is bored. Go outside with him and play with him. It will be good exercise for you and it will keep him occupied, preventing him from doing any damage.