Dogs Dig Gardens—How to Plan a Pet-Friendly Veggie Patch

Hi, friends! Max here! You know, flower and vegetable-garden season is upon us, and I’d be willing to bet there are multitudes of loving dog owners who plant backyard beds, only to discover their dogs are garden-fresh food lovers, too.

Not that we precious pups are alone in our passion for home-grown peas, potatoes and petunias—rabbits, deer and other critters will also invite themselves to dinner at your expense. A fenced yard can help keep the feral feeders to a minimum, but what about us four-legged fur kids?

No matter how many dog treats you give us, we’re still going to be tempted by the rows of delightful choices (veggies, flowers and shrubs) you nurture diligently over the summer months. (My exception is lima beans. You can plant acres of them, and you won’t have to worry about me eating even one. They’re all yours.) For us, it’s like a trip to the grocery store. At the risk of disappointing all my buds (no pun intended) out there, I thought I’d give you some help, especially because my buds and I might ingest something we shouldn’t (like lima beans,) so it’s important to all of us. We learned these great tips for designing a dog-friendly garden from Judi Gerber at Care2.com, a blog that’s all about green living. Here they are…

• When planning your garden, create some dog-friendly elements so that your garden isn’t a more attractive place than his or her own area. Include designated paths that your pooch knows where it’s okay to roam.
• Usually a dog uses the same path over and over. (You should see the trails I’ve mapped out in Mom and Dad’s backyard!) Use pavers or some other kind of hardscape to clearly delineate the paths, Don’t use  something loose, like gravel, mulch or bark—that’s an open invitation to dig and bury things.
• Eliminate any bare dirt areas with some pet-friendly plants, grasses and ground cover to deter not only your dog, but bothersome weeds, too.
• Design a separate spot for your dog to dig and play in. If you consistently play with your pooch in that area and leave some favorite toys in there, he or she will come to recognize it as his/her “turf.”
• Create raised beds and fencing. Looks nice. Dogs stay out.
• If you don’t have room to fence off a separate area, use tomato cages around tomatoes and other small, tender plants. Trellises and tepees will keep dogs off the plants, and so will growing the plants close together, because it’s easier for dogs to go around clumps of plants.
• Playful, unstoppable pup? Put your most delicate plants in containers, hanging baskets or window boxes.
• Most important—avoid planting things in your garden that are toxic or harmful to your furry babies. Check aspca.org/toxicplants for a complete list.
• Consider your dog before growing  spiny or thorny plants, which can grow at a level that can cause serious eye injuries to dogs. And take care of those overgrown weeds with foxtails or seedhead that are sharp—bad news if your dog swallows or inhales them.
• If you must, ALWAYS USE NON-TOXIC fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides.

Thanks to Judi and YOU for protecting us pups from our own curiosity. On behalf of my buds and me, Way to Grow!