Dog-proofing your plants

[Jdiaz31089]

As you could gather from my profile picture, I love my dog Ruah. He's probably the single most destructive thing that could happen upon my garden though. I came home today and found that he had dug underneath his kennel just enough to get his head under and chew on a trunking Strelitzia. Other victims in my yard: encephalartos longifolius, Syagrus sancona, sabal yapa, THREE livistona chinensis, parajubaea toralyii, trunking chamaedoreas, and I'm sure I'm missing others. I've tried a hundred things to keep him away from spraying chilli water on specific plants to completely surrounding plants with sturdy wiring. Short of surrounding every single plant with wire, has anyone found the secret to success to gardening with dogs?

Edited March 2, 2017 by Jdiaz31089

[sgvcns]

I had similar problems with the dog here.

I bought a wireless dog fence from sureguard in Aust https://www.sureguard.com.au/shop/product/wireless-dog-electric-fence-solar-powered-1486

You place a boundary wire (can be twisted to allow access points) that has a pulse generator.

The dog wears a shock collar that beeps a warning if the dog gets too close to the wire.

If the dog doesn't stop then they get an electric shock.

Problem solved for my garden 

Steve

[Really full garden]

I see this problem from a different angle. Can you give your dog more stimulation? Dogs do not specifically target plants for abuse. This is a symptom of boredom.Try giving him cardboard boxes to destroy , hang a soccer ball from a tree ......

[DoomsDave]

Josue:

Nothing gives you love like a nice friendly doggy! I had one back in '86 and she was a German Shepherd named Iggy. She was wolfen enough to scare off intruders but she'd lick them skinless if they let her. Little kids loved her and she loved them right back.

And, she chewed. Everything. I got her as a year-old pup, and I was staggered at her appetite for chewing anything and everything she could get her powerful jaws around.

Steve's doggy gulag fence would have been a great thing to have, so long as what's being chewed is in a place that's physically off-limits.

If you handle things, your dog will want to do it too if he sees  you. My dog pulled out some newly planted rose bushes after I planted them. I made sure to confine her out of sight when I planted things after that. SO when you plant things, put your dog where he can't see you. Sounds crazy but plants that just appear aren't as likely to get chewed. Taste didn't seem to affect her desire to chew. She once drank some transmission fluid, metal chips and all.

Fortunately, most dogs don't chew nearly as much once they get past 2 -3 years old, though there are some that are exceptions. As Scott noted, bored dogs will chew, and lick themselves if they get bored enough.

Hope this helps, and let us know what works.

[Palm Tree Jim]

12 hours ago, scottgt said:

I see this problem from a different angle. Can you give your dog more stimulation? Dogs do not specifically target plants for abuse. This is a symptom of boredom.Try giving him cardboard boxes to destroy , hang a soccer ball from a tree ......

Good advice......I have two large dogs with lots of prey drive.

Activity and stimulation keeps any unwanted plant activity at bay.

However, every once in a while they will see a squirrel and jump up into a planter......anything small is in trouble.....they are over 100 pounds each.

[DoomsDave]

14 minutes ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Good advice......I have two large dogs with lots of prey drive.

Activity and stimulation keeps any unwanted plant activity at bay.

However, every once in a while they will see a squirrel and jump up into a planter......anything small is in trouble.....they are over 100 pounds each.

"Large"? Huge!

But Jim has a great garden anyway.

Jim has a great point. Better distractions! As Iggy got older, she began to focus on gopher killing. She was very effective, too. Wait, crunch-squeak! She wouldn't bother the plants at all, not even potted ones, which used to beg her to "shake me shake me!"

[Jdiaz31089]

Hmm, all good points. I think he can certainly use more outlets to burn off energy. He does have a "toy graveyard" though. He's got tons of chew toys, soccer balls (don't last more than a few minutes), branches (actually the remains of a decades-old camellia which he reduced to a stump)... and he has a companion (Loba) who is not in the least destructive. He's going on 2 years now so I'm really hoping this is just a phase. I think he does target plants though. For example, to get to this latest strelitzia, he dumped their 5-gallon water tub to get it out of the way, then dug to get under. I've tried growing vines on the wire fence of their kennel and every time I plant something, he digs beneath the fence, and pulls whatever I plant back underneath the fence to chew on it. 

Maybe I'll try giving him cardboard or other things he can safely tear to bits.

@DoomsDave hopefully he'll start focusing all that unbridled energy to reducing the squirrel population here  

[DoomsDave]

1 minute ago, Jdiaz31089 said:

Hmm, all good points. I think he can certainly use more outlets to burn off energy. He does have a "toy graveyard" though. He's got tons of chew toys, soccer balls (don't last more than a few minutes), branches (actually the remains of a decades-old camellia which he reduced to a stump)... and he has a companion (Loba) who is not in the least destructive. He's going on 2 years now so I'm really hoping this is just a phase. I think he does target plants though. For example, to get to this latest strelitzia, he dumped their 5-gallon water tub to get it out of the way, then dug to get under. I've tried growing vines on the wire fence of their kennel and every time I plant something, he digs beneath the fence, and pulls whatever I plant back underneath the fence to chew on it. 

Maybe I'll try giving him cardboard or other things he can safely tear to bits.

@DoomsDave hopefully he'll start focusing all that unbridled energy to reducing the squirrel population here  

Sounds like he still has a lot of puppy in him yet.

If my experience is any guide, you should see a radical change soon. All of  a sudden, he's no longer the complete slave to impulse that he was. The change was so sudden, I thought my dog had taken ill. Though she would indulge impulses, but only if I said it was okay. Like chasing a cat across a field of tall grass. Oh what fun! (Not for the cat, of course.)

I found that "segging" my dog to another place so she couldn't see me planting or pruning made a huge difference. She hated it (she cried) but got over it as soon as the work was done. If I planted a palm in the backyard, after keeping her confined to the front (fenced all round), she ignored the "newly appeared" palm completely when I let her back in.

A good doggie wants to do everything with you. I'd never had a dog before, and I was surprised at how attuned they can be about your moods, etc. 

[Palm Tree Jim]

1 hour ago, DoomsDave said:

"Large"? Huge!

But Jim has a great garden anyway.

Jim has a great point. Better distractions! As Iggy got older, she began to focus on gopher killing. She was very effective, too. Wait, crunch-squeak! She wouldn't bother the plants at all, not even potted ones, which used to beg her to "shake me shake me!"

Thanks DD!

[Palm Tree Jim]

36 minutes ago, Jdiaz31089 said:

Hmm, all good points. I think he can certainly use more outlets to burn off energy. He does have a "toy graveyard" though. He's got tons of chew toys, soccer balls (don't last more than a few minutes), branches (actually the remains of a decades-old camellia which he reduced to a stump)... and he has a companion (Loba) who is not in the least destructive. He's going on 2 years now so I'm really hoping this is just a phase. I think he does target plants though. For example, to get to this latest strelitzia, he dumped their 5-gallon water tub to get it out of the way, then dug to get under. I've tried growing vines on the wire fence of their kennel and every time I plant something, he digs beneath the fence, and pulls whatever I plant back underneath the fence to chew on it. 

Maybe I'll try giving him cardboard or other things he can safely tear to bits.

@DoomsDave hopefully he'll start focusing all that unbridled energy to reducing the squirrel population here  

Walking.....no other substitute for this.

[Jdiaz31089]

Just now, Palm Tree Jim said:

Walking.....no other substitute for this.

Yeah, we run them often. One of our dogs just seems to need more of it I guess. 

[Matt in OC]

Dang. Sounds like kids and palms are a breeze compared to dogs and palms!

[OverGrown]

I have two dedicated kennels (one on top of concrete and one large dog run on top of dirt/mulch) for my dogs and they never get full unsupervised access to the garden...I also chose the breed appropriate for my energy levels (low game/drive dogs) while maintaining their intended purpose as a watch dog and critter deterrent. 

[DoomsDave]

38 minutes ago, OverGrown said:

I have two dedicated kennels (one on top of concrete and one large dog run on top of dirt/mulch) for my dogs and they never get full unsupervised access to the garden...I also chose the breed appropriate for my energy levels (low game/drive dogs) while maintaining their intended purpose as a watch dog and critter deterrent. 

How a picture of your Garden Guard Doggies? They're cool-looking for sure! What breed are they?

[Monòver]

They are my childrens. Good dogs, they never touch plants, only small accidents playing in the garden.

see

[Jdiaz31089]

23 minutes ago, Monòver said:

They are my childrens. Good dogs, they never touch plants, only small accidents playing in the garden.

Ah a dog's life

These are mine - Ruah is the black husky up back. He's rambunctious, loud and unbridled. Funny thing is his name means "wind" so the name fits him well - can't be contained and is unpredictable and wild. Loba is calm and sweet. She's the grey husky who just loves to lay in the sun. She loves this native carex and festuca lawn - it's her favorite spot to roll around in. 

[LJG]

Great topic. We have had 3 German Shepherds. Just need to follow them around the garden and correct bad behavior as pups. Eventually they learn. Our young pup we have now in the pic below just ripped off a Dypsis onilahensis frond. He doesn't anymore thank goodness. I didn't see him do it but the evidence was overwhelming

Our issue now is with our Belgian Malanios. They call them "Maligators" for a reason. She can not be left unattended at all. Which is ashame. Tears out my bromeliads, eats seeds right off trees and plants, digs out small palms, etc. She is a wild azz animal.  

 

 

[Gonzer]

50 minutes ago, LJG said:

 

Our issue now is with our Belgian Malanios. They call them "Maligators" for a reason. She can not be left unattended at all. Which is ashame. Tears out my bromeliads, eats seeds right off trees and plants, digs out small palms, etc. She is a wild azz animal.  

 

Not to mention what they do to gang-bangers on 'Cops'.

Here's our Pyrenees, Woofie. laying in wait for stray kitty cats.

 

 

Edited March 2, 2017 by Gonzer
photo

[OverGrown]

Here is my setup which allows both the garden and my dogs to thrive.  Granted I have the space for it.  First up, is the 4ft by 8ft kennel on top of concrete.  I use this kennel for staging just before walking/feeding/bathing/training/etc.  Sometimes when a neighbor is visiting we use it to contain their dog while I give a house/garden tour.  It is over concrete to allow for easy cleanup and when I hose it down, the run off water goes to the archontopheonix just next to it, this is by design. 

This second dog run is setup on top of dirt/mulch and is used when I have to house the dogs for longer periods of time and I'm not able to take them out for walks/exercise.  If the dogs free roamed the backyard, I would put valuable plants at risk and the lawn would be destroyed from the urine and the feces would essentially render the lawn useless to my kids.  Both kennels are positioned in places that allow them sight lines to trespassers whether human or animal.  I no longer have racoons, squirrels, cats or field mice making their way onto my property. 

Here is the dog run in relation to the landscape, it is off in a corner, painted black and behind a grove of bamboo in an effort to minimize it's presence.

Also by design, it is barely visible off the views from my living room.

Same with the smaller kennel.. that ficus in a container is there for a reason. 

Dog ownership and maintenance is really about poop maintenance...nothing worse then trying to enjoy a garden while having to navigate through land mines and the stench of urine.  That kills the experience for me.  My setups allow me to stay on top of everything.

Edited March 3, 2017 by OverGrown

[Jdiaz31089]

Great visuals Peter. I do have them in a separate area. I keep my dogs on the north side of the house, their kennel is pretty large (probably 16'x35') so they basically have free range within the entire side yard. I really would like to utilize that area to plant more palms, since it's about a fourth of my plantable space, and has no overhead wires to worry about, but if Ruah doesn't grow out of this, I won't be able to plant anything there.

[Alicehunter2000]

Not to butt into your conversation....but are tortoises safe to keep in palm gardens without harm to either?

[OverGrown]

5 hours ago, Alicehunter2000 said:

Not to butt into your conversation....but are tortoises safe to keep in palm gardens without harm to either?

i kept my brother's sulcatta tortoise in my yard for about a month before it started to eat at or trample my smaller palms and cycads.  larger sized plants were ok

[grant b.]

Len,

It looks like our pups could be twins.  My 3 year old female is a German/Belgian mix.  You don't see the all black ones often and you have a good looking one.

I had problems with my dog digging holes when very young, but with training and supervision, you can correct the behavior.  It will take time and patience though.  depending on your breed, you may also need to spend more time exercising and engaging them mentally.  after all, dogs will be dogs

 

[Alan_Tampa]

Tortoises will eat almost anything green, or brown even. Mine have bitten chunks out of a kwai muk a few times. Some species dig, like spur thighs.  That's real trouble!

 

Tortoises can eat just about anything plantwise and not be harmed. Even a Bactris or pothos.

[LJG]

Grant, pretty girl. She looks just like our all black female I lost last year. She was 12. You are right about these dogs, they need work and exercise. Our Belgian we have now is tough. They say they are the smartest dumb dog you will ever own. I believe it. We trained the destruction out of all our German Shepherds, but this Belgian is something else. Like I said, wild dang animal. They are like part Husky, part German Shepherd. 

[grant b.]

haha, I hear you on the "smartest dumb dog" thing.  I kept thinking to myself, "I cant wait until she turns 1", and then "I cant wait until she turns 2", and after turning 3, I'm still wondering if she'll grow out of this puppy brain.  For as well behaved and trained she is, there are just some times when she can be an absolute spaz. 

Some breeds like Malinios, Huskies, Terriers, etc. require a ton of attention and engagement.  if anyone is worried about their plants being eaten/dug-up/trampled by dogs, choose your breed wisely.  Your lifestyle has to coincide with the energy level and requirements of your dog, otherwise they will do their own thing and you wont find it funny.

[topwater]

North American Pizza Hound.  100% palm safe, though she wiped a few deadly cycads. 

[topwater]

And Pizzas. 

[jfrye01@live.com]

My mastiff "loved" to destroy my palms, she pulled a trachy with 3' of trunk out of the ground, chewed a washy in half, dug up two Sabal minors, and chewed numerous fronds off both of my Sabal mexicana...after months of frustration, I finally found a solution: Havahart Critter Ridder...I bought it at Petco.  Spray your plants once every couple of weeks...the stuff works wonders.  Best of luck!

[Pip]

My Borzoi are sight hounds, plants are usually safe as long as they are large enough for them to see. They do like to run hot laps around the yard for a few intense minutes several times a day and then just laze around. Their favourite place is my big red lounge when not in their kennel/shed.

[Phoenikakias]

My mastiff had chewed off some leaves from my Ravenea glauca and some leaves from a Chamaerops (ouch!), always in order to create a resting place there under the rest of the canopy, because it is cool and shady and the particular spot offers an ideal outlook for its job as a watchdog.

[topwater]

A long time ago I had a young black lab that defoliated my entire back yard.  I'm not sure how practical it would be for you, but I mixed a ton of cayenne pepper into a tub of Vaseline and coated a few things with, like my TV cable that she ate twice.  Worked like a charm. 

[LJG]

20 minutes ago, topwater said:

A long time ago I had a young black lab that defoliated my entire back yard.  I'm not sure how practical it would be for you, but I mixed a ton of cayenne pepper into a tub of Vaseline and coated a few things with, like my TV cable that she ate twice.  Worked like a charm. 

Labs are crazy with what they will eat. I have a buddy that owns a lab and when he would leave it would be so passisve agreessive it would pee on his side of the bed. This dog also got on the counter once and ate his Rolex and his wedding ring that he took off to go lift at the gym. The Rolex the vet induced vomiting to get back. The weeding ring... let's just say some extra character. 

[Sabal Steve]

14 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

 

[Sabal Steve]

17 hours ago, jfrye01@live.com said:

My mastiff "loved" to destroy my palms, she pulled a trachy with 3' of trunk out of the ground, chewed a washy in half, dug up two Sabal minors, and chewed numerous fronds off both of my Sabal mexicana...after months of frustration, I finally found a solution: Havahart Critter Ridder...I bought it at Petco.  Spray your plants once every couple of weeks...the stuff works wonders.  Best of luck!

 

14 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

My mastiff had chewed off some leaves from my Ravenea glauca and some leaves from a Chamaerops (ouch!), always in order to create a resting place there under the rest of the canopy, because it is cool and shady and the particular spot offers an ideal outlook for its job as a watchdog.

Mastiff's are awesome dogs.  Here's Zeus, at about 6 years old.  He doesn't harm plants, except on a rare occasion.  But, I've forgot to put bones away, before leaving; He tries to bury them, so I find holes throughout the yard, and landscape lighting that has been ripped loose.  It's good that he's not often destructive though, as there's little that he couldn't destroy...  He's an great guard dog, but you wouldn't know it be looking at him.  He's amazingly perceptive.

I'd love to see a picture of yours (and anyone else's).

 

[Tropicgardener]

This is the 'Dog' problem I have........ I have Wallabies that come out of the scrub and rainforest to feed on the grass in my paddock. I have no problems with that but the 'Alpha' males try to show off to the females and lesser males by tearing into young trees. I have lost a number of palms (and other plants) this way. They don't eat them, they simply just tear them apart.

[topwater]

This is a novel situation, a third world problem in the first world.  

50 minutes ago, Tropicgardener said:

This is the 'Dog' problem I have........ I have Wallabies that come out of the scrub and rainforest to feed on the grass in my paddock. I have no problems with that but the 'Alpha' males try to show off to the females and lesser males by tearing into young trees. I have lost a number of palms (and other plants) this way. They don't eat them, they simply just tear them apart.

 

[Tropicgardener]

1 hour ago, topwater said:

This is a novel situation, a third world problem in the first world.  

 

Ironically the solution for this is a dog............ If I see Wallabies playing up in the paddock I drop my little mutt over the fence and he runs straight at them..... He is too small to cause them any grief but they do scatter when they see the little pocket rocket coming straight at them  

[JungleGina]

I have two mastiffs that fortunately don't bother anything in the ground. The brindle (English) is very helpful and will destroy anything he sees me cut, the bigger the better. I do give them approved things to chew like sugar cane and cardboard egg cartons.

[Sabal Steve]

Do they love to eat napkins and lettuce, and chew on your hands?  Do they run in tight circles, then drop to the floor?