For the past week I've been cleaning up my yard in preperation for transforming this dull, lifeless, property (although one with potential) into a lush, green (organic) garden. We have a 100 lb. rottweiler, which, if it were left up to me I'd just as soon be rid of, but I must live with this beast and so must my garden, I suppose.
I am curious to hear of some suggestions -- traditional, creative, fun, ANY suggestions -- on keeping this moose from trampling, digging, eating, breathing, and hiking his leg on my garden.
Set some posts and put up a fence -- 30 or 36 inch high chicken wire works for me. Dog won't try to get in since there won't be anything in the garden that he wants bad enough to break in. Sundown
I should've mentioned that, for the most part, fencing is out of the question. I already have a picket-fenced-in area for part of the garden that won't be a problem, but other areas are not very "fence friendly" for several reasons.
So, any idea other than fences. Thanks anyways, though!
Nathan, First and foremost, be prepared to spend more than a season or two developing a beautiful garden that also accomodates a dog. I don't know that it makes a huge difference whether the dog is big or small. In either case, you have to create your gardens aroung the habits and needs of your dog.
It took us about 4-5 years to get it right. I would say that raised beds are a beginning. We have built raised beds out of timber and stone, and they are positioned so that the dogs have a variety of paths in between to run and play. For interest, we used the different materials and they are all different shapes. Then we use a cedar mulch in between the beds for the pathways that the dogs can run in. We have a small patch of grass, about 15 x 10, under a shady tree that the dogs can lay on to stay cool in the summer. If they don't have a place to lay and remain cool, they dig into the cool dirt. We also put pea gravel on a strip along the fence, which is hidden by shrubs and landscaping, and they typically use this for doing their 'business'. We never trained them that way, but they seem to understand that this is the correct place to poop.
We also have a small pond (round, 6'diameter), and around it is ground covers and herbs and small shrubs and flowers. We have put rocks throughout (beautiful rocks that we collected here and there)as part of the garden, and that seems to prohibit the dogs from laying in it.
In the winter, when I have cleaned out the vegetable raised beds, I put chicken wire on top. The dogs don't like to lay on the wire, and it prevents them from digging in the soft dirt.
Most of all, you need to learn over time what the behavior of your dog is, and then build your garden in such a way as to allow him/her to enjoy the beautiful yard as well.
Hmmmm. I take it that stringing bare 110V. wiring would not be a politically correct "solution"....
You COULD make the dog's owner invest in a basic battery operated "hot fence" although that too is unsightly. Moreover, Roths are not the brightest breed so it would probably "fetch" the poles while looking around "surprised" at the low voltage shocks it is getting....
Cayenne pepper can be cruel, notably if the dog scratches it's eyes. Not recommended.
It's a matter of priorities. The single best way to train this mutt is to do the old "slap with a rolled up newspaper" when it gets near a "no-go" area while also providing a "go" area (preferably in the next county) where grass would be kept longer and where the dog would eventually do it's thing. Normally, an area where you would want to keep gardening debris, rocks, compost heap, etc.
