If you have a dog and would like to keep a beautiful garden at the same time, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot achieve this. What is important is that both you and your canine friend can enjoy the benefits of a relaxing and lovely garden without stressing one another. You and your dog need space and a garden is a great place to interact, relax and socialize. For these reasons, it is vital to design a dog-safe garden that will keep your beloved pooch happy and secure. A key component in ensuring you have an animal-friendly garden is dog training for your pet’s cooperation, which is essential in creating a common garden that will benefit you both.
Designate a Pet Area and Train
Happy dog, Happy Owner.
Dog training is important to keep the garden in a good condition. Pets should learn where they can and cannot run. That place should also provide them relief such as shade and a source of water like a small fountain or pond. Train them to do their business in an authorized area. Letting them poop all over the garden is not sanitary and will cause diseases such as giardiasis.
While the garden is a place where your dog should run freely, there might be times when you need to keep Fido on a leash. For example, when applying fertilizer on the lawn, it is best to keep them away to avoid contact with organic residues. You can train your pet to stay still while on a leash in a defined space in the garden. Loose leash walking is also a skill they can learn or you can enroll them at a training school. It is beneficial for you both and makes walks pleasant whenever you go for long strolls along the beach, in the park or the woods if your pet learns to loose leash walk.
Secure Your Yard with a Good Fence
One of the first things to think about when creating a dog-friendly garden is perimeter fencing. A fenced garden makes it easy for you to let your pet roam freely and enjoy the outdoors. Note that some dogs can really jump high and will do it especially if they see something that attracts their attention on the other side of the fence. Check the stability of fences at regular intervals to make sure that your pet won’t be able to leave the premises which can become dangerous especially if you are living on a busy street or area. Of course, if your dog continues to jump the fence it is an indication of a behavior that needs correction and is best to take care of right away.
Jumping fences can be a sign of a behavior issue that needs correction.
Petscape Your Garden
It’s in your dog’s nature to dig and sniff. Unfortunately, there are flowers and plants that are highly toxic to them. This does not mean though that you can’t have blooms in your garden for there are many beautiful ones that won’t harm your pet such as impatiens, asters, marigolds, petunias, and pansies. If you want to plant flowers that you love such as amaryllises, tulips, and lilies that are highly poisonous to pets, do so in a fenced area of the garden, elevated beds, pots or in hanging planters. Go for hardy plants that won’t easily die when your pet tramples on them. Create pathways in the garden and around the perimeter of fences where your pets can move freely. Dogman Mark suggests planning jasmine. Not only is this shrub hearty and easy to maintain and grow, it is very fragrant. This is the ideal combination for a pet-waste area.
Keeping a good balance between your needs and that of your canine friend’s is important for a happy co-existence. By creating a dog-safe garden, you have an outdoor area that is not only welcoming but also a common place where you both can hang out, relax or simply chill.
Creating a pet waste area is a smart move.
