GARDENING WITH YOUR DOG  For the dog’s safety and for your plant’s survival, put fencing up around your garden. There are too many hazardous plants and puppies, in particular are indiscriminate about what they test with their teeth. I use temporary fencing around many of my plants and use sticks of bamboo around some of the more fragile seedlings until they get to a good size to stand up to small dogs puttering in the garden. 

 

 

Problem plants and flowers: If consumed, many garden plants can be poison to your dog, including autumn crocus, azaleas, bird-of-paradise, buttercup, Christmas rose, daffodil, day lily, iris, oleander, foxglove, morning glory, mountain mahogany, lily of the valley, rhododendron, and periwinkle.

Vegetable-patch perils: Onions, chives, and garlic, which pets find quite tasty, contain compounds that can cause Heinz body anaemia. If your pet ingests large amounts of any of these - get to the vet as quickly as possible. The leafy green parts of potato plants also can be toxic.

Frightening fruits: The seeds or pits in apples, plums, cherries, peaches, and apricots contain cyanide, which can cause seizures.

Chemical concerns: A 3- to 4-foot wire-mesh fence should keep your pooch from munching on your garden favourites. But if you think there's even a slight chance that your pup could jump over or dig under the fence, treat your plants, flowers, vegetables, and vines with products that are pet-safe. All-natural fertilizers and organic weed killers are available at many nurseries. And along with keeping your best friend out of harm's way, you'll be protecting the environment.

Fertilizer: Even organic fertilizer can make your dog sick. They can be attracted to it. I gave my container tomatoes and beans a shot of pure organic, non chemical fertilizer. The next time I let the dogs out all of them skidded to stop and started sniffing the pots and trying to climb into them to get at the fertilizer. I read the ingredients but could not identify whether it had blood or bone meal so am not sure what the attraction was. 

Irrigation systems: It is a natural trait for dogs to dig, particularly in the summer. They want to dig down to find the cooling earth to lie in. Some dogs will dig for water. I had a beagle stay over who insisted on trying to dig up our underground sprinkler system. So be wary. It could cost you a lot in repairs.

Shade: Plant trees or large bushes that the dogs can shelter under from the warm summer sun or erect man made shelters, arbours covered with climbers.

Let your dog spend time with you as you garden, teaching him where he is allowed to walk and play and what areas are off-limits. I allowed my dogs to help with the design.  I studied their strolling pattern and put in pathways and stepping stones so they could keep their routes without frustrating me by walking on my plants.  I even built a tunnel through a manmade berm for Lily.

My garden regime includes weeding, throw the frisbee for Lily, weed some more, throw the ball for Lucky, weed some more, throw the bone for Benji and so on. Usually after a while they are all content to find a shady spot and just lie down observing my work. If I could just teach them to weed!