Barb,
I use the little wire fencing that are in arch sections. I can't remember what their called. I have a big dog & he knows not to cross over the fence it's only about 1 to 1 1/2 ft tall. If I don't have the fence around other plants he thinks they're free reign.
Hope this helps you.
Debbie

Barb, I have a constant battle with my dogs over them versus the backyard. I resorted to fencing too. My dogs wouldn't respect a short fence, so I had to use the full four feet height. One of my dogs loves to dig up grass sod even, like a hog, when the soil is nice and moist in the fall.

Its a constant battle.

Good luck with your's.

Richard

I bought some fencing from Homedepot. It is about 30 inches tall. I used t-posts and posts cut from rebar and tied the fence to the post with electical ties. It is just enough for them to be aware it is there. Since the fence doesn't have to last forever you could also cut branches from small trees or large shurbs. It doesn't have to withstand a tornado.
When we took the fence down to enlarge the front garden they sat at the old fence line and would not cross over until we showed them it was ok. This is the only garden they are allowed to walk in. after a few times they started taking the path of least resistance and walk where we walk ...on the stepping stones.
You did not mention how big the dogs are. My sheltie is a big sheltie, about 40 lbs. She has never tried to jump over the fence.

{{gwi:1348020}}

I don't know about the cost, but my neighbors have a lab and a beagle, and they did the invisible fence around the perimeter of their gardens, where they bury the "wire" and the dog wears a special collar that gives them a little shock if they cross the wire. There is a little training involved, but after a while they were able to take the collars off the dogs and they would respect that boundary. If they ever lost the respect, the collars would go back on for a while to re-train. Don't know how I feel about shocking the dogs, but just another alternative to consider. The dogs can also be merely trained not to get into the gardens, but that takes a bit of persistent training and patience (something I am short on) on the part of the owners. Best of luck. I have a little chihuahua, and as small as he is I still get mad at him when tromps thru the flowers.

Kathy, that is close to what I am using but cutting it down in half so I can cover the whole area that needs protection.
I also have the little better looking fencing but at 12 bucks a pop it would run me around 200 bucks. I just don't want to shell out a big chunk, I have other thing's I want to do.
One dog is medium size the other is large but so far the fence I do have up that is three feet high they can't just walk over it and they haven't jumped over it yet.
I'm hoping this will work.
Thank you all for your input. Barb

My stupid bassett hound decided to lay on my irises right before they bloomed. I was so po'd at her. She normally doesn't lay on my plants.

Several years ago we had a Siberian husky who would continually lay in one part of my garden. I think she thought it was a cool spot for her. I read somewhere that if you leave citrus rinds in the areas where you want to keep dogs out, they don't like the smell. So, everytime we ate an orange or other citrus fruit, I sprinkled the peels in the garden. She stayed out of the garden. It worked.

I had to resort to the electrical invisible fence. I have two dogs, a golden retriever and a pit bull mix. The Golden would occasionally lay in the cool dirt of the garden, but the pit bull mix would dig up every plant if I let her. I tried everything and could not train her to stay out of the beds. I lost many expensive plants that she dug up and decided the roots and stalks were chew toys. Believe it or not she even dug up a thorny rose, though she just dropped it next to the hole. I replanted it and she pulled it right back up and then chewed on the rootball.

I just put the fence in about 3 weeks ago. It cost me almost $250 (on Ebay), because I bought the advanced one which gives them a beeping, and then vibrating warning before shocking them. And I had to get two collars. Start saving your pennies, because it is worth it! Not one plant has been dug up since putting the fence in. I have added at least 20 new plants to replace others and she still stays away!

Denise, that's great info. Citrus fruit is refreshing and good for us, and WAY cheaper than fencing! I'm going to try it! The acid won't hurt the plants, will it?

I put a thorny citrus tree in one garden and they avoid it like the plague now.

Otherwise I have notice as they've gotten older and calmer they don't dig in the areas where the garden is, especially since it's in full sun. They do dig in the shady areas so I just relinquished those to the dogs, they are now the dogs beds to lay in when they are hot...and I get to have my full sun beds that they don't mess with.

I have a 60 pound digger, Houdini dog. We have always had to put an electric line around our yard, at the base of the privacy fence, to keep her from digging out. For a while I had 3 ft fencing around my beds, as well. Just like what natvtxn has. Then I bought the little foot high things, that are green and replaced just one section to test it. Turns out my dog thinks it will shock her, just like the perimeter fence. So, she still stays out. I've since replaced all the high, cumbersome fencing with the little green things.

What kind of wire fencing are you buying? We bought an entire roll for I think, 20 dollars. I guess we had about 60 or 70 linear feet. No way it cost us 200. The less obtrusive arched foot high fencing is 4.50 per package. I think that is about 10 or 12 linear feet.

And, we also let her have her "hole". It is a spot under a cedar tree where she loves to dig. I think as long as she has that, she is not so tempted to dig up everything else.

I used about 36" fencing, on T posts, around the bed the dogs refused to leave alone. (Next to the gate.) Not pretty, but effective. I think I can switch to a lower border fence, now that they have adapted to staying out of that bed, but haven't gotten aorund to trying it yet.

Dogs are very much creatures of habit, so once they get used to an idea, they will tend to follow it forever.

Several years ago, I had 2 large dogs (60#) who loved to play chase through our newly landscaped beds. I put up a short fence (maybe 2') thinking that would be enough to save my new plants from being trampled. WRONG! They then thought it was a new agility course and delighted in running and jumping the fences. LOL!!!

Now, in my new landscaped beds, I've spaced the plants to allow for one of my dogs to run through certain areas that were her favorites prior to planting...and she seems to realize that those areas are OK for her to go through.

My verbena do get stepped on from time to time, but they recover well. One large dog ball flung into the air by my frisky dog landed and managed to break one of my Blackfoot Daisy's stem near the ground - half the plant survived, half didn't. Then, my other large dog decided to munch on my newly sprouted lantana. I shagged him out but he didn't look all that penitent.....

Luckily, I don't have diggers. One of those fence-jumping dogs was a digger in her younger days. Nothing, but nothing could prevent her from digging. Finally realized I "just" needed to tucker her out a bit more. A tired pup is a good pup!

I didn't notice any damage to any of the plants from the citrus. The only thing is I had to replenish occasionally as they decomposed. Aw, darn. . . I had to eat another orange!

I once bought a rose when we had the husky. It was getting dark when we got home, so I set it on the back patio. I came out the next day to see nothing but an empty nursery pot. The dog ate the rose - thorns and all! I couldn't believe it! She had a really good time with that rose. She survived, but I didn't get another rose for planting at that house. I guess it all passed through her system without incident. Nothing like the thought of a dog pooping out thorns - ouch!

When I used to work, my boss told me she couldn't plant pansies with her dog outside. She said the dog would watch her plant them, then when she turned her back, grab each plant and pull it out of the ground and leave them laying there. She had to put the dog inside with the drapes/blinds covering the windows so the dog wouldn't see her planting. If she got her flowers into the ground without the dog seeing her work, the dog left them alone. I thought that was the craziest thing I ever heard!

Ouch is right, lol

Barb, would your babies try to go over a low fence? If not I see them at the dollar store even but they are 2-4 at Walmart
My oldest dog Tweed would not step across a stick or rope to go in a bed but he's the pee boy, lol
Maisy runs through the beds unless I have the arched wire fences

Denisew, that is to funny about bosses dog. I've heard of such a thing and read that they think your having fun digging and want to join in.

OMG, I can't believe a dog would eat a rose bush, guess there are something a dog will get into chew no matter what.

I went to HD and got the rest of the tall loop fencing to finish what I started and will use the other fencing for the rest.

I have the shorter fencing about a foot tall around the beds that are along the back of the house but have found two areas in the bed that the larger dog likes to get in and dig a little. I will try the orange peels there.
They have the grass under the tree a mess but we can't keep them out or off of everything.
I have a dog run but with the rain it gets to messy and they would be wet and muddy. They don't know what a dog house is for, they think our house is their house and they are right LOL.
The dog area doesn't get enough sun in part of it so it takes days to dry out in the spring then in the summer the part that gets sun all day dries out and we have large cracks.

Denise, LOL at the rose-eating dog! Ouch! I've found that my Golden Retriever pup likes to dig up what I've just planted, too. Maybe he thinks, "Hey, SHE dug here, so this must be the diggin' spot." In each spot where I'd pulled weeds out of the lawn with a garden spade, he dug holes. I've tried to catch him in the act, so I can scold him while he's actually doing it, but he ALWAYS waits till I'm inside. He leaves all my established plants alone. I've just put a bunch of new plants in the ground, so now he's only allowed out there when I'm with him, and no inappropriate digging or plant-tromping has taken place. Let's hope that continues!

Natvtxn, what is that hanging in the foreground of your photo? Wisteria? It's beautiful!

by trying to eat the plants in them. So I got big, big containers and put several in each . . . she still ate the leaves off of the FIG TREE. Yes, sandpapery leaves off of an LSU Gold fig.
She eats anything. Right now she is coming back from the vet having had something she devour removed from her innards. She does not learn, no, she does not learn.
Nor do my sister and her husband, they got two more of the breed. Aaaaagh!

Bo, it is TX native wisteria. It is one skinny branch, with multiple blooms, hanging down from the weight. It is not one bloom.

I thought so. I've just never seen one branch so FULL of blooms. What's the secret?

I'm glad to hear everyone's advice as our newly adopted bloodhound has been trampling my Belinda's Dream rose while chasing our neighbor's chihuaua up and down the fenceline!

Sandradee's comment scared me a bit though. Lantana is very toxic and can kill your dog. We research every plant that we put in the yard to make sure that it won't hurt our dogs. I'd highly recommend doing the same if you have pets since I'd be way more heartbroken over the loss of my dog than the loss of any plant.

I hope this does not sound too idealistic/simplistic, but taking your dog for a LONG (1+ miles) walk everyday will really help their crazy energy level. If you can't do long walks and you have a big dog - you can give them a back pack and have them carry your bottled water, poop bags etc.. to add weight. Not only does walking excersize their bodies, it also helps release pent up anxiety. It might not be the sole solution, but a tired dog will be a ton less likely to tromp your gardens in a wild run. When I let our dogs go without their walkies, my garden usually suffers (think flying mulch with attached pieces of dianthus, sedum and broken branches of chinese fringe flower).

I use that short arched green wire fencing around my beds. I get it at WalMart or Dollar General; pretty cheap stuff.

My dog gets excited chasing squirrels and runs right through just about anything - never even notices as she crushes the life out of it. She's a pointer mix and weighs about 65 lbs. For some reason she won't jump over that short fencing although she could very easily.

I like it because it is easy to put in and easy to move if you need to. I was always concerned that it would look tacky but it's not as obvious as the taller fencing and seems to blend right into the plantings.

Hi folks,

Fortunately, I do not have (any longer) alot of the problems mentioned here, but my 6 year old Lab/Chow mix does like to pee on ANYTHING green. While I would like to plant SOMETHING in my new backyard, it really is HIS turf(deservingly so) and I am okay with that, so I do not sweat it too much. I have a very large covered patio that I can place numerous hanging baskets or standing urns,so that is My turf !!! However, if I did decide to plant in the yard (which would be nice)I am not willing to do the electric fence thing(my dog has become an absolute angel, he's my best friend and I couldn't bear the thought of him getting zapped) and I do not want to put up boarder fencing, so I was very fascinated to read about the citrus peels. Hmmmmmm....could it really be ???? I am dying to try !!! Specifically, I want to address "cseim" and find out where she got the info about plant toxicity. Just goes to show how much we can learn from one another. Not that I intended on putting it in the back, but as of today, that was one of the plants I had chosen for the front yard, which my dog does spend a little time. I didn't even consider checking toxicity on outdoor plants !!!! Thanks for the heads up !!! With his backyard "free roaming", any advice on curbing my dog's "watering" of all of my greenery ??? Also, pet friendly chemicals.

We have 4 dogs, but rarely have problems with them trampling plants in our flowerbeds. We simply somehow trained them to avoid anything with border material (stones, wood, etc). This can be achieved by disciplining the dogs every time they step into a flowerbed by smacking them lightly on the head with a newspaper, or magazine. They eventually are conditioned to avoid anything that is surrounded by border material. Of course, there are a few breaches now and then, but none of the major digging/eating/crushing problems we have had in the past.

My medium size dog loves running after squirrels and rabbits this is the only time I have trouble with her. The rest of the time it's just from them walking around the yard and going through the gardens.
The large dog pees on a lot of thing, I have put a chair in front of my yellow bells cause he was killing it, it is now recovering.
Our large dog was my uncles that is 8 years old and when I brought him home and tried to train him from not peeing on the plants and poor thing was so confused as to why he couldn't go pee, so I just let him be cause he was getting over the loss of his best friend and I didn't want to stress him out anymore than he already was. I did let him have one yupon holly and the back half is dead.
My uncle had a fire hydrant and I have been wanting to get it over to the house I just don't have a way to get it over here, the dog was use to using it and I think it would be a big help but I don't want DH to hurt himself trying to get it in the truck and then back off the truck just for the dog to go potty on.

Wow, cseim...lantana's toxic to dogs??? I thought I was pretty aware of toxic plants and had taken great care to NOT plant one in the backyard, but that's one I hadn't heard of. Thanks for the heads up...

There are several sources on the web of toxic plants. Here is one source that's pretty good. Otherwise I just use Google and look up each plant name along with the word 'toxic' and 'dog' to see what I come up with. Some plants just cause digestive upset, but some common plants can be lethal to your pets, so be careful what you plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Poisonous Plants