digging dogs

23 years ago

how do you stop a dog in the vege patch who has no regard for the personal space of plants..lying on top of them and idgging holes?

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Comments (6)

raineforest
23 years ago
The property that we just purchased has a well established vegie patch WITH ELECTRIC FENCE to stop the dogs entering the garden. A bit extreme, but apparently it worked. Eventually the old owners did not turn it (the fence) on at all. Our dog on the other hand just does not enter the area, and we have removed the fence altogether.
teddyJ
23 years ago
I would strongly recommend a bit of 'obedience training'. Failing that, the advice given by raineforest makes good sense to me. An electric bump or two should teach the dog that the garden is an unpleasant place to visit. ATB teddy,J
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Watch using anything alfalfa if you live anywhere near the "wilds". Every rodent within miles will travel to your garden for alfalfa! Many dogs will eat it, too. Organics are great, but animals eat organics, period. Trying to put down the animal urines to repel the unwanted vermin can easily cause a "peeing contest" between what you apply and your dogs. Been there, too. I've had to eliminate anything attracting rabbits, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, skunks, squirrels and all the dogs from garden use. The omnivorous dog inside leaves the Garden Safe snail stuff alone. She'll eat citrus peel, paper towels, gum wrappers, and being a retired brood breeder, any poop she can find, but the iron phosphate she ignores. Her stable mate, who won't eat anything, LOVES the iron phosphate. Go figure.
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Digging Dogs...
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Comments (19)
Well, this may or may not get read, but here is what my husband and I came up with . . . First, I don't like dogs. I grew up around them all my life and have a few that I really loved, but on the whole I'm happier with my two cats. Our dog is my step-daughter's dog so the dog stays until she graduates from high school and moves out. Anyway, I think this dog knows that I don't like her because she never digs in our garden until after I have planted something. She also waits to dig up my plants at night when everyone has gone to bed or gone out for the evening. The final straw was last night when I came home from church to find she had dug up and ate half of the new bulbs I had just planted. To thwart her plans we invented a doggie gate that can either lay down on top of a bulb bed until the flowers pop up in spring (whereby you'd take it off) or stand up and surround the plants. We'll be making the frame roughly the size of a window frame with chicken wire where the glass would be. Does this make sense? The two frames will be hinged together to surround new plantings, but also allowing it to lay flat over a bulb bed. When we make them I'll show pictures. My brother used to make barriers like this around our chicken coop to prevent coyotes and foxes from getting in. Heather
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Amelie
23 years ago
Have a look in the native plants forum under the heading 'dogs and the native garden' - you might get some ideas.
Aren't dogs great?!
Bryan_FGS
23 years ago
Dont waste your money on products like scat or similar(animal repelant crystals) They didnt work for me.I tried them all.
sterculias
23 years ago
The output from an electric fence won't hurt the dog and they usually learn which wire bites within one or two hits and the lesson usually lasts at least 6 months. When the dog again shows interest in the garden sowing the dog the spark jumping will jog its memory to leave well enough alone.

I tie pieces of electric fence tape onto the sprinkler heads to stop them from chewing them, works every time even though they are not energised.

If you live in suburbia elecric fences may be illegal unless it is completely self contained within your boundary fence and it is impossible for other people to come in contact.

NEVER connect the energiser to your waterpipes or earthing system. They MUST have their own earth.
NEVER connect the energiser to barbed wire or sharp mesh.

Doug.
clareanon
23 years ago
Sounds familiar !!
We tried everything and then somewhere or other I read about burying the dogs faeces in a hole that they have dug,they will not dig there again.We tried it and it worked.Actually I buried some near my tomato patch and we have had kgs of tomatoes ever since !!!
Clare

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digging dogs

Comments (6)

raineforest

teddyJ

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Amelie

Bryan_FGS

sterculias

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