Gardens And Dogs: Can Canines Help With Gardening?
Dogs, man’s best friend. They’re the loyal friends we can always find being next to us in times of need. They share our joy, they ease our pain, and they do our work with us. We just can’t ask for more.
A smart and loyal dog can be very useful. They can help us with almost everything. Yes, almost everything, not everything. One of the minorities includes gardening. That may sound strange, but to put it simply, gardens and dogs just aren’t meant for each other.
A dog’s instinct can make a garden into a mess. On the other hand, plants and gardening tools also pose many risks to the animal. However, it’s not like there’s nothing you can do, and the results will all depend on you. You can desperately keep your dog away from the garden, give up on either of them, or train the pet to help you do gardening tasks.
Train your dogs to deal with pests in your garden
We are all aware of that fact that our dogs love to dig holes and move things around. They also love hunting moles in the ground. At times when moles are most active, whether your dog catches the mole or not, there’s a huge possibility that they will leave you with a nightmare garden full of holes, some health issues and even disruption in mole removal.
Instead of keeping them away from our gardens, we can utilize their skills for gardening. To do this, you need to train them to help you in the garden. You have trained your dog to sit, stand up and other commands right? Well, this is just like that.
When you train them in such a way that they understand your commands like to dig a hole in a particular spot or stay in that spot then this will help you too. This way your dog can do the thing he loves so much, and you get help to the garden. So it is a win-win situation.
Make some time for obedience training and the good old game of fetch
You can’t train the garden, but you can train your dog. There are some tactics you can use to train your dog without messing up your garden. Obedience training means teaching your dog to stay in a specific spot. Train your puppy to lie down at the specific spot in your garden every time you work in your garden.
As you have taught him to go to his bed or his crate within the house, you can teach him to stay at a spot in the garden space. In case you have a large-size lawn, your dog can move with you but make sure that he is always in your sight.
You should also spend some of your free time to play a game of fetch with your dog. This improves their cognitive abilities and helps them identify objects. This ability will allow them to help you in your garden. If they can recognize and understand the differences between gardening tools, they can fetch them for you. Everything is sorted.
Will constructing a fence help?
The answer to this question is yes. Constructing a fence will help as sometimes the best way our dogs can help us is by doing nothing. Keeping them out for a while when you garden is a good idea.
Dogs love mulch. If you’re planning to arrange your garden and have just ordered enough bags of mulch to restructure your yard, you definitely won’t want your dog to come and destroy them. You don’t need to build high or huge fences; just a small picket fence will do the job. You will be surprised on how a small meager will serve as a visual barrier for your dog.
Try to grow barrier plants
Even the most turbulently active dog doesn’t prefer to run across tall, fragment and thorny plants. You can have a way for you and your canine to walk across the garden but still can maintain long, lush green plants. By growing a green barrier of plants, you can make your dog less active and preserve your garden’s safety.
Keep dogs away from toxic plants
While we love to include our dog in all of our activities, you should be careful to what type of environment they are being exposed.
Have a thorough research on things such as:
- What things are dogs allergic to?
- Do they suffer from any skin condition?
If you have any plant in your garden which might be toxic for your dog, you should get rid of it right away as even if you try to keep him away, he will still find his way to the garden. If you use chemical fertilizers or pesticides for the plants, all the more reason for pets to stay away.
So it is established that gardens and dogs are not the perfect match… however, with the right training your dog can help you in your gardening and won’t always mess up. So instead of keeping them out, you should include him in your activities as much as you can. Socializing with your dog is never a bad idea as everyone just loves them. This is just one more reason why they are called man’s best friend.
Additional Resource: Lovebackyard.com
