How to build the perfect backyard for your dogs.

(I’m conscious that many recent posts have been more of me republishing stuff than being creative on my own account. Blame it on ‘the book’: my first edit is now complete and the next stage is sending the manuscript out to those who have volunteered to proof-read the book.)

I saw this article on Mother Nature Network and it struck me immediately as being full of common-sense and well worth sharing with you.

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How to build the perfect backyard for dogs

Learn which plants are hardy, which are poisonous, and how to create a beautiful but functional layout.

By: Jaymi Heimbuch
July 14, 2015

A dog and a healthy, beautiful backyard don’t often go hand in hand. The amount of wear and tear a dog throws at a garden can leave it in tatters. But it doesn’t have to be this way! With a bit of planning and a careful selection of plants able to hold up to whatever dogs spray at them, your backyard can be both a haven for humans and a paradise for your pups.

Here are helpful strategies for planning out a yard and a list of plants to use or to avoid.

7 tips for dog-friendly garden design

Build raised beds for the more sensitive plants or for any fruits and vegetables you may want to grow. Add in some fencing or netting around the boxes to protect them if your dog is still tempted to hop up and snoop around in them.

Build a dog-friendly path around the yard. This will guide your dog through the garden and minimize the detours into the flowerbeds. You may want to start by watching where your dog goes on his own, and creating the path along that route. That way you aren’t trying to train your dog to go somewhere he doesn’t normally want to go, and you aren’t frustrated when your dog goes where he wants to anyway.

Discourage digging through design. If your dog sometimes digs holes, you can help keep your garden beds safe by making them raised beds. However, if your dog is a relentless digger and no part of the yard is safe, then consider building an area where your dog can do anything he’d like within that space, including dig. This could be a fenced area that has a sand box, where the outlet of digging is welcomed.

Create a designated area for bathroom breaks. This will of course require training your dog to use it, but the time and effort spent in training will counter any time and money spent in replacing dead plants.

Provide places to sun. Many dogs love to sunbathe and might pick the sunniest spot in the middle of your favorite bed of flowers. Avoid a dog selecting his own area by providing one for him instead. A small deck, or a few paving stones in a pretty design, or even an area with bark chips will be a welcoming place for your dog to lie down, out of the way of the plants.

Create shaded areas to keep your pet comfortable. Yards are the perfect place to hang out in the sun, but on hot days it can feel pretty miserable without relief with a little shade. Plant trees or tall shrubs where your dog can enjoy a cool break from playing in the sun.

If you have a water feature, make sure the water is drinkable and free of chemicals.

Safe and hardy plants for dogs

After figuring out a few design elements to make your yard a place where both dogs and humans can feel comfortable, it’s time to review your plant selection. There are a fair number of plants that are resistant to dog urine. By placing these plants in the areas your dog frequents, you can reduce how much replanting you need to do as well as keep your yard looking fresh and healthy.

Luckily, the herbs you likely want to have in your kitchen garden are also healthy for dogs. If you like cooking with these savory staples, you’ll be happy to know they’re more than welcome in your dog-friendly garden! The five best options include:

• Basil — antioxidant, antiviral and antimicrobial properties
• Oregano — helps digestive problems including diarrhea and gas
• Parsley — a source of flavonoids, antioxidants and vitamins
• Peppermint — soothes upset stomachs, reduces gas and nausea, and helps with travel sickness
• Rosemary — high in iron, calcium and Vitamin B6

Groundcovers are a great alternative to a grassy lawn. Many varieties can withstand abuse from dogs better than any grasses. Great options include:

• 
Carpet bugle
• Elfin thyme
• Kinnikinick
• 
Miniature stonecrop
• Silver carpet
• Snow in summer
• Winter creeper

Another staple for a dog-friendly yard are urine-resistant plants. Here are a few suggestions:

• Bears breech
• Burkwood osmanthus
• Doublefile viburnum
• Feather reed grass
• Holly fern
• Japanese spindle tree
• Mexican sage
• New Zealand flax
• Redtwig dogwood
• Snowball viburnum
• Spider plants
• Sword fern

Plants poisonous to dogs

Even if they look pretty, there are quite a few plants you should avoid having in your yard because ingesting them can mean illness or death for your pet. It doesn’t mean you can’t have these plants around; it just means you’ll want to plant them in areas your dog can’t access, such as fenced-off portions of the yard or in hanging baskets out of reach. University of California, Davis put together a list of the 12 plants that cause the most visits to their vet hospital. They include:

• Aloe vera
• All species of amaryllis
• Anemone
• Asparagus fern
• Chrysanthemums
• Cycads (including Sago palm and cardboard palm)
• Cyclamen
• Daffodil
• Jade plants
• Lilies
• Lily of the valley
• Philodendrons

The ASPCA provides a full list of plants toxic to dogs. Reviewing this list before planting will help prevent trips to the vet in the future.

 

 

Other things your dog could, but shouldn’t eat

Which mulch you select could be important to your dog’s health. Cocoa mulch, made of cocoa bean shells, is a by-product of chocolate production and can be toxic. Most dogs aren’t going to eat mulch and if they do, they probably wouldn’t eat enough to cause a problem. However, if you have a dog that seems to dine on anything and everything, you may want to consider using something like shredded pine instead.

Much like eating mulch, ingesting large amounts of fertilizer can be unhealthy or even life-threatening for your pet. Be sure to use all-natural fertilizers, follow the directions and make sure that your pet isn’t allowed into the fertilized area within the suggested waiting period after application.

Compost piles are a great addition to any garden but depending on what you’re tossing in them, they can also pose problems for pets. Coffee grinds, moldy food and certain types of fruit and vegetables are toxic to dogs. In addition, fungal toxins can grow within the compost piles that can cause problems for your pet’s health and overall immunity if consumed. It’s a good idea to keep your compost in a bin that is off limits to your dog.

It is also a smart idea to ditch the chemical herbicides and pesticides. Not only are they terrible for the environment but they can also have disastrous effects on pets, including causing cancer.

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This is so brimful of good advice that it deserves to be shared as widely as possible.