Dog-Friendly Backyard Ideas?

[Newt]

Nharrison,
What a great idea! Do keep us posted!

Newt

[mattyj]

Hi! We recently moved into a new home and have been dealing with some of the same dog issues. For the lawn burns we ordered treats from Drs. Foster and Smith (www.drsfostersmith.com) called Lawn Guard. It has brewer's yeast (which someone else suggested in a previous post). We also bought a grass repair kit from our local nursery for $7. It had grass seed, fertilizer and instructions.

My dog was eating some of our bushes and I found out by accident how to stop her. We live in an area with a lot of deer and I was searching for something to keep them out of my garden. I bought Liquid Fence. It keeps my dog away too. One warning with this stuff - it stinks horribly while you are spraying it. I was gagging. But once it dries you can't smell it anymore, but animals can. It's made of natural ingredients - egg solids, garlic, etc - so it's safe for animals.

I also disgreee with gravel. When your dog gets a random burst of energy and tears around the gravel ends up everywhere.

[jim99rock]

You can discourage dog damage if you spray vinegar around the areas. It tends to act as a marking from you the alpha dog to stay away from your territory. This with some timely discipline should work. I have an open vegetable garden 20' X 10' and three dogs and this worked for me. Still no fence needed.