Hi All,

I usually lurk around here and this is my very first post. I have recently taken up container gardening in my rooftop (its a rented apartment) and I DO NOT have a green thumb. However after 3 months of trying, I now I have reasonably good looking plants that I have managed not to kill from watering too much or too little. In fact they had bloomed so I presumed that I was doing well. Now my dogs have dug up half my garden. They have dug out the plants, chewed on them (they are canine safe), dug out all the soil from the pots and basically killed my plants.

this isn't the first time this has happened, but usually they would target one plant and cease such destructive activities when i moved the offending plant to some place they don't have access too. but now this is too much, they've dug up ALL the plants they could get their paws on ... grrrrr!!

so i guess what i am asking is ... has anyone out there had this problem? and what did you do about it? how do i get them to keep their paws off my containers? i have 2 dogs and i love to death i would rather give up gardening then my dogs, but i would love a solution that would enable them to co-exist.

Thanks in advance,
Arman.

"Arman" wrote in message
...

so i guess what i am asking is ... has anyone out there had this
problem? and what did you do about it? how do i get them to keep their
paws off my containers? i have 2 dogs and i love to death i would
rather give up gardening then my dogs, but i would love a solution that
would enable them to co-exist.


Supervision, training, or a fence/barrier.
Any of the three will work.


--
Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

"Arman" wrote in message
...

Hi All,

I usually lurk around here and this is my very first post. I have
recently taken up container gardening in my rooftop (its a rented
apartment) and I DO NOT have a green thumb. However after 3 months of
trying, I now I have reasonably good looking plants that I have managed
not to kill from watering too much or too little. In fact they had
bloomed so I presumed that I was doing well. Now my dogs have dug up
half my garden. They have dug out the plants, chewed on them (they are
canine safe), dug out all the soil from the pots and basically killed
my plants.

this isn't the first time this has happened, but usually they would
target one plant and cease such destructive activities when i moved the
offending plant to some place they don't have access too. but now this
is too much, they've dug up ALL the plants they could get their paws on
.. grrrrr!!

so i guess what i am asking is ... has anyone out there had this
problem? and what did you do about it? how do i get them to keep their
paws off my containers? i have 2 dogs and i love to death i would
rather give up gardening then my dogs, but i would love a solution that
would enable them to co-exist.


You can try putting some hardware cloth *available at any hardware store)
over the soil. The dogs probably will be put-off by the texture. Also, pet
stores sell repellant sprays to keep dogs away from areas. I'm not sure
they work very well, but they are inexpensive and you might give it a try.
My neighbors put mothballs in their container and claim it keeps the
wildlife away. I find the smell unpleasant and it drifts into my yard.
Again, you might try, but if you have close neighbors, you might talk to
them first.

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I am going to give it a shot. First the hardware cloth, then the mothballs. One question tho, is mothballs safe for both the plants & the dogs? Wouldn't want it to cause more harm then good.

Thanks again,
Arman.

p.s. Mothballs used to keep my cats off from plants but they never showed any tendency to chew on them .. but i am sure the dogs will be a different story.

[I just walked in to my garden to discover that my 12 year old yorkshire terrier has dug out the newly planted bedding plants from a container on the desking. I have had to replant them and remove the chew stick that she has buried. The dog just stood there and give me a look as much as to say Why are you disturbing my chew stick. She walk off and give me another backwards glance of contempt. Why is it that I have a large garden , full of beds but she always choses to dig in the containers. I think we both have the same problem but I unfortunately do not have an answer! Sorry Stephanie R QUOTE=Arman]Hi All,

I usually lurk around here and this is my very first post. I have recently taken up container gardening in my rooftop (its a rented apartment) and I DO NOT have a green thumb. However after 3 months of trying, I now I have reasonably good looking plants that I have managed not to kill from watering too much or too little. In fact they had bloomed so I presumed that I was doing well. Now my dogs have dug up half my garden. They have dug out the plants, chewed on them (they are canine safe), dug out all the soil from the pots and basically killed my plants.

this isn't the first time this has happened, but usually they would target one plant and cease such destructive activities when i moved the offending plant to some place they don't have access too. but now this is too much, they've dug up ALL the plants they could get their paws on ... grrrrr!!

so i guess what i am asking is ... has anyone out there had this problem? and what did you do about it? how do i get them to keep their paws off my containers? i have 2 dogs and i love to death i would rather give up gardening then my dogs, but i would love a solution that would enable them to co-exist.

Thanks in advance,
Arman.[/quote]

"Arman" wrote in message
...

Vox Humana Wrote:

You can try putting some hardware cloth *available at any hardware
store)
over the soil. The dogs probably will be put-off by the texture.
Also, pet
stores sell repellant sprays to keep dogs away from areas. I'm not
sure
they work very well, but they are inexpensive and you might give it a
try.
My neighbors put mothballs in their container and claim it keeps the
wildlife away. I find the smell unpleasant and it drifts into my yard.
Again, you might try, but if you have close neighbors, you might talk
to
them first.

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I am going to give it a shot. First
the hardware cloth, then the mothballs. One question tho, is mothballs
safe for both the plants & the dogs? Wouldn't want it to cause more
harm then good.

Thanks again,
Arman.

p.s. Mothballs used to keep my cats off from plants but they never
showed any tendency to chew on them .. but i am sure the dogs will be a
different story.


--
Arman

Mothballs are poison. Not safe at all for dogs or for people. My dogs will
eat anything, so mothballs are something I would never put where they could
access them.

Jacqui

thanks Jacqui, think i will steer clear of the mothballs then. i another suggestion from a doggie board, put pepper spray on q-tip and smear it on the leaves to discourage dogs from biting, pulling out plants. think it will work?

Stephanie, i understand your pain !!

take care,
arman.

"Arman" wrote in message
...

axemanchris Wrote:

Arman

Mothballs are poison. Not safe at all for dogs or for people. My dogs
will
eat anything, so mothballs are something I would never put where they
could
access them.

Jacqui


thanks Jacqui, think i will steer clear of the mothballs then. i
another suggestion from a doggie board, put pepper spray on q-tip and
smear it on the leaves to discourage dogs from biting, pulling out
plants. think it will work?

Stephanie, i understand your pain !!

take care,
arman.


--
Arman[/i][/color]

The pepper spray might work. Pet shops also carry a bitter apple spray that
your dog might hate. I have 2 basset hounds that love to chew just about
anything. They will, however, not chew anything that the bitter apple is
on. You would have to reapply bitter apple or pepper spray every so often,
especially after you've watered the plants or it rains.

Jacqui

Arman

The pepper spray might work. Pet shops also carry a bitter apple spray that
your dog might hate. I have 2 basset hounds that love to chew just about
anything. They will, however, not chew anything that the bitter apple is
on. You would have to reapply bitter apple or pepper spray every so often,
especially after you've watered the plants or it rains.

Jacqui

============================================

Thanks Jacqui !! I live in Dhaka, Bangladesh so pet shops here are pretty rare and I've never seen them carry the bitter apple spray. This weekend though I am going to boil some Neem leaves (medicinal plant but VERY VERY bitter), cool the mixture and then spray it on the plants. Hopefully just the smell of it will gag my two dogs away from the plants.

BTW, I love basset hounds! I think they are incredibly cute and cuddly One of mine is a germanshepherd and the other is a dobie X.

Take care,
Arman.

"Arman" wrote in message
...

Arman

The pepper spray might work. Pet shops also carry a bitter apple spray
that
your dog might hate. I have 2 basset hounds that love to chew just
about
anything. They will, however, not chew anything that the bitter apple
is
on. You would have to reapply bitter apple or pepper spray every so
often,
especially after you've watered the plants or it rains.

Jacqui

============================================

Thanks Jacqui !! I live in Dhaka, Bangladesh so pet shops here are
pretty rare and I've never seen them carry the bitter apple spray. This
weekend though I am going to boil some Neem leaves (medicinal plant but
VERY VERY bitter), cool the mixture and then spray it on the plants.
Hopefully just the smell of it will gag my two dogs away from the
plants.

BTW, I love basset hounds! I think they are incredibly cute and cuddly
One of mine is a germanshepherd and the other is a dobie X.

Take care,
Arman.


--
Arman

The Neem leaves could be a good solution. Let me know how they work. I
might try to find a Canadian equivalent to try if you have success with
that.

And yes, basset hounds are 40 lb lap dogs! They are really loveable!

Jacqui

axemanchris wrote:
"Arman" wrote in message
...

Arman

The pepper spray might work. Pet shops also carry a bitter apple spray
that
your dog might hate. I have 2 basset hounds that love to chew just
about
anything. They will, however, not chew anything that the bitter apple
is
on. You would have to reapply bitter apple or pepper spray every so
often,
especially after you've watered the plants or it rains.

Jacqui

============================================

Thanks Jacqui !! I live in Dhaka, Bangladesh so pet shops here are
pretty rare and I've never seen them carry the bitter apple spray. This
weekend though I am going to boil some Neem leaves (medicinal plant but
VERY VERY bitter), cool the mixture and then spray it on the plants.
Hopefully just the smell of it will gag my two dogs away from the
plants.

BTW, I love basset hounds! I think they are incredibly cute and cuddly
One of mine is a germanshepherd and the other is a dobie X.

Take care,
Arman.


--
Arman

The Neem leaves could be a good solution. Let me know how they work. I
might try to find a Canadian equivalent to try if you have success with
that.

And yes, basset hounds are 40 lb lap dogs! They are really loveable!

Jacqui

Perhaps you should offer an alternative choice for your dogs' digging
and chewing recreation. How about a sand box with sticks and leather
chews buried? When they approach your plants you could scold and
direct them to theirs.

Perhaps you should offer an alternative choice for your dogs' digging
and chewing recreation. How about a sand box with sticks and leather
chews buried? When they approach your plants you could scold and
direct them to theirs.

Perhaps you should offer an alternative choice for your dogs' digging
and chewing recreation. How about a sand box with sticks and leather
chews buried? When they approach your plants you could scold and
direct them to theirs.

Perhaps you should offer an alternative choice for your dogs' digging
and chewing recreation. How about a sand box with sticks and leather
chews buried? When they approach your plants you could scold and
direct them to theirs.