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A Dog Lover's Guide To The Garden

Having a garden for your four-legged friend to run around in is a wonderful thing. The outdoor space and fresh air can do them the world of good, but dogs can cause havoc by urinating on your lawn and digging things up, and some elements of your garden can be very dangerous too. Below, we share our dog friendly garden ideas, ensuring your garden is a safe and enjoyable place for your pet. After all, a man’s best friend doesn’t have to be a garden’s worst nightmare.

Securing Your Space

First things first, make sure you create a safe space. As well as putting strong locks on any gates leading outside of your garden, make sure your fences are secure too. High fences are a good start but also think about the base and structure of the fence - is the fence placed far enough into the ground so there’s no way your pup can dig its way through?

Also, if you have a shed or any other storage spaces, ensure they are securely closed - any dangerous tools and chemical products could be hazardous. Antifreeze in particular can prove very harmful to dogs, so make sure any similar products are inaccessible. If you have any tables or chairs near walls and fences, it might be worth moving those out of the way so your dog doesn’t get any ideas!

Dedicated Dog Areas

Dogs love adventure, so it’s no wonder they run wild in your garden, sniffing anything in sight and ‘watering’ your plants themselves. Fear not! You could build a pathway for your pooch with mulch, brick or gravel (the bigger, the better) so it can navigate through the garden, whilst keeping its paws dry. Also, if you have an integrated kennel in your garden, you could expand this area, creating a space for digging and playing using sand or bark. Some people may consider using cocoa chips as an alternative to bark, but they are actually poisonous for dogs, so avoid using these.

If your garden isn’t big enough for a dog-only area, you might want to consider putting up small picket fences around your plant beds so they’re out of sight, or tall and spiky barrier plants if you’re looking for an alternative.

Dog Waste Solutions

Can you think of anything more annoying than a freshly cut lawn and a suspicious yellow patch appearing? As part of your dedicated dog area, think about creating a space where your dog can relieve themselves so they learn to avoid the lawn and plant beds. You could use gravel or sand for this area for easy drainage. Whilst your dog is getting used to their designated space, try to hose down any yellow patches afterwards, as the training may not pay off as quickly as you’d like!

Not only can dog urine affect the health and color of your lawn, it’s also very bad for plants too, potentially causing them to wither and die. High levels of alkaline salts and nitrogen within urine can also destroy leaves and cause damage to roots, so providing an alternative spot and putting some training in will really help your garden to flourish.

CS 35S
CS35, CS35S
Cylinder displacement 35 cm³
Bar length (inch) 14 in
Weight (excl. cutting equipment) 4.6 kg
R1000
RM 600, RM 1000 ROB600, ROB1000
Working area capacity 1000 m² ±20%
Cutting Height, min-max 20-50 mm
Maximum slope performance inside installation 25 %
TRIMMAC
Trimmac
Cylinder displacement 25 cm³
Cutting width 40 cm
Grass blade Not included

Dog Friendly Plants And Pesticides

It’s worth spending some time thinking about the type of plants in your garden. Aside from opting to choose robust plants over those that will be easily damaged, there are many plants that are actually highly poisonous for dogs. These include yew, sweet pea and oleander (to name a few) - and it’s best to avoid planting them altogether. You can find a list of some of the most common poisonous plants for dogs here.

Choosing non-toxic, pet-friendly pesticides is also really important in ensuring optimum pet health. While you can of course choose to avoid using pesticides altogether, there are lots of safe options available to keep your dog healthy and happy, and to give you peace of mind.

Once you’re aware of the dangers within your garden and the solutions, it can be really simple to keep up with pet-proofing it.

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