Does anyone own a dog and still have a garden?

mrsmcc

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Please Please reassure me! We have a puppy of five months old. We have fenced off flowerbeds and built a sandpit for digging (mental, i know) but with the rain and the dog running around the grass has become very mucky and has bare patches. Our potted plants are also being ransacked.

She gets walked three times a day and we spend a lot of time with her. All I want to know is....is this ever going to improve or can I say goodbye to my garden? It isn't huge really- a semi d size. It's just really depressing as the garden is new.

That's just the mess outside the house! : )
someone said I can foget about being houseproud now but I don't want to!
 
What type of puppy do you have? The breed can determine a lot.

When I got my pup i hovered over him in the garden for the first while. When i saw him start digging i gave a loud firm 'NO' to get his attention from the digging, then called him over and gave him a toy and started playing with him with a different toy, and a little treat. Touch wood, he doesn't dig holes in the garden. It's all about trainign and conditioning them.

Good luck, they are a handful!
 
I have 2 pups and they are now both a year old. I dont take pride in my garden anymore. They have it wrecked :) I just laugh about it now. I think they will grow out of it. I reckon part of it is to do with boredom and the other part to do with adventure :)

My house proudness is also gone. Their used to be a time where you could not put your hand on my walls, now that is the least of my worries :) wet paw prints are the worst for me :) I wish someone could invent a hot dryer on the ground at the door that dries their paws :)
 
Hi,

I would always warn everyone that you can expect this type of stuff when you have a pup. I would put it on a par with having a young child who has just started walking, pulling down ornaments and teething at the same time :) It will settle down in time and when you look back you will probably laugh about it all.

Like most things in life you need to think positive about it and remember that you will get back many, many times over the love and affection that you show and the important bit is that its what I call unconditional love :D

You could have a look at advice/training with somewhere like the [broken link removed].
 
What kind of food are you feeding the dog ? You need to give any dog that is city bound or living in a normal house, 'Low Protein' food. This will keep him quiet and stop him digging rooting and going mental.
 
True puppies and young children are very very similar in many ways!! Push the limits and try to outwit us! I have had all that with my girl who is now 4. The first year or two was tough - kitchen eaten, garden more mud than grass! Just plain bold behaviour at most times! Now she is an angel, eager to please and quietened down so much. Training them to sit, stay, etc. enforces who is boss. Kongs (very hard rubber toy which you stuff with yummy treats) worked good for her - kept her diverted when she was intent on digging, etc. I have my garden looking well - grass has regrown and she barely walks on it now. They go through the terrible twos until they are maybe 18 months or so? Oh and def get neutered as soon as vet recommends! Best of luck and dont despair! You will have a wonderful friend shortly!
 
What kind of food are you feeding the dog ? You need to give any dog that is city bound or living in a normal house, 'Low Protein' food. This will keep him quiet and stop him digging rooting and going mental.

I've never heard that before! Definitely something I'll be looking into. I have three dogs, two are bigger breeds and grand, the third is a small yappy thing, full of life and mischief...not to mention noise and dirt. At nearly two he will still chew anything not nailed down despite having loads of toys and attention. He also runs in with wet feet straight onto the couches....god bless leather furniture.

They do settle, my boxer was a sprightly two year old when I got him, at five he's more settled, not at all destructive infact, he's turned into an old man, just lies around farting all day with occassional burst of energy. If only he would stop jumping up to open doors with his dirty feet.

A digging area is a good idea I've heard, we don't have one as we have a large countryside garden and the dogs have areas where they dig. Worst mess they make in the garden is dragging stuff around to chew, again that's mostly the small one.
 
I've never heard that before! Definitely something I'll be looking into.

Ask your vet or pet food supplier. High Protein food is given to Greyhounds or alsations but low protein food is given to yorkshire teriiers and the like.
 
Ask your vet or pet food supplier. High Protein food is given to Greyhounds or alsations but low protein food is given to yorkshire teriiers and the like.

I feed my mutt :D on Royal Canin Dermasensitive due to him getting itchy with lots of foods. Fairly low protein content, and what is in there is more vegetable based rather than animal to stop allergies.

Make sure thaat you keep going with training....firm, short commands, lots of praise when the pup gets things right. I used to feel like a very nasty person when i was giving out to the pup in the early stages. Now he is fairly well behaved (although recall is almost non-existnent :() which makes life a bit easier. He's currently lay beside me in the office snoring away - took him with me for a longish run this morning. He can't understand why mammy doesn't stop!
 
mrsmcc be glad it is just your garden, our lab puppy has the garden destroyed and bits chewed off both our cars...who needs a bumper, mud flap, wheel cover, back window wiper, wing mirror etc...
He will be getting neutered soon, hope that helps
 
Is it possible to build a small run or enclosure for the dog, restricting her access. Obviously this needs to have enough space for her to get some exercise and do her business... Or you could put down some Get Off or similar products available from most hardware or pet stores.

Dogs dig and there's not a whole lot you can do about it. Some grow out of it more than others. When we got our dog she was already a year old but she dug holes and tore up the the place for the first few months, then just stopped. She rarely digs now but the grass is still patchy due to her running, peeing and pooing..you just have to accept it is part of having a dog.
 
Ask your vet or pet food supplier. High Protein food is given to Greyhounds or alsations but low protein food is given to yorkshire teriiers and the like.

Thanks, I'm checking it out. We feed our dogs a good food that reduces the smelly output considerably from our boxer, I didn't even think it might be affecting the small one in a different way. He's bordering on hyper so I'm going to be trying something else with him.
 
Thanks so much for all the replies. i got a few giggles out of your responses! I never thought dogs were so much work. (what an eejit, right?) I'm awful too because I think I should have it all sorted by now at week 4. She's five months and we think a collie/setter cross. If anything, hopefully I will learn to chill a bit. She has broken through the fence we put up to protect flower beds and found two big holes and the plants trodden on. It's really hard not to get mad.
 
She's five months and we think a collie/setter cross.

She is therefore a high energy dog and usually very intelligent. She will need a lot of stimulation. Meant to be out herding sheep :D

A friend got a red setter pup and he had previous ones so had a fair idea what he was letting himself in for. He hadn't bargained though on it eating through expensive marine plywood that he used for a kennel :)
 
She is therefore a high energy dog and usually very intelligent. She will need a lot of stimulation. Meant to be out herding sheep :D

Our collie came from working stock and used to herd the children when she was younger.

The thing with collies as well is they are smart, housetraining was a nightmare because we didn't know what we were doing and she was so smart she got confused by our confusion. Keep her stimulated and busy and try and get ahead of the game with training so that you know what you're doing.

On an aside..our collie is terrified of sheep :)
 
our collie herds our car when we drive into the driveway. shes a scream... she circles the table at home if i move it too.... However, we live on plenty of land so there no issue with exercise for her either.

I have found that her nature and temperment has gotten calmer as shes gotten older and shes less energetic too.... they are very affectionate, enjoy your time with your dog. The garden may have to wait
 
I had to give my 18 month old border collie away to my brother who lives on a farm and has loads of space for the dog to run around. OMG you should have seen the state of our half acre garden, paths from his running were all over the place and he managed to break out of every nook and cranny. He was lovely though and every time I go to visit him now he goes beserk with excitment, I have never witnessed anything like it before. Still it is a comfort to know he has a great home and plenty of sheep to chase at the same time.
 
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