Dogs enjoy spending time outside, but traditional lawns don’t always accommodate their playful activities. By including paths, raised beds, gravel areas or low rock walls into your play space you can help define an area safe for them.
Fertilizers containing blood, bone and fish meal are toxic to dogs and may lead to gastrointestinal issues if consumed. Pay attention to your dog’s patrol routes and adjust landscaping so these pathways do not interfere with fragile flowerbeds or wet spots.
Fences
An essential feature of a dog-friendly backyard, fences help ensure your pup does not run off into streets or neighboring yards where strangers, animals or other hazards might await them. Fences also serve to block off areas you don’t want your pup digging (e.g. flowers and vegetables in your garden).
If you want something better suited to dogs than traditional grass lawns, other options could include bermudagrass and clover lawns which don’t get burned by pet urine and don’t grow as rapidly. Low-maintenance plants such as sedges or ground cover roses could also make cleaning up after potty breaks easier.
If you plant grass or other forms of ground cover, incorporate pathways with mulch, smooth pebbles or decomposed granite as a barrier between delicate plants and more vulnerable ones. This will encourage your dog to stay on these paths instead of digging up or trampling delicate ones; making it easier for you to keep tabs on your pup when outside.
Pathways
Assuming you live in an area without complete fencing, a dog-friendly backyard gives your pup a safe haven where she can run and exercise without being restricted by the house, helping prevent destructive behaviors like barking and chewing. Fences also protect them from people who don’t appreciate animals or don’t know how to interact with them appropriately.
Paths are integral in designing a dog-friendly yard. Not only can they guide your pet directly to its bathroom areas, but they can also prevent him or her from tracking dirt into your home and ruining its surfaces.
Be sure to use safe ground covering for your dog, such as wood chips or cedar mulch (but avoid cocoa mulch, which may be toxic if eaten by them). Water is another essential feature, especially on hot summer days; it helps lower surface temperatures while helping your pup remain cool. Consider installing a fountain as it will provide fresh, cool water that your pup can drink whenever needed.
Elevated Dog Beds
Fencing may keep your dog from escaping, but that won’t stop him from digging up flowerbeds and uprooting grass lawns. Some dogs dig as an outlet or to relieve anxiety; providing your pup with something like an elevated dog bed such as Kuranda can help decrease these behaviors and keep your home free of chewed up sofa cushions!
Consider choosing grass varieties such as fescue and buffalo grass that tolerate foot traffic, and ground cover plants like creeping thyme, silver carpet, miniature stonecrop and clover that recover quickly from wear and tear. These choices offer durability while quickly recovering from any wear-and-tear.
If you want to plant more delicate flowers, shrubs, or trees in your yard, re-designing existing paths into looped running tracks might help. Just be sure that mulch does not contain cocoa bark as this could be harmful if consumed by dogs. Also consider installing an innovative Perspex viewing bubble (such as BobbyPet Dog Fence Window) into your fencing system so your furry pal can still get his nosy fix without wrecking the garden!
Water
No matter if it’s a pond, pool, or simply an attractive water fountain; having access to fresh, clean water in your backyard will deter digging (a major cause of destruction) while keeping your dog cool and comfortable. When building concrete or paver retaining walls for dog containment purposes, consider creating one with doggy portholes and windows as this will increase efficiency for dogs in keeping themselves cooled off during hotter periods.
As many common landscaping plants can be toxic to dogs if eaten accidentally, it’s essential that you select your flowers, grasses and ground cover with care. Furthermore, avoid fertilizers containing urea as these contain toxic elements which could potentially lead to kidney or liver damage in dogs.
When considering creating a dog-friendly yard, safety should always come first. Just as parents “baby-proof” their homes with covers over power outlets and any items that could be chewed up or pulled down by curious toddlers, it is equally essential to dog proof your yard; to help reduce urine spots on grass lawns replace some areas with gravel or rocks for optimal performance and reduced messiness.https://www.youtube.com/embed/B6s0Zn3wi1I