Tips for gardening with your dog
If you're like me, you can feel your garden and yard drawing you to spend time outside. I've been looking at gardening magazines and dreaming of the perfect yardscape.
Gardening experts say lay down a garden hose to map out the shape of a flower bed. They never tried to do that with my dog in the yard. As I was laying down my end of the hose, he was dragging his end all over the yard - just another toy.
As dog lovers, we garden with our pets in mind. There are a lot of suggestions for how to share your yard and garden with your canine, with the first being aware of what to plant to keep him safe.
Dr. Steven Hansen, senior vice president of the ASPCA's Animal Health Services, said, "Our animal companions depend on us to be informed and protect them from danger."
The ASPCA lists toxic and nontoxic plants, with accompanying colored pictures, on its website, www.aspca.org. Varieties that can be harmful include: lilies, marijuana, tulip/narcissus bulbs, azalea/rhododendron, oleander, castor bean cyclamen, kalanchoe, yew, amaryllis, autumn crocus, chrysanthemum, English ivy, peace lily, pothos, schefflera and sago palm.
Dr. Hansen said, "Just one or two sago palm nuts can cause vomiting, diarrhea, depression, seizures and even liver failure."
The ASPCA list is a good source for planning a pet safe garden.
In addition to keeping our yards safe, gardening authorities offer suggestions for sharing our gardens with our dogs. Zoe Conrad, www.thebark.com, suggests ideas from Maureen Gilmer, landscape designer, horticulturalist and dog lover. One of Gilmer's suggestions addresses the "problem digger."
"Many dogs labeled problem diggers are really just trying to keep cool. They instinctively dig nests in shady places to access cooler soil, and sprawl out in them during the heat of the day," Gilmer notes.
Her solution is to give them a shallow "pit" of their own that is more cool and damp than the flower beds. Gilmer provides instructions on how to create a cool spot, which includes digging out a shallow indentation to fit your dog comfortably, line the indentation with a thin layer of concrete and poke holes in the bottom for drainage.
Then line the depression with play sand, which doesn't make mud and easily falls away from fur. The last step is to sprinkle it with water to make it damp. If kept slightly moist, this will be your dog's spot of preference in the garden.
Dr. Jack Aldridge, DVM, also of thebark.com, suggests another way to alleviate the problems of digging dogs in the garden is to raise your flower beds using architectural railroad ties, stacking them two or three deep.
The railroad ties are available from landscape supply companies and lumber yards, and don't contain the toxic compounds found in real recycled railroad ties.
Enjoying your yard and garden may also include water activities for you and your dog. To keep your dog cool in the summer months, Gilmer suggests disguising a seasonal dog dipping pool by setting a plastic molded kiddie pool into the ground.
The downside of setting the pool in the ground is draining it. I've used a child's pool for my dog, although I haven't set it in the ground. It's a lot of fun. My dog seems to enjoy digging at the alligators printed on the bottom of the pool, splashing water in every direction.
When the digging is done, he lays in the water to cool off. At the end of playtime, the water is emptied and the pool is put away until the next time.
Although spring weather has been slow in coming, we'll all be out there buying our garden plants soon. It's fun to start planning now. It won't be long before we're out there digging, with our dogs right beside us.
• The Buddy Foundation, 65 W. Seegers Road, Arlington Heights, is a volunteer nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization, with all funds directly assisting its animals. For information, visit thebuddyfoundation.org or call (847) 290-5806.