Lab puppies? I hate to say it, but I don't think your flower beds stand a chance. I have two Cardigan Welsh Corgis, medium dogs, and they wreak havoc on my flower beds and bushes. Albert has eaten an entire azalea bush and my hydrangea bushes never have a chance to reach their full height. Not only do they make paths through the flower beds, but the flowers are so comfortable, they like to lay on them - all day long. I have most recently purchased the tall, ugly, wire fencing to go around some of my beds. It is about 3' tall. It would cost a fortune to try to go around everything. Oh, and nothing will stop Albert if he is chasing a skink. He is relentless. No amount of yelling (or tacky garden fencing) will distract him. He came close to completely digging up one of my large hostas (in a raised bed, surrounded by 12" tall fencing) last year in his pursuit of a skink.

I don't think the pet deterrents are going to help much. They may deter the occasional passerby animal, but not one who stays in the same yard everyday. I have only tried one of the detterents for cats to try to keep them from using my flower beds as litter boxes, and it didn't help at all. (not my cats, btw).

Good luck, but I think you should just resign yourself to losing some plants. I would dig up anything that is really going to make you sick to lose.

Rae

I agree. Puppies of any kind are going to "play". This includes digging and putting anything they can find in their mouth.
Are the puppies going to stay outside or are you bringing them in at night and when you're gone to keep them safe? If outside, can you build a nice large pen around a tree where they will have shade? You can get a cheap plastic kiddie pool for them to play in as most labs like water and a large container for drinkin water. My lab is outdoors and tries to get in the large water pan so she has a pool to play or lay in.
Alternative is border fence with gaps close enough the pups can't get through and 2 1/2 ft to 3 ft high. I did this in my fairy garden to keep the dogs out of the flower beds and it has worked. They learned the flower beds are off limits.
Good luck
Lynn

We are planning on them being totally outdoor dogs, 24/7, unless it's freezing cold when we'll crate them in our basement.

They will have no supervision during the day as we both work full time. That's why we're thinking of getting two, so they'll have a buddy to play with while we're gone.

I like the idea of a fenced-in area that is just for them. 1/2 of our 80' x 100' backyard is natural area with no flowers - just trees. It would be a good place for them.

I had a problem with mu lab\bassett mix digging close to the house and the garden club sent me some stuff to try for free that was a rabbit repellant but I did not have too much of a problem with rabbits because I have cats so I tried spraying it around the house where she was digging and it has deterred her from digging in the same spot. Only drawback is you have to spray every so often.
Jill

Chili powder sprinkled around my plants has stopped the cats and squirrels from digging. It may just make Lab puppies hungry for some chili! I get big containers of it at the dollar store, so it's a cheap attempt.