We had to put up a fence around the veggie garden cause our three dogs like to 'help' weed by laying down on the plants. We don't have any problems with the flower beds, they are mulched and the dogs just lay out in the grass to 'help'. Our dogs are very laid back and don't dig or eat our plants. Good luck!

Donna

thanks for the info! i'm afraid i'm going to have to do that. i haven't had a chance yet to see how they just react to things. i was thinking that maybe rasied beds or something would be nice, but that would take a lot of work... so we'll have to see how it works out.
thanks!!
~naughty wildcat

We currently have an australian shepard, who will ONLY lay in the mulch (it's cooler there, ya know).

I have to use chicken wire around every bed that i don't want her walking or laying in.

Luckily, she is not very active, or she could lean on the chicken wire, and get in. Also, she doesn't "do" digging, so no problems there.

Good luck!

i have thought of that, and mine are young, so i'd have to make sure that it was sturdy enough. and of course i'd have the problem that if they were excited enough, they'd want to jump right in there with me and probably try to 'help' lol.
i also know that dogs don't like the texture of walking on chicken wire, and i've heard it works to keep them off of dirt and things. i've thought about trying it with grass to keep them out of an area, but i am wondering if they would just end up walking it into the dirt, so they wouldn't notice, lol. that would be my luck.
thanks for the advice! i'm beginning to think i'll have to put up some sort of barrier.
thanks bunches!
~naughty wildcat

I've had good luck with just walking my dog around the raised beds and letting him know where he is and isn't allowed. He's allowed to lie in the wood chip paths, he is not allowed to climb in the beds. He got the message pretty well.

As long as you are working with the dog and making boundaries clear, he will usually go along with the game plan. Buster the Dog loves to eat veggies, but would never dream of taking anything from the garden unless it comes from my hand.

My suggestion is to work with your dogs. A few minutes each day adds up and is more effective than one or two marathon training sessions.

Pony!

My garden is fenced. I get my little partial acre... dogs get the other 20+ and it seems to work fine. My fence isn't high enough to keep out deer, but they don't come that close to the house anyway. Can't say the same for my poor fruit trees... deer keep eating the leaves off the new small ones.