Tips may help you, pets come to understanding in the garden

The do’s and don’ts for dog-friendly gardening:

Do:

• Leave a couple of feet unplanted near fences, to which dogs are naturally attracted.

• Keep compost piles someplace pets cannot get to.

• Consider creating container gardens or using raised beds, both of which discourage digging.

• Provide an area in which dogs can dig and praise them when they use that space.

• Adjust your expectations. There will be some yellow areas in the lawn and the occasional foray into the garden no matter how much you try to prevent them.

• Be extra careful with water gardens or ponds. Pets are curious and might fall in. Either place a fence around it or make sure there are steps or a shallow area that make it easier for the animal to get out.

Don’t:

• Punish a pet for misbehavior unless you catch it in the act.

• Weed in view of a dog. Weeding creates new scents that dogs find irresistible.

• Install new plants in the presence of a dog. Seeing you digging is apt to inspire it to do the same.

Source: Dog Fancy magazine, May 2004

For more information:

• A complete list of toxic and nontoxic plants is available at the National Animal Poison Control Center’s Web site at www.napcc.aspca.org. The center also offers a 24-hour emergency hot line. Call (888) 426-4435.

• The May 2004 issue of Dog Fancy magazine has lots of helpful hints as well as a diagram to create a dog-friendly yard.

• “Dog Friendly Gardens, Garden Friendly Dogs,” by Cheryl S. Smith (Dogwise Publishing, $19.95).