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Writer's pictureReba Wiles

Dog-Proofing the Native Garden

Updated: Jun 30, 2023

Rowdy dog in your backyard? Don’t let that stop you from supporting wildlife. If you are concerned your canine friends will degrade your native yard, this article is for you. Continue reading to learn how I cultivated a space to invite both dogs and butterflies.


dog in the native garden

urine trouble


The challenge with any domestic pet in your garden is urine and feces. (Well, that chile pequin was edible.) If you see your dog urinate on any tender plants you’d like to preserve, give it a good rinse. Urine kills plants; feces kills plants; trampling kills plants. Protecting your tender new transplants from urine is the most important step in dog-proofing your native garden.


physical barriers


New plantings in your native garden take at least 2-4 weeks to establish, during which time they must be kept canine free. Stakes, placed 2-4 inches apart, make great temporary physical barriers to anything you want to keep alive. They are not attractive or child-proof, but they can be easily removed if company comes over. For something sturdier, any temporary fencing will do. Another great barrier is a green barrier: another plant! When hardy natives like Salvia coccinea are established, they can handle a fair amount of urine. Place these kinds of groundcovers in front of a landscaped bed as a dog-proofing shield.



a dog sleeping in the garden

training day


If you express to your dog that you don’t want him to pee on your plants in your native garden, he might misinterpret you to think you don’t want him to pee at all. Be patient, and show your dog why you love your plants. Even bad dogs want to be good. Especially if being good means getting lots of treats. I reward my dogs with praise whenever they use the runs correctly. I’ve found my dogs respond best to positive reinforcement along with plenty of enrichment and exercise.


mud-pits and brush-piles


Dogs naturally cultivate a space that is ideal for their lifestyles. They like a little bare dirt with lots of turf. They want bushes and open space. If they are tearing up your lawn, maybe they are just being dogs, or maybe they are identifying the perfect spot for your new swale. You can protect wildlife from their romping by creating critter emergency exits like brush-piles, brambles, and low-hanging branches.


dog sniffs butterfly

a fair trade


You obviously have made it to this point in the article because you love your dog very much. And you also love gardening for wildlife. In the wild, wolves are one of the apex predators. They don’t readily mesh well with birds and butterflies. You will have to work hard and make sacrifices to get them to share the space, but in the end, it will be worth it.


species suggestions


Here are some suggestions of Houston native plants that are hardy enough to withstand the challenges of sharing the space with mutts. If you have suggestions of your own, please leave them in the comments. Thank you for reading.


frogfruit

horseherb

Salvia coccinea

Salvia lyrata

sedges - oval headed sedge, cherokee sedge

grasses - panicgrass and paspalum

sunflowers - H. annuum, H. agustifolius, H. maximilliani


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