Elizabeth, I’d like to thank you so much for letting us interview you today. I’m very excited to hear about your company and the tips you can provide us for making our yard more pet friendly.
Elizabeth: Thank you! I’m so honored you asked me!
Chris: I wanted to interview you because pet friendly landscaping is very close to my heart. I love to garden but also board dogs in my home. Needless to say, they have wreaked havoc in my back yard, and I’ve invested a lot of money into barriers to keep them out of my plants.
Chris: Were you always a landscaper with pets in mind or did that come about later? What inspired you? Tell us about your company.
Remove sod to create doggie runway
Elizabeth: I’ve always been a plant and dog nerd. When I was working for other landscape companies, I was heartbroken when clients would complain about their dog. They always said something like, “I love my yard but just look at what my dog did!” There was no concern as to why their dog was “destroying” their yard, they were just very angry with their dog.
When I started my company in 1998, I wanted to prove to people that dogs and plants can share a yard. Their “destructive” behavior is simply their instincts. They get triggered by certain elements in their yard and act like dogs. They’ll bark at squirrels, go to the bathroom, etc. so I figured out what type of material to use so they weren’t killing everything.
I’ve always consulted with my vet about solutions since I have had no other resources to rely on – it’s been a lot of trial and error in the past 12 years but that’s what makes it successful. We’ve figured out concepts that nobody else tried.
Chris: What a great idea to consult with your vet! I have to tell you that I have literally almost been in tears after a dog has crushed my plants. We put a lot of work into our gardens and to see all that hard work go to waste, is heartbreaking. What can we do to keep our flower beds looking nice and keep the dogs out?
Red Flagstone in green grass for dogs to run across sod for squirrel Patrol
Elizabeth: One word of advice is never plant along the fence. This includes grass. No plant can withstand urine or heavy foot traffic. Dogs actually make a yard more interesting since we incorporate walkways and/or organic shapes based on their habits. We create runways along the fence with 1.5” Round River Rock (Stones). If your dog eats rock (many of them do) we use pavers and pea gravel or crushed granite (that can pass through their stomachs). The bed line is about 3’-5’ wide – we never plant 3’ feet from the fence since that will be their runway to do their squirrel patrol, bark at a neighbor’s dog, bark at passer-byers, etc. By the way, three foot wide walkways are a perfect size dogs and humans to use. We respect their habits.
We add thorny/textured plants, like junipers, roses, pyracantha, barberry to deter dogs from entering gardens. We also use large cobble or chunky rocks that are awkward for dogs to walk on. The material we choose depends on the size, age and total of dogs in a backyard.
Creating retaining walls for gardens also prevents dogs from trampling through beds.
Chris: You are so right, I had to put up a metal barrier so the dogs don’t go to my back fence and bark at my neighbor’s dog. I know that poisonous plants are a big concern for our pets. Can you please tell us which plants are most harmful to pets?
Elizabeth: Lilies!!!!! All lilies! They are especially harmful to cats but they cause kidney failure very quickly in dogs too. Every time I’ve been a vendor, I’ve had someone come to my booth and tell me to get the word out about lilies. They’ve either lost a dog or their dog has kidney issues because he ate a lily. I will install them in front yards only.
Other plants include: foxglove (heart problems), bulbs of iris, tulips, daffodils, holly berries, ivy, lupine, apple seeds, tomato plants/fruit, etc. There are so many – I’ve listed them on my website and I’m writing a third book about toxic plants with my veterinarian.
On the other side of that coin, we do NOT install ornamental grasses in backyards – they’re not toxic but dogs eat them and it’s not fair to the plant since they can never grow.
Chris: Unless your completely organic, from time to time , we might have to use pesticides in our gardens. I sometimes use soap and water to get the aphids off in the Spring. What are your thoughts on that and what would you recommend as alternatives to commercial pesticides?
Elizabeth: Vinegar is an herbicide. It kills everything so only use it on the weed or plant you’re trying to kill. It must be used when it’s warm – above 70 degrees and it’ll take about a week to do its magic.
Composting is a good soil amendment. Or peat and manure – such as cow and peat, sheep and peat work to amend garden beds.
In some situations chemicals need to be used. I don’t have a chemical license because we do not do maintenance so I always contact my arborist who knows all of my clients own pets so he uses chemicals that won’t hurt them or educates them about the life span of the chemical.
I always tell clients if they’re going to use a chemical – read the label and call poison control - 1-800-222-1222 – it’s free and they’ll help. The ASPCA always has a poison control but it costs money – have your ccard ready when you call them – (888) 426-4435. A $65 consultation fee may be applied to your credit card.
Chris: Is it true that putting tomato juice or ketchup in your dogs food can get rid of the urine burns on your lawn? If not, what can we do about it?
Elizabeth: I’ve consulted with numerous vets about this and they tell me they are all myths. I’ve never heard of a good solution. So, we work with the dog’s habits.
If the dog is going to the bathroom in the same area (they are very habitual) then we pull out the sod and install rock (if their dog does not eat rock) and let them use it as the bathroom area.
Male dogs are always lifting their leg on plants and people continue to replace the plant. Rather than replacing the plant, I incorporate statues into the garden where he’s lifting his leg. This is a technique I call “the fire hydrant” solution. Statues can be planters, bird baths, sundials, boulders, etc.
If dogs are going to the bathroom randomly around the yard, I ask the dog owner to relocate his or her feces to one area and when they start using that area, praise them only when they’re finished going to the bathroom – not during. Then they’ll realize that is the bathroom area. Again, I would not install any plants in the bathroom area, only rock or wood (if they eat rock) but the wood mulch can trigger them to eat it or dig at it – plus it needs to be replenished every other year or so. The plus side to wood mulch is it neutralizes the odor.
If wood and rock mulch are not an option, we’ll use pavers or concrete as a bathroom area. Dogs continue using the area regardless of our changing the texture of it. I’ve only had one dog not use the area once we changed it – he was a Border Collie. For some reason, he did not want to continue using the are a but that’s the only one I knew about.
Chris: Thank you for all the great advice and it’s been great chatting with you. As your final question, can you please give us your best tips for a “Paw Friendly” yard and where people can find you.
Elizabeth: Dogs’ habits add interest to a yard. Never get mad or angry at them – there are so many cost effective solutions for their habits.
One important element that needs to be considered is edging. Edging is used whenever there is a transition in a yard. Say your yard is shaped like a “box of sod” and you want to create runways along your fence for your dog. You would have to remove the sod and install edging so the sod does not migrate into the new bed and the new bed’s mulch, say rock, does not migrate into the sod. Steel edging is the dangerous edger because it comes with a safety cap that always weathers and leave s the top exposed. Edging is like a knife and will severely slice paws. Some dogs have a permanent limp from their injury. Many dog owners do not know why their healthy dog went outside but came back with a cut paw –it’s always the edging.
The safest edging is: roll top, various plastic edgings, brick, pavers, timbers, etc. They are pet friendly and some are very attractive.
I have a fan page on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Golden-CO/Pawfriendly-Landscapes/223141086885 and my website is www.pawfriendlylandscapes.com
Chris: Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful information with us and I hope everyone will join you on your Facebook fan page to learn more.
No go out and pull some weeds!
Chris L Wagner
Waggy’s Eco Pet Products
Waggy’s Pet Sitting
Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog.
