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My lab would love that yard
Please bear in mind not to use cocoa material as mulch, for dogs can die if they eat them.
Does anyone know what kind of dogs the black and white ones are? They look like ****apoos, but I wasn't sure
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
By Sharon Cohoon of Sunset
If you were a dog, what would you want? Spaniels, terriers, retrievers ― each breed has a different personality. The better you can accommodate its particular traits, the happier your dog. And the happier your dog, the better your chances of maintaining a garden you'll both enjoy.
This dog-friendly yard includes a running track, border control, comfy mulch, sensible plants and a piece of driftwood to serve as a marking post.
Read: How to landscape a dog-friendly garden
- Sunset.com: 6 modern garden-art designs
- Bing Cube: Photos of unbelievable dog tricks
- Video: Dog struggles with rake relocation
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
Create a shady retreat
Like humans, dogs enjoy basking in the sun. So by all means, give them a deck or a patch of lawn for sunbathing. But remember that dogs can overheat easily, so it's even more important to provide them with cooling retreats.
Here, four retrievers (liko, Lexi, Andy and Morgan) enjoy resting under an arbor in Oceanside, Calif.
- On our blog, 'Listed': Study: Wildlife refuges raise property values
- MSN Living: 10 secrets to the perfect garden
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
Paths to run and patrol
Paths give dogs a designated space to run and patrol.
Readers suggested sacrificing a few feet along the fence for a perimeter path to simultaneously satisfy both needs. If your dogs have already created their own paths through the garden, don't try to redirect them. Instead, turn their well-worn routes into proper pathways.
A 3-foot-wide clearance is enough for most dogs. Plant a screen to hide this dog run if you like; pets seem to like having their own "secret garden."
Read: How to landscape a dog-friendly garden
- Sunset.com: 6 modern garden-art designs
- Bing Cube: Photos of unbelievable dog tricks
- Video: Dog struggles with rake relocation
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
Give them shelter
Dogs will happily share arbors, pergolas and other shade structures with their owners. But most dogs seem to appreciate having a shelter of their own, such as a doghouse.
Here Ozzie the Airedale has a cottage-style house, complete with window box, in Denver.
- On our blog, 'Listed': Study: Wildlife refuges raise property values
- MSN Living: 10 secrets to the perfect garden
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
Keeping them safe
If you have a Houdini and need to keep your escape artist from tunneling under the fence, you may need to install an underground barrier made of rebar, chicken wire or poured concrete.
Here, a fence underlined with boards keeps four Welsh springer spaniels from tunneling into the front yard in Battle Ground, Wash.
Read: How to landscape a dog-friendly garden
- Sunset.com: 6 modern garden-art designs
- Bing Cube: Photos of unbelievable dog tricks
- Video: Dog struggles with rake relocation
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
Access to water
These lucky Welsh springer spaniels wade into a cool, safe pond in Battle Ground, Wash.
- On our blog, 'Listed': Study: Wildlife refuges raise property values
- MSN Living: 10 secrets to the perfect garden
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
Dog-friendly gardens: Dining area
Lucy Ball, a chocolate lab, drinks from a raised dining area in Mill Valley, Calif. The platform helps keep the area tidy and serves as storage for the owner's garden clogs.
Read: How to landscape a dog-friendly garden
- Sunset.com: 6 modern garden-art designs
- Bing Cube: Photos of unbelievable dog tricks
- Video: Dog struggles with rake relocation
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
Lookout platform
Hester the pug likes to survey the world from her rocky perch in a West Seattle garden.
If you plant landscaped areas densely, dogs will generally stay out. Still, most dog owners recommend additional precautions: Plant in raised beds or on mounds, and start with 1-gallon or larger plants. Put up temporary fencing around newly landscaped areas; when you remove it, add a rock border or low fencing as a reminder to stay out.
Plant romp-proof shrubs and perennials such as ornamental grasses around the edge of the garden. Put brittle plants like salvias in the center, where they'll be protected.
- On our blog, 'Listed': Study: Wildlife refuges raise property values
- MSN Living: 10 secrets to the perfect garden
Dog-friendly gardens: Think like a canine
Easy access
Anastasia, a Tibetan terrier in Shingle Springs, Calif., gets to her backyard through a dog door.
Read: How to landscape a dog-friendly garden
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