Introducing Attila to the back yard

[DemiSheep]

We are going to let Attila free in our back yard soon for the first time, and wanted to get some advice about back yard safety. The previous owner of this house landscaped the front and back yard extensively. There are two huge landscaped sections on the hill in our back yard with tons of plants, you couldn't walk through it uess you're a squirrel. The big question and concern is the rose bushes. There are roughly 6-8 different types of rose bushes back there with different sized thorns.

Is there a way to keep Attila out of the landscaping? I thought about maybe putting a little fence around each rose bush or even about cutting them out completely. Has anyone successfully trained a cairn terrier to stay out of a particular area of their yard? What about 6 areas?

We also hadn't let him off leash back there yet due to the fact that we also have a rock wall which we've been practicing with him getting close to it. It's about 4 feet high. He has fallen off on leash only to be pull back before really falling a few times when he walks along the top of the wall.

Umm, how do I edit the title? (It's suppose to say yard, not hard!)

Bradl, heeeeeeeeelp!!

[Lynn in TN]

All dogs are different, but I haven't had a problem with Kelly being hurt by the thorns on my rose bushes. I let her play in my flower beds all the time.The coats on these dogs do a really good job of protecting them. I do watch her though because I have some plants that are poisonous to dogs and humans. For some reason she doesn't mess up my flower beds she digs in our yard but just sniffs and plays when she is among my flowers which I find odd. I thought she would be digging in them all the time because the dirt is soft in the beds and the yard is hard clay.

The 4 foot high wall I don't know about, but Kelly seems to be a bit more gutsy (as far as things that are high like our porch) when she is on a leash. Maybe it is because she knows I'm not going to let her fall.

I'm new at this too so I can't wait for others to answer so I can read them and learn.

[DemiSheep]

It's interesting you saying that about poisonous plants, because we literally have several dozen species of plants in our back yard so we surely have some that are poisonous. And Attila loves to sample every single new thing he comes in contact with. What is the best way to learn about what is in our back yard? Join a garden forum and take pictures of every plant and post them?? Maybe we should hire a landscaper/plant expert to come take a look, that'd be faster, but not as cheap.

[josie&holly]

As regards poisonous plants these links may help -

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/_resources/resources/factsheets09/factsheetpoisonoussubstances09.pdf

and http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/

[hheldorfer]

About 1/2 of my yard is gardens but Buffy hasn't shown much interest in sampling the plants. She decided to remove the leaves from some daylilies once, but she only tore them off and chewed on them a little without eating them. I watched her very carefully during the first summer she was with us and it didn't appear that the garden held much interest for her other than by providing her with a cool place to lay and hide, waiting for squirrels to come along. I wouldn't worry about the roses. Dogs are pretty smart - if they get too close and get pricked with a thorn once or twice, they'll usually avoid them.

If you identify plants in your garden that are poisonous to dogs, you can either remove them or just watch and see if Attila shows any interest in them. One caution, however: In some instances it's not the plant itself that the dog will eat but the berries/fruit. For that reason you should keep watching the garden throughout the season and make sure Attila doesn't start snacking when the plants produce seeds or fruit.

[BetsyNoodle]

If the county you live in has an Agriculture Extension service, there may be volunteer members (or Master Gardener students) who can come out and check your yard for plants that are poisonous to your dogs.

[Dempsy's Mom]

After you have it all figured out and safety proof .... Attila will absolutely love it! Have fun with it and let us know what she thinks of her new world.

[janis]

Kirby has free run of our yard. Isn't too much interested in plants. He runs from one end to the other barking at unknown threats. He has a great time. The only time he scared the cr..... out of me was twice, I could hear him barking, but couldn't find him. Then I noticed he was on the other side of the rail to the deck 1 story up! I climbed out to get him and prayed we both wouldn't fall! After that I blocked the way with some plants and he's stayed off since. Little bugger!

[Zekey's Mom]

My boys have free run of the yard, and don't have any issues with the plants. I have a few scraggly rose bushes planted against the foundation, and I don't think they have had issues with these.

My only real problem is all of the huge holes that have sprouted up all over the grass -- Gavin's got a passion for digging!