# protecting......PLANTS!



## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

does anyone have ideas for training my dog to leave container-grown plants ALONE?

last year he would get bored if he was outside and i was in, pull my plants out of the containers, then play w/containers & plants.

the easy is : don't leave him out unsupervised. but he enjoys just being out there where he can survey his domain. plus, i can see the deck out the window, but he always seemed to wait until i was otherwise occupied and took my eyes off him for 3 minutes (the little sneak).

the ideal: an e-collar, but there's no $$ for one right now.

i was thinking about bitter apple on the plants/containers, but wonder if anyone has any other ideas?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

A soapy spray?


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

that might be worth a try--he IS AWFULLY picky about what he'll eat. it can get kinda comical--when he was about 5 mo old we were at training, and this guy offered him some bacon (his treats), brix picked it up, then spat it out and wouldn't have anything else to do with it


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

There are a number of products on the market that are made to keep rabbits, deer, etc from nibbling on plants. I suspect they would work for dogs also. 
Personelly, any critter, human or dog, that doesn't like bacon should be put out of it's misery.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Does he eat the plants, or does he play with the containers?? If it is the containers,then look into concrete.


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

oh, he plays with the plants, tossing them around, breaking their poor "backs", etc, etc. then, when they quit amusing him, he grabs the containers and drags them around til most of the soil's gone, growling at them.
concrete may be the best option for the containers, as he will pick up and drag out 5-gal containers that probly weigh 45-50 lbs with no problem...

just thought of this: he'd probly end up breaking his teeth TRYIN to move concrete......


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## Lacey Vessell (Nov 18, 2006)

My two pups are the same way with plants and young trees whether they are in the ground or in containers...I bought a roll of wire fencing (pretty cheap) and placed it around my containers as well as the shrubs/young trees that were also in the ground. It was definitely worth the try as inexpensive as it was, although I did think they would mess with the fencing at first, but no problems since.


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## Lisa Maze (Mar 30, 2007)

I have tested just about every spray, granule etc. designed to repel dogs and none work well period, especially outside. 

For me the number one solution is a FiShock system. You can get a starter kit for about $100 bucks. It is just a scaled down version of livestock fencing and is available with solar or plug in power and a variety of types of attachment (to run it along chain link, on wooden fences, in the ground etc.) The beauty of the FiShock system is two-fold. One it does not require a training period like the invisible fence...it is pretty simple...touch the wire, get shocked. Two, after a few corrections dogs generally avoid the wire and do not check to see if it is charged so you can use dead wire (not attached to a power source) to keep them away from other parts of the yard.

Until you have the money, however, let me recommend a concotion that works well outside (unless you have kids under three who are not verbal enough to understand "Don't touch this stuff and pick your nose or you are in for a world of hurt!"). Go to Costco and get the biggest tub of petroleum jelly (vaseline) you can find, then head over to the spice section and pick up a jumbo size container of cayenne pepper. Stir the two together and apply to plant leaves, pot edges etc.. As it is not alcohol based, like most of the repellant sprays, it does not evaporate. Ii can easily be wiped off with a papertowel if you have a family BBQ and do not want to have to explain what the odd slime growing on your plants is plus it is cheap! It also works well on hotspots a dog will not leave alone...the capsaicin in the cayenne pepper is an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever.

Lisa


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## Amanda Layne (Aug 9, 2006)

Lisa Maze said:


> I have tested just about every spray, granule etc. designed to repel dogs and none work well period, especially outside.
> 
> For me the number one solution is a FiShock system. You can get a starter kit for about $100 bucks. It is just a scaled down version of livestock fencing and is available with solar or plug in power and a variety of types of attachment (to run it along chain link, on wooden fences, in the ground etc.) The beauty of the FiShock system is two-fold. One it does not require a training period like the invisible fence...it is pretty simple...touch the wire, get shocked. Two, after a few corrections dogs generally avoid the wire and do not check to see if it is charged so you can use dead wire (not attached to a power source) to keep them away from other parts of the yard.
> 
> ...


WOW, I wish I had known about this LAST SUMMER! I am going to try that............


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## Jessica Fry (Jan 4, 2007)

What may work (depending on how dedicated your dog is ) is Cribox. You can get it at most tack stores, it's meant for horses that chew on the woodwork around the stable or blankets and such. It's non-toxic, available as a paste or spray and it tastes and smells HORRIBLE!


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

The stuff Lisa recommended should work great. I've never mixed it with the petroleum jelly, but I do put cayenne pepper around/on plants that my dogs want to mess with. I've always had to go back and resprinkle though every few days as it ends up blowing/falling off the leaves. I like that idea as it will stay on the plants indefinitely.

For the pots I have simmered a large amount of cayenne pepper in a small amount of water. Strain it, put it in a spray bottle, and mist the pots with the mix. I've never tried misting the plant itself, I would think the pepper spray might kill the plant.

Alum, a white spice you can get in the spice isle, is another good one. It's a food item, so safe, but tastes horrible. When I have a dog that likes to chew up equipment I'll coat it with an alum/water mix, since I'm also going to be handling the equipment and don't want to get the cayenne pepper mix on my hands.


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## Lisa Maze (Mar 30, 2007)

Kadi Thingvall said:


> Alum, a white spice you can get in the spice isle, is another good one. It's a food item, so safe, but tastes horrible. When I have a dog that likes to chew up equipment I'll coat it with an alum/water mix, since I'm also going to be handling the equipment and don't want to get the cayenne pepper mix on my hands.


Isn't alum the stuff Tweety Bird gives Sylvester that makes Sylvester pucker up?

Lisa


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Lisa,

Yes.


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## Amanda Layne (Aug 9, 2006)

Any ideas for diggers?  Last summer my male dug up one crepe myrtle, this year my female thinks its really fun to dig up the whole thing and bring it to me.........rootball and all. She will just stand at the back door with a tree in her mouth waiting for me to come and see what she brought me.:-x


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

what a bunch of great ideas--i KNEW i could count on you guys


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Alum was a Tom and Jerry staple.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Amanda Layne said:


> Any ideas for diggers?  Last summer my male dug up one crepe myrtle, this year my female thinks its really fun to dig up the whole thing and bring it to me.........rootball and all. She will just stand at the back door with a tree in her mouth waiting for me to come and see what she brought me.:-x


If the dog digs a hole, fill it with his own $#!+. He may dig somewhere else but rarely in that spot. 
As for the plants. I've kept dogs out of trash cans by taping mouse traps to them. 
A Dobe I worked with wouldn't go near the kitchen waste can after it got a mouse trap on it's lip. 
Then again, a big Lab though that mouse trap biting him was the neatest thing since sliced bread.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

I think one of my old Rotts had a personal record of 4 traps on her at once from rooting around in the trash. Didn't even flinch. Stoopid dog.


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

wish i coulda seen THAT!! i can imagine, though 
i've used traps for years to stop counter/garbage surfing (and kinda got my a$$ chewed on leerburg once for suggesting it, but WTH), but never thought about sticking one in the planter....


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

I will be honest, it wasn't very effective, and for the most part I remember putting the traps in the can with the idea of stting a personal best, not necessarily thinking it was gonna bother the dog.

I got about 3-4 chances a night to set a record, and I used to try to get to the kitchen before she would shake them off.


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## Lisa Maze (Mar 30, 2007)

For neighborhood cats harassing my clients dogs I recommend the motion activated sprinkler call the Scarecrow. Here is a link to an online store that carries them...

http://pondparts.com/subcat274.html

Lisa


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

The worst problem I had with cats was in Ft Lauderdale, I must have found 20-25 of them in the first month I lived there. Dogs were having a blast, but it sucked when the neighbors came looking for their cats.


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## Ken Thompson (Jun 9, 2006)

All this time I thought my dog were just trying to re-pot our plants for us. They take the potting soil, open the bag, take it to the other dogs, goes back and get the pot. Accidently breaks the pot in little pieces. Then goes and gets a flower off the table and takes it to be re-potted. Has a lot of trouble putting them together.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Lisa Maze said:


> For neighborhood cats harassing my clients dogs I recommend the motion activated sprinkler call the Scarecrow. Here is a link to an online store that carries them...
> 
> http://pondparts.com/subcat274.html
> 
> Lisa



One of the pet forums I'm on brought up the Scarecrow. It's apparently also sold on Amazon.com and the customer reviews are surprisingly good.


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