Riley web 002This is Riley. She is 95 pounds of self-appointed yard protection. No bikers, joggers, walkers, or trash men are safe from her ire. She’ll race from one end of the yard to the other to get a good bark in.garden trampled by dogThis is the war path. Nothing can grow along the fences where Riley chases her prey: not even weeds. I’ve had to get creative in trying to mingle my love of the pretty with Riley’s habit of crushing everything in her way. brick and stone planter against fenceHere I built a little planter against the fence to reclaim a bit of earth.fence with purple runner bean growing on itI have lots of these three-foot fence pieces (thanks, mom!) I use them to trellis pretty vines and to “steer” Riley away from areas I am trying to protect. grouping garden elements to act as dog barrierGrouping works wonders. Here, the combination of the planter, birdbath, and hosta is just too much trouble. She’ll go around rather than through.raised bed gardenLastly, I’ve been able to train her to stay out of the vegetable garden. Unlike the rest of the yard, it’s an obviously defined space. The walls could never keep her out, but they do give her a visual boundary. So far, so good.

6 thoughts on “gardening with dog”

  4. Oh, this is too funny! Riley’s habits are very much like our Liam’s, who, in his younger days, ran a path along the perimeter of our backyard. A friend called it the Liam 500. Love the creative ways you have used to make your yard beautiful yet allow Riley plenty of running and guarding space. After all, she is just doing her job, which I expect she takes very seriously.

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  5. Liam 500 – I love that! You just have to laugh about it & do the work-arounds in the garden (and life) where you can. And you’re right; she has decided that her job is to protect us and she is at it 24/7 with a vengeance. Love her so much. She’s four years old and in her prime, I think. Do you see her leg muscles in that picture? She’s a beast.

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