Our dogs, Honey and Luca, are very energetic and can play hard. The picture of Luca's back, our black & tan Doberman, is a great example of how dirty my dogs can get after playing outside for an afternoon. But, can you imagine my backyard??????? Having hundreds of pounds running, jumping, pouncing, dashing, falling, and sliding through the yard, leaves severe mutilation of our grass and a number of other plants. To avoid having my tomato plants trampled I built a raised bed. It did work for our dogs, but not for a couple of visiting dogs. After having our pond liners torn up twice, because chipmunks found that it would be the perfect spot to build a den, we filled them in. However, the junipers that were planted there, were now in the way of a great "sprint route" to the fence. I couldn't believe it, but they got killed by constantly being run over by dogs. This spring I was so happy that my Hostas came back, and then I could watch Emily go ahead and just bite off the young tender leaves. At this point I was willing to give up on ever having a decent looking backyard. It was bugging me though, especially after my husband having finished a wonderful outdoor kitchen and a beautiful deck. I was so frustrated until I found an e-book on how to create a dog friendly yard. I can't implement everything that is suggested, but I got some great ideas out of it and had some aha-moments. I'm now newly energized to tackle my backyard again. The only thing holding up my plans right how is that I have to wait until my tendonitis in my shoulder and elbow heals. :-))
The e-book can be found on Maureen Gilmer's website: www.moplants.com
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