Creating a dog friendly garden

Make your garden secure

One of the first things to think about before you let your dog out in the garden is how secure it is. Check all your fences and hedges, especially for any gaps that could be tempting for a dog to investigate and dig. Fences in the garden need to be high enough to stop your dog from being able to jump over.

Some breeds are expert escapologists – being surprisingly high jumpers, expert tunnellers, or even unlikely climbers. So, making fences high than you think you need, and digging them down below ground level, can often be necessary depending on your own dog.

Unfortunately, the recent sharp rise in dog theft is another reason to make sure your garden is secure, and ideally, ensure that your dog is not visible. Movement-sensing lights and visible webcams can also deter would be thieves.

Think carefully before adding a ‘Max lives here, please close the gate’ sign' or similar, as alerting passers-by to the fact that a dog lives at your house may make them a target.

Dog-friendly plants

When planning your garden – or preparing for your dog – it’s worth spending some time finding out about dog safe plants for your outdoor space. There are lots of beautiful dog safe flowers and plants such as roses and honeysuckle, however, there are also some very common garden plants that are toxic to dogs, including daffodils and tomato plants.

If you think your dog might have consumed any toxic plants, contact your vet straightaway for advice.

Even better, you could consider plants that are actually dog friendly and that dogs enjoy the scent of or even a nibble of. These often include grasses such as wheat grass and barley grass, herbs like lavender, rosemary and valerian, and others such as marigolds, meadowsweet, peppermint – and don’t just think catnip is only for our feline friends!

Playtime

Not only do you need to think about eliminating poisonous plants for dogs, it’s also worth looking at plants that will stand up to dogs running through them, large wagging tails – not to mention digging! Delicate grass, while beautiful for lawns, might not stand up to canine zoomies in the way courser grasses might.

Depending on your space, you might be able to include paths for an easier route through the garden, and creating raised beds provides some protection for more delicate plants. 

If you own a terrier or a breed/type that loves to dig, you could also build them their very own digging pit to save them digging up your precious flower beds.

Dog safe garden tips

• Don’t let your dog eat slugs or snails. Infected slugs and snails can cause your dog to contract lungworm. Additionally, they may have consumed slug pellets, which are highly toxic to dogs
• Keep any sheds or outbuildings secure – particularly if you are storing any chemicals, fuel or dangerous tools
• Fence off any pools, ponds or water-features that your dog could fall into and potentially drown, or that contain chemicals to keep them clean
• Avoid using any toxic chemicals anywhere in your garden to prevent the possibility of your dog accidentally eating or drinking anything they shouldn’t
• If you have a compost bin, keep it secure and closed – your dog might be tempted to investigate decomposing food, some of which could be harmful
• Tidy up clippings and garden debris promptly when gardening
• Regularly pick up acorns and conkers during the autumn. Do the same with fallen fruit.

With all these tips considered, you and your dog can have hours of safe playtime together in your garden, all year round!

If you have an Agria Pet Insurance policy, you can download the Agria App for veterinary help 24/7.

Last reviewed by expert behaviourist Carolyn Menteith on 9 July 2024.