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In My Garden Blog

June 19, 2008
New England
By Kathy Bond Borie,
Richmond, Vermont

When it comes to apples or most any other fruit or vegetable, Sophie would happily eat 5 A Day.

Gardening With a 5 A Day Dog

My yellow lab, Sophie, is very single-minded. She lives for food ... fresh or rotten, it makes no difference. She'll tear into a garbage bag if given half a chance, gorge until she makes herself sick, then do it all again the next time the opportunity presents itself (which isn't often, I assure you). She also happens to love fruits and vegetables. She used to make a beeline for the tomatoes or tomatillos or strawberries as soon as we let her outside. She stole more veggies than the deer, groundhog, and rabbits put together. So we fenced in that garden.

Then she developed a sudden interest in the blueberry patch. So we fenced that in, too. In fall when the apples ripen and drop to the ground, she snuffles through the leaves until she's found every one. Good thing she can't reach the sour cherries that are reddening now on dwarf trees, but I'll bet she's trying to figure out how to reach them.

I have a friend who adds her family's leftovers to her open compost bin and her dog pays it no attention. This amazes me. When my dog visits, she makes a beeline for the pile and nothing will distract her. It's in her bloodline, I guess. So it's no surprise that we have to enclose our food scrap compost in a plastic tumbler. But I recently had several yards of manure-based compost delivered, and this has proved to be Sophie's new favorite spot to sniff around. The other night she sampled some (the breath tells all), which means she can't be trusted around that either.

A Taste for Black Gold
Our efforts to contain her culinary curiosity are not just for our benefit. Danger lurks within many organic materials common in yards and gardens. I just read in the local paper about how more pets are becoming sick from their owners compost piles. A local veterinarian says his practice has seen an increase in compost-related illnesses this spring. Bacteria, fungi, molds, and yeast can produce toxins that can cause serious illness, occasionally death, in pets, especially dogs. The Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine cautions homeowners to keep all meat and dairy byproducts out of compost piles because of clostridial toxins, among others, that can cause serious illness or death.

Cocoa hull mulch is another common garden material that can present a hazard to dogs because of the theobromine and caffeine. Dogs are especially sensitive to these chemicals, which in low amounts can cause gastrointestinal distress but in large amounts can be fatal. According to the ASPCA Web site, ingesting over 5 ounces -- a couple of big mouthfuls, I figure -- can be dangerous. For some reason Sophie was never particularly interested in cocoa mulch but I stopped using it when I found out the risks.

Plant Hazards
Occasionally Sophie will chew a few blades of grass, which could be risky if we used any pesticides (we don't). There are quite a number of plants that are poisonous to pets; examples include azalea, foxglove, lily of the valley, rhododendron, rhubarb, and yew. Any poison control center can advise if your pet gets caught red-handed with a questionable plant.

Insect Snacks
My dog thinks June bugs and moths exist purely for her entertainment. Lying inside the screen door at night, she saves the house from those marauders by attacking the screen until her owners wise up and shut the door. Until recently I allowed her to catch June bugs for an after-dinner snack. Then I read about cicadas being harmful to pets because of their chitinous shells, and I figure June bugs might fall into the same category. The chitin is not digestible, so a quantity of bugs could cause vomiting and constipation. Another item scratched off the menu.

Even without the freedom to run free, Sophie manages to sneak forbidden fruit now and then. And, thankfully, dogs' stomachs can tolerate an incredible amount of disgusting detritus. Of course, her fixation on food has (supposedly) made training her easier. For a carrot stick dabbed in peanut butter, she'll follow us anywhere.

Our dog also loves vegetables and fruits.  Part Yellow Lab and our
vet speculates Anatolian Shepherd.  She viewed our green beans in
raised bed as a buffet for her own delight and "climbed aboard. 
Denuded our tomato plants--green or red.  Peppers and squash too. 
Loves all greens except spinach.  At the advice of a dog handler we
strung a wire and electrified it around the three raised beds. It
works beautifully and we now have vegetables to harvest.  She waits
out of range for games of cherry tomato toss and joins me at the
kitchen counter for extra lettuce and mesclun.  I would recommend
the electrified wire
to anyone.  It didn't frighten or hurt her--just
an unpleasant jolt.

You might also try this.  Set up a table or something that is above
her head but will be stable for the short run.  Fill a soda can or
plastic bottle or milk jug with hard beans or something that will
make a lot of noise but not be too heavy, attach a string to it and
a goodie on the end.  PUt the item on the table so she takes the
item at the bottom of the string and when she pulls the string she
pulls the object off and the loud noise and the weight of the
falling object might just scare her away enough to keep her away. 
Another idea is to set up an area just for Sophie; kind of like a
child's sand box.  If she's a digger, fill it with sand and hide
special treats and toys in it.  Encourage her to go to it and when
she digs and finds a doggie goodie reward her with a food item other
than anything you have growing.  I've seen this done and it's a
remarkable solution.  I've had Labs and they are surely food driven,
and lovers of just about anything.  They're also smart!  Hope this
helps.

 I would be happy if my 2 year old Lab Maddie liked veggies.Instead
she has a strange liking for toads!She retrives them better than any
ball.

Our Yellow Lab Bear thinks that our tomato plants are his own
personal salad bar!  The green plant stains on his forehead is
usually a huge tipoff!

Katharine,

Glad the electric wire solved the problem of your dog munching in
the garden. That's a great solution.

Hi Caryn,

Thanks for the ideas. When we were training Sophie not to steal food
off the counter, we tried all kinds of tricks. What finally worked
the best was setting food on the counter as a lure and then
squirting her with a bitter apple spray when she jumped up.
Eventually just the sight of the bottle sent her slinking away.
Fortunately Sophie isn't a digger so she doesn't tear up any plants,
but I think your "sandbox" idea would be a clever distraction and
I'm going to pass it along to a friend with a digging dog.  

Hi Carole,

A toad-retriever -- that's a challenge! Wonder if a squirt of bitter
apple spray (from the pet store) in the mouth when she brings a toad
would be a deterrent? Good luck.

Hi Kathy, your column reminded me of Bridget, my Afghan hound who's
no longer here. She loved cantalope and strawberries; was very picky
otherwise - preferring only a couple flavors of $$$ canned dogfood,
burgers and fried chicken (sans bones, of course).

Am glad you included cautions about pesticides, compost, cocoa hulls
and insects. 
Charlotte

My yellow lab is 10 weeks old.  "Big Boy" would try to eat all my
flowers in my garden.  I used a spray called "Repel" which is
organic and does not hurt animals.  It has an offensive odor.  I
sprayed it on my plants a few times and now Big Boy leaves them
alone.  This also works for rabbits, deer, armadillos, etc. etc.

Hi Charlotte, 

Your dog had good taste! 

Kathy

Hi Marlies,

Thanks for the repellent recommendation and that's a bonus if it
works for other animals, too. 

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