Keeping the dog off the vegetable patch

[eskymo]

Ok so this isn't strictly a vegetable question but I didn't know what section to put it in.

I've just recently adopted a border collie from the dog rescue kennels in Thornton. I was playing with her in our garden and wondered how I am going to keep her off the veggie patch [half of my garden] once I start planting stuff out and growing things from February onwards. Dogs have a habit of just walking over everything.

Has anyone got any tips?

Attached is a picture of the garden when we first moved into our house - it's at a very early stage of development in this picture. The region to the right with the tiled edging is the vegetable patch. I haven't got a recent pic of it unfortunately, but at the moment I have a coldframe and some mini polytunnels in place. Should I move these to sit along the edge to create a boundary, or should I consider putting up a small fence to deter the dog from walking over the patch?

If I act now and get something in place before any plants are put in the ground I may be able to train her to stay off.

Am I dreaming or does anyone think it's possible to train the dog to stay off a certain patch of the garden?

[Patsy]

Would it be possible to fence off the bottom half of the garden for your vegetable plot and keep her to the top section or is the hard landscaping too advanced to change to that? At least the females don't lift their legs up everything so its just some kind of physical barrier you need. Hope you get some more helpful tips than mine but enjoy your dog anyway. I know I have great fun with my two but I cheated and got an allotment for the veggies!

[eskymo]

No it wouldn't really be possible to fence off half the garden as we've developed it quite a bit since this picture. The picture is taken from the back of the garden looking down towards the front - the entrance is through the metal gate.

I was thinking of putting a small fence around the vegetable patch, just inside the tiled edging, but think the dog might just jump over it. I wouldn't want something really high as I think it would spoil the look of the garden and also reduce my access to it.

Maybe I could introduce a high fence - something at thigh height and grow sweat peas or nasturtiums up it...I really don't know what to do.

Any ideas welcome.

[WiZeR]

If you want to train the dog to steer clear then you haver to be ready to put in a lot of work. Everytime the dog is out there, as soon as sets foot on a bed you need to make some sort of sign that deters it. A simple 'NO!' may suffice, or get 2 pans and clang them together. It is a long process, but it will work. Eventually the dog will steer clear of the beds for a quiet life. If the loud noises do not work then it is a case of going out there and phyically leading him back every time he sets foot. You must do this every time consistantly.

[eskymo]

Thanks for the tip - that does sound like really hard work - I think I might go for a combination of that and a wee fence. I just found a roll of wire fencing that's under a meter high behind the neighbours shed and I'm going to ask if I can use it. I've got a week off next week and I need to start getting the garden ready for Spring, so I might get her out there and start training.

I want her to get used to the word 'NO' and associate with doing something wrong, so I can try and use the veggie patch to start her off.

thanks

[WiZeR]

It really works, You'll be suprised.

[eskymo]

I gather you're talking from experience...I'll give it a go and see how I get on

[Elmo]

We managed to train our dog to stay off the veggie patch but it is slightly raised which really helps them distinguish the difference.

All we did is kept an eye on her and clapped hands shouting 'off' everytime she stepped on it, it really didn't take long at all before she got the idea.

Good luck, but collies are particularly intelligent so you shouldn't have too much difficulty.

[JennieAtkinson]

We have just given a home to a rescue dog - 6 month old collie/lab cross, who saw my vegetable garden as a racing track. We have had her four weeks now and I have managed to train her with "no" and pulling her back. She has the odd mad run, but is learning. She is a quick learner and has already learnt not to go into the polytunnel, she just sits outside. So keep at it. I am also taking her to the local dog training classes and training her to walk to heel and come etc. So perhaps training across the board will help too.
Good luck
Jennie

[WiZeR]

We didn't train our Jack Russel as well as we should have. However she is very obedient and responds to 'No', 'Off', 'Down', as well as lots of other commands. Her only real problem is around other dogs, she wants to fight them!