Anytime I’d let the kids play outside, they’d come in the house having stepped in…droppings…yes, that’s a nice word for it. lol. I wanted my kids to be able to play outside, but not have to walk around avoiding piles all day long. Likewise, I wanted our little Beagle to be able to be outside without getting into the kids toys. Seemed like I needed a solution and dog proof garden ideas.
How to Doggy Proof Your Back Yard
I saw a lot of options, yeah, not really. There was a huge metal pen to keep the dog in, but that wouldn’t work. I wanted to be able to let the dog out anytime without having to lock him up in something. He’s an indoor dog, doesn’t understand the beauty of being outside, getting fresh air. I know, weird, right? Even on sunshiny days, he scratches at the door like a cat after just a few minutes, or jumps for the doorknob to open it. He has been known to open doors!
It just seemed like nothing would ever work for us. So, I happened to have a superyard that I got at a yard sale that I was reselling several years back, and put him in that. But, it was completely closed in, and he didn’t like that, started howling (yep total Beagle thing), and it just didn’t work well for just letting him out and keeping the kids separate. So, I had an idea…an epiphany, if you will.
What if I put a couple gates together to make one large gate. Something that a person could take down very easily (as I was renting), yet still provide a gate that would make borders to keep the dog and kids separate for potty purposes. The dog, not the kids. The kids go potty in the house. lol.
So, I bought a few more gates and prayed. It actually turned out well. At that house, I split the yard in half and tied the gate ends to the fence and to the house on the other side with string. Easy peasy. The lawn guys could still mow easily and it was great.
Same thing here at this house. I have sectioned off a particle for the dog and it’s easily movable for the lawn guys. On occasion, the kids will leave the gate open, so they will have to clean up the droppings, but for the most part, it has worked out really well for us. We let the dog out on the kids side to play, and it’s become a SUPER solution for us.
Our dog is a Purebred Pocket Beagle, so he’s smaller than other Beagles. I think this solution would work well with any small dog. A large dog could just jump over the gate, so may not be a great solution for bigger dogs. I would say this solution would work great for any 20 pound dogs and under.
You can get the gates for about $20-$35 for a set of 6-8 panels off Craigslist and Facebook groups – how’s that for inexpensive fencing! Depends on how big your yard is as to how many sets you’d need. I needed 5 sets for my yard, which still came out cheaper than using one of those dog pens I saw online. I ended up needing a little more than you might since I needed extra strength at the end toward the house. There’s nowhere to tie it on. You can just put them in a diagonal pattern design so it won’t blow over in the wind.
Other tips to keep your dog and yard safe…
The other thing I like to do if you have a digging dog is to put a line of cement bricks across your yard. Again, you can get used ones off Craigslist and they work great as the dog can’t dig a hole under the fence.
To keep our dog away from my garden, I use the gates. If you don’t want to use gates for your dog, but you want to protect your garden from a dog, you can just click the gates around the garden and make a square or rectangle with the gates.
If you keep your dog outside, you’ll want a nice doghouse. If you live near snow, it’s a good idea to get a heated mat, and if he gets bored, put a couple chew toys out there, to help him not want to chew anything he’s not supposed to. Thankfully, I’ve never had that trouble, but I think it would be HORRIBLE to deal with. To keep our dog from chewing our hose, or rather, get him started chewing, I protect my garden hose in a garden box.
Also, if you want your dog to go potty in a certain area, don’t put food in that area. They like to keep those two things separate.
Be sure to pick up everything in the yard that he could destroy or chew or get hurt with. Even things like electrical outlet boxes. You want to have those covered.
What are your tips for keeping your dog out of trouble and safe in your yard? I would love to hear them!
