Dogs and bushes/shrubs/landscaping

coasterqueen wrote: Is there any type of plant/bush/shrub, etc that a dog can pee on and not kill it? I was hoping those with dogs may know.

We FINALLY got the landscaping ripped out in front of the house and some of it put back in. Gavin killed most of the landscaping peeing on it in the winter months. So I'm watching him like a hawk when he's in the front area of our land. In the back, that's where he is all day (in the fenced in part) and so I can't watch him and get on him when he pees on the landscaping. I don't want to plant anything if he's gonna kill it again.

So far I know he can't kill Wiegela or at least he's not peeing on it because it's semi-surviving. My boxwoods in back - he killed those instantly.

Any advice or help? I need to go to the nursery and ask them, but haven't had time yet.

kit_kats_mom replied: I dunno. We keep rocky on a 50 foot line outside which is anchored in the ground. He has a good area to run in but he can't quite reach the bushes or gardens.

DVFlyer replied: Not that I know of. Supposedly adding Apple Cider Vinegar to their food changes the PH of they pee so it doesn't kill grass and plants.

Honestly, training is your solution.

coasterqueen replied:
I knew you were going to say that. It's just really hard to train him when we aren't around, kwim? Nights and weekends they are with us, either inside or outside and when outside I do watch him from doing it, but we are mainly in the front yard when that happens. Since he has free rein of the back yard, it's just hard to teach him.

I don't want him on a tie-out anymore. He was on one for 4 months or so and I hated it.

Ryan was going to put shock wire up around one side of the sidewalk where he likes to pee, and we'll do that because that will keep him from even going in that area or from either of the dogs from digging in that particular area , but the other areas of the back land we can't do that.

I may research the ACV a bit more and see about doing that.

coasterqueen replied: Must add this doesn't help me curb the rest of the dogs out there, though. That's why I'm really wanting to put plants in they can't kill with their pee.

mom21kid2dogs replied: Parker pees on our boxwoods and ornamental grasses all the time but it doesn't seem to phase them. Maybe he needs his own special tree?

coasterqueen replied:
Hmmmm, no fair I say! You know I often wonder about Gavin's pee because it's really dark. He has no "issues" or symptoms, it's just dark. Maybe that's the reason it's killing things. Buster squats to pee so no issue with him. Gavin killed all 4 of my new boxwoods I planted in back last Fall and 3 in the front yard. He also killed 2 barberries. Of course the neighbor dogs don't help the boxwoods or barberries out front, either.

Gavin has many trees he can pee on. He pees on the pine tree-lets all the time and it hasn't killed them. He marks EVERYTHING, drives me insane!!!!!!!!!!! Buster doesn't mark a thing, but Gavin marks it all. I tried taking him for walks when we went camping a couple weeks ago, and there were LOTS of dogs on the campground - we stopped so much for him to mark every inch of that campground. Drove me nuts!!! I tried pulling him with all my might and he fought me so I made Ryan take him for a walk.

mom21kid2dogs replied: Parker's pee is so yellow I asked the vet about it (it's fine, apparently) This entire conversation proves, however, that we are truly dog moms (and dads). So reminiscent of baby poop color topics when the human kids were little!!

coasterqueen replied:
Yeah, I used to look at their poo when I'd walk them every day just to be sure it was ok. I know, I'm weird. If DH walked them I'd say "what did it look like, was it ok?". Now that they have a fenced in yard and don't get walked as often, I don't look at it, lol.

DVFlyer replied:


Dogs typically have to go potty after they eat, sleep and play. Barring other issues, they shouldn't have to pee other times.

Focus your efforts around these times.

Not sure of your schedule but try this:

Give him his last water at 7:00pm. At 9:00pm take him to the "potty spot" and tell him to "go pee" or "go potty"... whatever.

If he goes praise him. If he doesn't, take him to his crate or somewhere that he can't go to the bathroom.

Then in the morning, with a really good treat in your hand (hotdog, cheese etc), take him outside (on a leash) and walk him to the potty area and say "go potty". Walk around that area until he goes.

When he does give him the treat and praise him.

Rinse and repeat.

(For what it's worth, Ginger is not potty trained. But I put no effort into it so I don't blame her. But I also keep her in her kennel to save the grass and only let her out supervised.)

coasterqueen replied: Yeah, our schedule is MUCH different. I'll try to explain it best as possible. At 6 am I get Buster out of his crate and wake Gavin up from his bed (near our bed in the master bedroom) and send them outside to the backyard which is fenced in - so they can go pee. I then get ready for work, and when I go into wake the girls at 6:30/6:45 I let the cavalry back in. They stay inside with us until we leave for work at around 7:30, that is when they go back out into the back yard. We don't get back home until 5:30 pm. During 7:30 - 5:30 pm we have someone who comes several times a day to play with them, feed them their raw food, take them for walks if they feel like it, let them in and out when it rains, etc. So they pretty much have free rein of the back yard all day while we are gone. Then from 5:30 to 10:30/11 pm they are inside with us and we let them out every so often to go pee.

So it's difficult to keep them from peeing wherever in the backyard, etc. I can't crate the dogs all day - I will not, just can't. We did the tie-out with Gavin and he hated it and so did we. I tried to tie-out with Buster when he was little and he sat there until he chewed it free, don't ask me how, but he did. He eats EVERYTHING (even rocks, stupid dog).

I think what we are going to do is put up decorative garden fencing around the landscaped areas we don't want them to ruin. I did this around my deck boxes (level with deck seating) and Buster has stopped digging in them. Not sure if the fencing will keep them out of the landscaped areas though. We'll see. We are gonna give it a try. It's not the prettiest thing to do, but it's either that or get rid of them and that's not gonna happen. lol

DVFlyer replied: Sounds like a fairly normal schedule. I like that you have someone come over during the day. Plenty of people who have dogs wouldn't go to that length.

Here is how I would do it.

Wake up at 6:00am and take both dogs outside on leashes (one at a time) and reward them for peeing where you want them to go. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes if they've been in all night.

After you let them back out when you leave for work, instruct the person who feeds them to make them go potty after they are fed. That would require that person to leash them and them reward them for going in the predetermined spot.

When you get home, if you feed them, feed them early and do the same potty routine. Then perhaps one more time before they are in for the night.

For what it's worth, I babysat my Uncle's dog a while back. He had never been to my house before. I let him outside to play and he went right to the kennel and pooped right where Ginger's poop was. No coaxing from me at all.

Ginger doesn't even do that and she LIVES there.