Gardening & Greyhounds
by Sandy Hightower, GreySave board member

As an avid gardener, I was a little disappointed at the look of my backyard after a few months of having my two active greyhounds, Reggie and Cantel (and usually one or two fosters). My dainty annual flowers had been used as a dog bed, bushes were munched on, and the lawn had large yellow spots and was thinning.

 

After experimenting over the course of a year with various plants, designs and surfaces, I have finally come up with a garden that my dogs love and in which I enjoy being. I replaced tender plants and grasses with heavy duty, vigorous-growing ones.These seem to co-exist well with my dogs, since the constant abuse by my greyhounds keeps these plants’ invasive nature in check. I also added some pea gravel to areas that contain lots of flowering shrubs and fruit trees, in order to entice the dogs to do their business in that area.

 

Cantel loves to participate in the gardening activities, so I keep her in the house while I’m adding new plants. If I don’t, she will unearth the whole lot in less than ten seconds. Sometimes I can distract her by giving her one of the extra kneeling pads, which is a good dog toy bargain at 99 cents.Perennials that seem to bounce back quickly include daylilies, geraniums, bearded irises, society garlic, lavender, Mexican bush sage, star jasmine, cannas, Mexican evening primrose, and Jupiter's beard (centranthus ruber).

 

Shrubs with attractive flowers that thrive in my yard include cape mallow, cape plumbago, and hibiscus. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if it grows well on the side of a street or on the edges of parking lots, it can probably live with your greyhounds.

 

Your Greyhound would be glad to supervise, help, or even take over the care of your garden. This, however, may not be the best for the health of your garden…or your Greyhound. Read the following articles for tips on Gardens and Greyhounds.

 

ASPCA Toxic Plant Database

Many plants, although not fatal, cause diarrhea, gastrointestinal problems, and other health issues. They include very common plants such as some types of palms, mums, lilies, daffodils, amaryllis, baby's breath, iris, poinsettia, day lilies, ferns, and birds of paradise. This ASPCA website provides pictures, as well as common reactions to hundreds of plants. To check out the safety of plants in your yard or neighborhood, scroll to the bottom of the web page and click on the first letter of the plant you want to research.

 

Grass and Greyhounds

My greyhounds love to chase each other around the yard. They especially love to chase each other around large bushes or trees, digging into the grass as they go. To make for more interest than a large expanse of grass that will never look like a well-manicured golf course, add beds containing flowering shrubs or specimen trees, right in the middle of the yard.

Leave a pathway along the perimeter of the yard to allow for running and games of chase around various areas. The pathway will provide interest for the dogs as well as the gardener.

 

Grasses that seem to do best with dogs are those that regenerate and spread through runners, such as bermuda or St. Augustine. Some products on the market promise to reduce grass burn by lowering the alkalinity of the dog’s urine. I have not tried them, because I’ve read articles online that say it is not the alkalinity, but mostly nitrogen overload, that causes burn in a lawn. The solution most commonly mentioned is watering the lawn twice a day, but this goes against general water conservation and healthy lawn recommendations (i.e., water less frequently to encourage root growth).

 

My solution is to have mostly male dogs, since they tend to urinate on the bushes or trees. I hand water my female’s spots if I’m around to see her go. If you have given up in the battle for a perfect lawn, don’t underestimate how beautiful a garden with winding pea gravel, bark mulch or decomposed granite pathways can be. As long as there are plenty of lush mounds of bushes and perennials, it will still be a garden, even without the grass.

 

Things to avoid in a garden with greyhounds:

Cocoa mulch – highly toxic to dogs.
 Pesticides –not safe for greyhounds. Snail bait is very enticing to dogs, looks like kibble, and is a common poison problem seen at veterinary offices.
Herbicides –including “Weed & Feed” type fertilizers.
Plants with thorns or spikes - palms, roses, bouganvilla, cactus plants. Keep these fenced off or pruned well to prevent injury.

 

Poisonous plants

Below is a short list of common western landscaping plants that are poisonous to dogs. 

For a comprehensive list, a quick internet search will yield many detailed listings. Chances are your garden contains at least one of these plants. Mine contains four of them. The key is to be aware of what your dog eats, which parts of the plant are toxic, and the level of toxicity in the plant.