I’m in deep doo-doo. Remember that cute little Lab pup we got last winter? Luna is all grown up, and she is a wonderful addition to our family (she’s definitely making the list of “best dogs” in my life), but I need to make some changes in the garden.

When we picked her up last year, I thought the challenge would be digging as she grew up. I had several friends with loveable Labs who told me that they sure like to go crazy in the soft soil.

But that wasn’t the problem. Nor was her love of raspberries. She took care of the berries on the lower branches every night as my husband harvested. It was hilarious to watch her carefully pick them off, and we’re happy to share with her.

Poop in the Garden

The problem is she chooses to use the raspberry patch, horseradish bed, plus other gardens as her personal potty.

When the snow melted off this winter, I understood the massive amount deposited in the worst places. It’s really unnerving because I really wanted to dig horseradish to make a sauce last month, but I truly don’t want to use it when I know what’s been sitting on top of it for months. Ick.

Besides the yuck factor, having dog poo in the garden is a potential health risk. Even when I’m applying chicken or horse manure to the garden, I’m sure to give it 4 months between putting it on the garden and harvesting. That’s the rule of thumb to ensure it is exposed to sun and rain that it breaks down enough to minimize the risk of contamination. And dog (as well as cat and swine, just in case any readers have pigs roaming the landscape) is notorious for potentially bad news for edible crops. One of the big reasons I raise a garden is to have healthful food; picking up parasites or some other nasty disease isn’t what I had in mind.

How to Retrain a Dog

So what can I do? I cleared the area above the horseradish last week, and applied a liberal amount of cayenne pepper to see if the strong smell will keep her out of the area. (I have more than I will ever use; I’m not sure what I was thinking in Sam’s Club.) That didn’t slow her down at all. She trotted out there one night without even a sniff. I’ve talked to people who’ve used moth balls and other repellants, but I truly don’t think that’s going to solve the problem.

It’s going to require retraining. Of course, the first step is cleaning up all of the prizes. I have to cut back the ‘Polana’ raspberries (a fall bearing variety that I cut to the ground each spring) to be able to pick it out from in between the canes. And I need to go to all of the gardens to see what spots she favors the most.

To keep her out, I can either put up chicken wire or electric fence. I probably will try both. I don’t think I’m going to have to create a heavily fortified structure because it’s more of a matter of convenience than anything to her. If I tap in a few t-posts and loosely attach the chicken wire to them, I’m confident the situation will be solved for that area. Same with the electric fence. I’ll use a single strand of the white colored wire we take in the backcountry with us to keep the horses in camp, and turn it up only enough to to remind her she shouldn’t trespass in that area.

Next Steps

The next step is teaching her where she can go. The nice thing about Luna is she goes in the same areas. Outside of the garden, one of her favorite spots is behind the bee hives. This works dandy during the winter, but I’m not sure how it’s going to fly once the bees are out and about. She does seem to like a little privacy, too, which might be why she chose the lush security of the raspberries. If I plant bird-friendly shrubs in a spot towards the back of the property, it’ll give her a place to call her own. And, the beauty of it is the fecal matter will act as a fertilizer to those shrubs (at least until I pick it up).

Which reminds me, for those who have doggy doo duty coming up, instead of throwing it away, you can bury it near a non-edible tree or shrub. That won’t hurt a thing, and it’s a good way to be rid of it without adding to the trash.

This is going to be a pretty big project this spring to configure these barriers in order to retrain Luna on her potty manners. But it’s worth it. I want the gardens and the dog, so it’s on my shoulders to make the two work well together.