How to Keep Dogs Out of Your Yard?

Are you tired of unexpected furry visitors leaving a mess in your garden? Do you want to enjoy a peaceful afternoon without the interruption of a neighborhood dog destroying your flower beds? If you’re nodding, you’ve landed on the right page! Today, the gardening problem topic is all about “How to Keep Dogs Out of Your Yard?” in this guide, you will get all your answers. We have also jotted down some personally tested tried tricks, ensuring a positive outcome.

You will learn some easy and helpful tricks, which will help to maintain a dog-free zone while keeping good relations with your neighbors. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in!

9 Best Methods to Keep Dogs Out of Your Yard!

1. Physical Deterrents

One of the best ways to keep dogs out of your yard is to create physical barriers for them. This will help keep them in control. There are plenty of options you can use to create physical barriers, like bamboo stakes, fencing, cover crops, chicken wire, etc. You just need to select one method, which will create physical deterrents for dogs.

From personal experience, I highly recommend installing a dog-proof fence. It will protect your plants and garden beds. There are plenty of fencing options in the market or online stores; make sure you are buying a high-quality material fence, which makes it difficult for dogs to climb or tear it. Plus, you must extend the wall below the ground a bit to deter digging attempts.

Note: You can also use fencing to keep rabbits out of garden.

2. Spread Baking Soda in Your Yard

You are wondering, how to keep dogs out of your yard. Well, try spreading baking soda around your lawn boundary or around flower beds. You can spread raw powder or take a bowl and prepare a mixture of baking soda and water, then sprinkle it around the boundaries. Especially target the areas where the dog has marked his territory by urinating. We recommend you repeat this trick twice a week to get better results.

Baking soda neutralizes the dog’s urine smell. This prevents the dog from tracking its territory. Eventually, the dog will stop coming back to your lawn. In this way, you will also get rid of the dog’s urine smell, and your plants and flower beds will be protected.

3. Try Organic Fertilizer to Keep Dogs Out of Your Yard

It would be a good idea to use organic fertilizer in your lawn. It will help keep dogs away because they can’t tolerate the strong smell. However, you need to be careful while selecting organic fertilizers, as many of them are made from animal-based products. Like bone meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, or feather meal, which can actually attract dogs and other animals.

We recommend using plant-based fertilizer; you can easily get the best one from online stores or nearby gardening shops. Always remember to read the label first. It should be pet-friendly so that dogs or other animals don’t get affected while trying this trick.

4. Sprinkle Vinegar Around the Yard Boundary

Another best way to keep dogs out of your garden is by sprinkling vinegar solution around the yard boundary or near plants. Dogs hate strong aromas, and vinegar is one of them. You can prepare the vinegar solution at home and fill it in a spray bottle. After that, all you need to do is spray it around the yard perimeter, and then wait and watch.

A dog will take one sniff of your garden and turn away; he will not try to come back again. But you need to apply this trick regularly. If you think spraying once will give you a long period of relief, then you are wrong. The smell will diminish after two to three days, so reapplying the vinegar solution is a must.

While spraying vinegar on your lawn, you need to be extra careful, so that you don’t damage your vegetation section.

5. Install Motion Activated Sprinklers

Well, if you install a water motion-activated sprinkler in your lawn, it will work as a two-in-one. It will not only help to keep your lawn hydrated. But, also scare off dogs or other animals who will try to roam around in your garden and spoil your yard with their mischievous behavior.

So, set up these motion-activated sprinklers around the perimeter of your lawn so that they easily sense dogs’ or other animals’ motion and sprinkle water on them. Initially, canines may love getting drenched in water, but when this happens repeatedly, they will get fed up and won’t try to enter your yard and treat it like their own home.

6. Plant Marigolds or Herbs to Keep Dogs Away From Yard

Ah! Plant deterrent tricks will never go wrong. One of the simplest ways is to plant those flowers or herbs in your garden, which dogs just cannot tolerate it. We recommend you plant marigolds, and herbs like mint, basil, rosemary, black pepper, garlic, etc… As we know, dogs have strong nose, once they sense the smell of these flowers or herbs in your garden, they will not try to come back again your garden.

The intense aroma of these flowers and herbs, makes dogs go mad and also affects their health. So, that’s the reason they stop going to places occupied with such aroma.

7. Use Commercial Dog Repellent Spray

We have already discussed home remedies for dog issues in your yard. But if you are not getting a positive outcome, we recommend commercial dog-repellent spray. You can easily find these products online or at nearby garden supply stores. They are available in numerous scents, some of which dogs don’t like. Some smell like predator urine, which scares dogs away.

For instance, from personal experience, we would recommend Nature’s MACE Dog Repellent. This one has a fresh minty smell and is completely safe for dogs. It just helps to keep them away from your yard. You can simply spray it around plants, vegetation and fruits, it will help you in protecting your garden without using harmful chemicals.

8. Talk With Neighbor’s

Are you tired of stopping a neighbor’s dog from entering your yard? Yes? But are you confused about how to keep neighbor dogs out of your yard? Well, one of the best solutions is to speak directly with your neighbor regarding the same issue. Try to explain to them that you are facing a lot of difficulty in protecting your beautiful plants and garden space from their mischievous pooch. Moreover, your children and pets are also getting frightened by their puppy.

If, in case, your neighbor denies accepting the allegation, we recommend you take pictures or video of their puppy. Still, if they don’t agree with you, then it’s better to have a word with local authorities. Bring them into the picture to save your garden from your neighbor’s dog behavior.

Read More; What to use to keep raccoons out of yard? How to keep cats out of garden?

What Not to Use to Keep Dogs Out of Your Yard?

When it comes to keeping dogs out of your yard, it’s important to use methods that are effective, and not harmful to the animals. So, we have jotted down some important things, which you should not use it;

• Any type of pepper should be avoided to keep dogs out of your yard. As it can lead to irritation in their eyes, mouth, and nose.
• Essential oils are not good for dogs. It is a toxic substance for them, so better not to use it, not even in small quantities.
• Home remedies like mothballs, tobacco, ammonia, and detergents can be harmful to dogs, so it’s better not to include these ingredients in your home remedies.
• Avoid any chemical substance that can harm canines’ health.

Always ensure that any method you choose to deter dogs is humane and safe for them.

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