Man’s Best Friend…or Woman’s!
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I love my dog! Cocoa is our third dog in 25 years and she is such a sweetheart! Cocoa LOVES her yard and LOVES to sit and just enjoy everything! Our dogs have been spoiled to have a very nice fenced-in yard with cool soft grass, warm sunny spots and lots of shade to relax in. Our dogs are inside/outside dogs. I should also add that we have had large breed dogs –(Doberman Pinschers) so having a nice yard has been a challenge over the years.
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Fenced yards are great since you can let your dog have free run and they don’t have to be on a leash. And dogs love to be out with you working in the yard!
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Giving them a place to “do their businessâ€Â is very important. Even more important is teaching them when AND where to “goâ€. We learned that with our second dog, Scarlett. As a puppy we trained her with “business specific words†and when we took her out on the leash to train her we said the words and eventually she would “do her business†on command. (Great if you have to take your dog somewhere, knowing they did what they needed before go for a ride.) We have wooded areas in our yard that became the place to “goâ€. It has worked with Cocoa, the dog we have now. Â
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Grass- dogs love to lay and roll on it. We are careful with pesticides, fertilizers and such. Read the warnings before you buy and make sure to wipe your dog’s feet with a damp towel when they come back in the house after using anything. We do normal spring and fall care to the yard and it looks nice and holds up to an energetic dog!
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Flowers and veggies! No Irises in my yard… when they are budding they smell so sweet and Scarlett ate all of them so I relocated them. Be sure to research plants going in the yard to make certain they are not hazardous to pets. For the most part our dogs have left most things alone.
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Know your dog and what they like to do…be aware if the are mischievous and may get into things. Snakes, ticks and stings. Ask your veterinarian what to do when these things happen to your pet.  Good to have a first aid kit for your pet! My husband is a veterinarian and we have had plenty of stings, snakebites and ticks to deal with. (This year has been a particularly bad year already for ticks.)
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When you adopt a pet think about your yard, fenced or not, how much time you have to play with a pet, inside, outside or both. Find out about different breeds to see what fits your personality.
Thank you, Nancy, for a wonderful guest post! Do you have pet “issues” in your back yard? Whether it is a dog, cat, or…how about chickens? See you soon! ML
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