Does your dog join you in gardening.

One of my dogs loves to be around me when I'm gardening. I have 3 dogs and the other 2 will have no part of it but Daphne (female English bulldog) loves to watch me working in the garden. When I plant something she always wants to lean over and inspect it. When she gets tired of "inspecting" she will sun bathe right next to me and take a break. She's awesome and she makes sure not to step on anything that I plant. I'm not really sure what she gets out of it though. Just thought I would ask here to see if anyone else had this type of relationship with their dogs. I guess some company in the garden is better than none.

I have several outside dogs that could care less about "helping" me garden but my little three and a half pound poodle Whitney helps me all day long. If I am digging she will inspect the diggings to see if I dug up anything interesting for her to "hunt" like a worm. She will sleep in the sunshine near me and bark at friends who come up the driveway, her way of "protecting" me. She is so small that she never bothers the smallest of plants even if she did step on one by accident. I don't know how I could garden without her "help".

My shepherd inspects everything with me. My daily summer routine after work begins with walking around my yard and looking at everything, and she's right there with me. But that's where her interest ends. When the neighbor dogs come out or when people start coming round the walkway in the park behind us, she runs right up to the fence, pouncing right on my plants (or markers)! As the plants get bigger, she's pretty good about watching out for them (when she's not overly excited), but thank God I had time to make a map because there are quite a few broken markers out there!

Believe it or not the cat's much better but I keep her on a leash. She likes company as much as the dog and she's more careful about where she steps.

Bo flakes out on the concrete patio when we're out there but he's not remotely interested in what we're doing. He will ask if he need to go on the borders to fetch a toy though.

He comes wild plant hunting with me and will stick a wet nose on whatever it is I'm on my hands and knees looking at. Of course, he's disappointed, he thinks we're out there to hunt the pony and cattle herds. This strange human trait on having to get on your knees to smell out an animal must seem a terribly inefficient way to go about ones serious business of finding a likely prey.

My old and, now dead, border collie Sid used to position himself quite close behind me when I was weeding and stretch out for a nap. He was always in the line of fire from the discarded weeds and ended up looking like he was sleeping under a strange crazy quilt of vegetation. The younger of the two border collies we have now, May, will try to get in my lap when I'm gardening, but decided last summer that just sacking out near me was as good as it was going to get. She is always out of range of flying vegetation. Her grandmother, Sadie, will come out if May isn't around and enjoy the day with me in a very sedate manner.

And then was the late, lamented Ned, who depotted plants for me so I didn't have to go to all that work, ate the pots, dug out freshly planted plants to see if I had the roots deep enough and was always very pleased with himself.

This message was edited Mar 20, 2004 7:25 AM

Carly participates. If I'm digging a hole, she digs one next to me. If I'm moving pots or sticks...she moves them too. Sometimes it isn't exactly the help I'm looking for, but she gets into the spirit of things and jumps right in...literally.

Our dear departed Otis was an overseer...usually from a shady vantage. The fact that he was elderly for dog years, may have had some bearing in his activity, but he was always nearby.

The only thing Carly won't help with is mowing the lawn. The lawn tractor just isn't her cup of tea. She'll find a spot and watch in case the big loud beast starts to attack me, but won't come near except for barking at it when I first start it up.

The neighbor's wiener dog, on the other hand, adores the lawnmower and rides all day long when they are out mowing.

Kathleen, I think Ned has been reincarnated as "Little Hobo", my Yorkie! He is so hyper & nosy!He tries to dig up as fast as I plant! I love him though. LOL! Melba

Our three dogs and some of the cats run the gaumet from total lack of interest to insisting on being right in front of me under my face so that I have to work blindly while reaching over them. The later is when we argue about a dog's place in the garden. Mine couldn't care less if they trample the plants-which they do frequently. I have learned that some spots are favorite sleeping places in the summer and have just given up planting in those spots. After all, they have the right to a cool comfey place to sleep in the heat of the summer.

Nightmirror(nightmare) goes crazy so if shes in the garden shes on her leash!

This message was edited Mar 20, 2004 10:22 AM

Our three cats are all 'indoor' cats, but Minew cries continually if we are out in the garden and he is not. So, occasionally, we will let him out (under close supervision). We call him "Inspector 12" because he has to inspect everything that is going on. He doesn't disturb any plants in the garden since I grew a pot of catnip for him. But he loves to play Wild Jungle Cat among the thick shrubbery, when he is not underfoot, inspecting the plantings.

My Emily (Jack Russell Terrier) thinks she's the Great Hunter Dog of the Universe. So, she'll spend the the greater part of the day protecting the fenced boundaries of her universe from the evil likings of toads, anoles, turtles on the rampage, etc. Presumably, when I'm out working in the beds, she thinks I'm doing the same. Every time I start to dig a hole to plant something, she comes running to help out 'getting' whatever it is I'm so obviously attacking. lol, she kills me!

Venny (Greyhound), on the other hand, whenever he gets the gumption to GO outside (he's a little on the lazy side), he'll just come out, find me, and then force himself in between me and whatever I'm doing (at 90lbs., that's pretty easy for him). It's like he's saying, "Ok, I'm ready now - you can pet me."

My Bluebird, is a Llasa Apso, and she is with me everywhere out in the garden.. Pretty good about not stepping on anything. She is 4 1/2 years now, when she was younger she loved snow and would run and play in it when ever she was outside, now that she is older Blue doesn't think snow is quite so much fun. Donna

Moka (toy poodle) loves to help trim back blooms and remove plants-esp. iris---of course I do not want the plants dead-headed or moved--but she thinks it is a game and she can move a Whole lot faster than I can. She is not a year old yet and I am sure that she and her younger "sister-Pippin"-also a toy - will be Really helpful this spring! They love to run around the path that surrounds one of the larger beds-you all would not believe just how far that bark mulch can travel when kick up by the "Flying Poodle Duo".

Marcia, it helps to have "bark" mulch for them to run through. LOL

Oh no...my puppy Pooh (a Westie) loves digging in the dirt and knibbling on my plants so I keep him and my garden safe behind a fence. Maybe it 'll be possible when he 's an adult dog.