Help! High-risk pregnancy and crazy dog!

I had such grandiose ideas last fall of what how my garden would be this summer. Well, I'm now growing something even more important! The problem is, I am high-risk due to preterm labor, so I am on modified bedrest (if I have preterm labor again, I will be on strict bedrest). Also, we got a dog in January. She is a husky mix and I've read they are notorious diggers. Well, she seems to be no exception to the rule. She looks at my plants as prey that she must dig up and kill! My DH is not at all fond of gardening and has threatened to throw grass seed in my beds and call it a day, since I cannot really care for them this year. We came to a compromise. I'm letting him seed some of the areas that Kiara has completely trampled and then I'm going to have a container garden on the deck. Any good tomatoes for containers? Any ideas for keeping the dog out of the garden? Thanks! Tamara

Tamara,

first of all, congratulations on your pregnancy. I'm sorry you're on modified bedrest, but you listen to doctor's orders and don't do anything s/he doesn't say is okay! Being on complete bedrest is not fun! It's maddening. I know....I was on complete bedrest for 6 full months! So take it easy!

Don't worry about your DH putting grass anywhere either. You can always get rid of it by doing the old 36 layers of newspaper for a year trick. It might take time, but at least the grass seeding is reversible.

There is a product called "Pet-Be-Gone" or something similar that you can sprinkle in areas that you don't want the dog to go into. But be careful where you spread it....if you put it in too many places, the dog will go there even more often in order to "reclaim" her territory. So pick the areas you really prize and use it there. It's only good for a week or so, so you'll have to keep reapplying it, but it does work to keep the neighborhood cats and my big golden retriever out of 2 of my beds that would be ruined if they tried to nap in them.

Also you might try giving your dog several more chew toys that she can "destroy" at will and praise her heavily when she does so. This "might" help somewhat.

Also, you can try putting flexible wire mesh over your prized areas so she can't even get access to them. She may destroy the mesh too, but it's worth a try.

We trained our golden when she was 4-8 months old using a non-violent method of dog training that utilizes cloth 'balls' (a washcloth that has been rolled up into a ball and bound with rubber bands) to discourage undesirable behavior. This keeps the dog from learning to do the bad behavior when you aren't looking. What you do basically is sit far away pretending not to be paying any attention to the dog. Then when the dog starts to do something naughty, you throw a cloth ball at the dog (without saying a word!) trying to hit him/her in the rear end with it (it honestly doesn't hurt....DH and I threw them at each other to reassure ourselves that we weren't torturing our doggie). Immediately turn back to what you were doing so the dog won't know it was you who threw the cloth ball. Even my VERY stubborn golden got the message within a week: "do X, get a ball in the butt from somewhere out in space"! LOL. It really does work. The idea is to get the dog to think that the punishment will happen no matter where you are when s/he does something naughty. Some dogs take longer than others, but even the dalmations and weimereiners in the class came around eventually (the trainer said they were the worst for training....his opinion...I'm not claiming this is a fact, so no one shoot me here LOL).

Again, congratulations on your pregnancy and keep that baby in the oven as long as possible. Remember, every day the baby stays put is worth two days in NICU!

-Julie

Congrats!!!

Congrats! and maybe I can help with the tomato thing.

What do you want to do with the tomatoes? BLT's or salads or salsa?

Just remember that 'indeterminate' plants keep growing and producing and 'determinate' plants stay short, but produce most of their fruit so that it gets ripe all about the same time.

I prefer the 'indet.' tomatoes, but it will depend on your space situation. A cherry tomato is almost always indet. , but does well in pots and baskets anyway. Just make sure that you have a 5 gal.container for a tomato plant..they have a vast root system and need the room.

A cherry tomato will crawl and tumble about anywhere and seems content even in a hanging basket. The full sized tomatoes need support, or they will get sort of snakey and viney. If you get a tomato cage, don't bother with the little round ones...they just make you think you have support. There are some square cages available at Lowes or HD that will stand about 4ft tall...those are what you want.
Container tomatoes need lots of water...they are heavy drinkers.

Other than that, all you need to do is choose what you want to do with them and I'll be happy to suggest some varieties.

And take care and don't over do it!

Thank you everyone for your replies! I was on complete bedrest with my last pregnancy after going into labor at 28 weeks. Being in the hospital for 5 days on magnesium sulfate is enough to scare me into being sedentary! My DH told me he would put up a lead in the yard, so that Kiara has limited access. Last year I had 9 tomato plants and it was insane (3 beefmaster, 3 cherry, and 3 grape). This year I am having 1 cherry tomato plant and 1 normal size tomato. I also have seeds for Italian eggplant, white miniature cucumbers, tiny pumpkins, Halloween pumpkins, and Prizewinner (one of those hybrids that can grow to be 300 lb). I also have many flower seeds as well. I guess I'll just take it a day at a time and see how it goes. Tamara

How far along are you with this baby? Maybe you have older children who can help around the house? Try some potted garden plants this year, the yard can always wait til next year! How old is your husky? If she is young, maybe she needs more to do. Will she retreive? You could throw a ball from a sitting or lying position if she will bring it back. You might try giving her part of the yard where it is okay to dig. Train her to that spot just like housebreaking-scold digging in the wrong spot, take her to her part of the yard, encourage her to dig, praise when she gets it right. Most dogs are smarter than they let on and can learn this, if it is within your activity limits. Good luck!

Congrats Tamara! I'm not sure about what tomatoes are good in containers, but I'll bet if you asked on the tomato forum they'd be able to tell you. I do know that you can grow lots of flowers in containers. My favorite: The Brugsmansia. But they are alot of work, and that is exactly what you don't need right now. I sure hope some people come up with some good suggestions for you!

Karrie