Gardening safely for wildlife

I was planning to plant not just to draw birds and butterflies but also to provide some shelter for other mammalian wildlife. I have to change my plans some.

My backyard is chain link fenced. I have a dog who rarely is outside without me. (Someone prefers my company!) He's big and thunders around, so it's not as if he could sneak up on anything. He's also an energy conervationist and doesn't bother to chase more than about ten feet anything that he can't catch. So far, that means he hasn't seriously chased anything, even on our woody land unleashed walks. So I thought that if I had some areas of "temporary" shelter, not permanent homesite, for mammalian critters, that would be safe.

Today at about noon my dog ran around the side of the house and started barking. I thought it was a new utitilty reader. I went around to make introductions. There was a HUGE groundhog. Big. Not just huge from being puffed up but long, too. Sitting up and chattering at the dog. .Way to big to crawl under the fence quickly or over it. Wisely knowing that there was no way he could turn his back to run. He wasn't cornered in the sense that there was nowhere to run, but the dog was only feet from him. My dog advanced, barking and only slightly indicating that he heard my "leave it, no". My dog pounced. The groundhog attacked back. My dog's killing instincts are not yet developed, nor do I want them to be. Instead of going for the groundhog's neck/back, he had gone face-to-face. The groundhog got a really good bite into my dog's jowls, and my dog jumped back for just a second. Enough for me to grab his collar and hold him. I was able to sort of get control and get my dog out through the gate and into the front yard. The groundhog made his escape while we were going around and into the house.

I think the groundhog was considering a big tree stump on the side of the house as a potential winter home. In addition to continuing to remove my vinca/ivy forest, I will also be removing a stack of firewood that I never got around to using. In years past (before dog), it had occasionally served as a nest area for possums and a resting place for racoons. Since dog I've never seen anything try to nest there, but I don't want to take any chances.

All I can think of for the tree stumps is to more frequently hover on that side of the house. (The tree people couldn't get a stump grinder to them.) Any suggestions?

You can either cut them really flat (as in dig out around them THEN cut) then cover them over with dirt, or else try to burn them out - which also requires digging around them for the fire-containment.

But that's really only if you want the stumps completely gone. A critter would need at least a foot or so of height for the stump to be considered a good home - so if you cut them as short as you can get them, they won't be as attractive to them.

Side note - just be sure you keep your dog's rabies vaccination up to date.

Or, you can build a habitat brush pile over the top of those stumps.

If you are attracting wildlife to your yard you may to work on training your dog to follow your commands better - even in the face of large ground hog. Though I know that depends upon the dog.

I can call my lab off any animal. But when I had a jack russell terrier - there was no way I could call her off of any animal.

I'm not going to garden for "larger" wildlife anymore. I've got squirrels and chipmunks and the occasional bunny has strayed in, but all of them can easily go under or over or through the fence, or up a tree. This was too close a call. I don't want to lure in anything that may nest at ground level for winter or reproduction.

joepyeweed, training is an important issue, for his safety too. Being realistic about myself, he will never be trained like your Lab. Congratulations to you - few pet dogs are as well trained as your Lab. Even if he were trained that well, I wouldn't have bothered to walk around to the side if I hadn't thought it was a new meter reader coming in.

No brush habitats here. Seeds, nuts, fruit, but no ground level residential accomodations.

BackyardZoo - yes, he's up to date on rabies. He gets better health care than I do. :)

Sigh, my dogs are losers too. They sometimes sit on command. Let me preface that statement by emphasizing the word sometimes. Sometimes they lay down on command. Come to my dogs means run the other direction.

We've got lots of critters here. Actual wildlife and feral and stray cats. Because my dogs are so... er...uh... well trained, I have to walk them on leashes so that they don't take off on me after something.

You know something, I just re-read my post. Sorry about that notgrnjean, I didn't mean to insinuate that your dogs were losers like mine but it sure does read that way. Sorry about that.

Also too, please know that the style of gardening you have chosen will most probaby "lure" in the larger wildlife. When domesticated animals and wildlife mix, the outcome generally isn't all that pleasant of an experience.

No problem, E. I read it to say we are in the same, common, group of dog owners. A well trained dog, not one that just accomodates to our lifestyles (Maybe I should say we to theirs.) The owner of a well trained dog is consistent and persistent in using methods that suit the individual dog's personality. No cookie cutter approach. Dedication, consistency. It's a lot of work, but if you have ever seen a really well trained dog, it is an impressive sight. A well trained dog is happy as is the owner. A not well trained dog is happy, but not so the owner all the time.

My dog did bring me a possum last week from the front yard. He put it down in front of me and started barking at it so it would get up and play. The possum was convincingly dead until I put down crackers coverd with peanut butter and honey, He briefly popped up at the smell, then fell over dead again. I placed him in an open box out front, with the crackers. I checked and hour later and he and the crackers were gone.The possum was waiting on my front porch the next night, and I quickly shut the door. I was glad to see he was alright.

Small critters have dug holes under the fence to go in and out. I don't know how this giant groundhog got in, or left for that matter. I don't think he'll risk it again. I don't want to create a habitat that appears attreactive and safe. My dog is too big to be deterred by logs and rocks and brambles.

I'm going to investigate what it takes to set up a bat house.If bats eat spiders, I will build them a palace with heat and running water, any little thing their furry heads would like.

Bat houses are a great idea: check out www.batcon.org for lots of info on houses and where to locate them. Sadly, bats won't help you with spiders (oh how I wish they would!): they eat flying insects, including mosquitos by the carload.

Bats won't eat spiders.

A groundhog and an opossum. Hmmm, maybe you might want to consider the Lauren routine and go for a leash before baby accidentally hurts or kills a critter or gets hurt himself. For what it's worth, we're on 5 acres and I never let these dogs out off a leash. Most of the wildlife stays in the backyard but some critters just aren't the brightest and there's so little habitat left that wildlife gardeners are bound to be repeatedly dealing with wildlife encounters. Sounds like your dog has some intense prey drive in him. I'm really glad the opossum was ok. They're such wonderful animals.

I really enjoy showing off my well trained dogs. Though I must admit - the personality of the dog really helps the training. They don't always do everything I tell them, but generally "LEAVE IT" and "COME" are the two commands that can save a dogs life. And I try to make sure we do them, once every day - just to keep them fresh.

If I may take a moment to brag. I showed off last year at the pet shop by having THREE dogs - sit and stay - without their leashes on - to get their picture taken.... while surrounded by many other people and many other dogs waiting in line to get their pictures taken. The photographer was using a squeaky toy and everything... I made it look easy. But really we practiced the group-sit and the group-stay every day for two weeks before we took the picture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/joepyeweed/12-07-2004.jpg

Bats may not eat spiders, but they'll eat the spider's food. Reduction of population by competition instead of directly. May take an extra season or two, but it will work :-)

Hint for teaching dogs "come" - get a really long leash and a friend to help. Have the friend lead the dog to the end of the leash while you hold the other end with some treats (alternately, have the dog 'sit & stay' if he will, then the extra person might not be necessary). Then call firmly for the dog & pull on the leash, giving him a treat when he gets to you. You can start with a pretty short leash, but if you work up to a REALLY long one, then it will be more effective when the dog is ranging far off leash later - he'll think he's still on a long leash..

Valid point-

Sure - I would love to take Twinkletoes for a week or so... though dog training is a bit of a misnomer - because its really people training... if you want to come for a week or two - that might yeild better results ;- )

Let's face it, our pets walk all over us. I know it and the dogs know it. I went to those classes. What a joke. My dog was more interested in sniffing all the nice butts in front of him for 45 minutes straight and this one lady with the Yorkipoo puppy always seemed to end up in front of me and she was absolutely disgusted when her dog ended up with hangers on its rear from Twinkle getting in a few good sniffs. The man with the Golden puppy was better natured but then his dog was a lot like mine, happy happy happy. Our dogs stay on leashes for now because their owners are worthless dog trainers.

Two weeks would about do it. One problem; I would come home and my kids would have no clean underwear, the cupboards would be bare, and my plants would be unwatered.

I've found training a dog is not as easy as I once thought. Nor is finding the right trainer. One threw Cheetos at him, one tried to beat him up, one excused us permanently from beginner's class because he dragged first me, then the trainer, all around the ring as he tried to play with all the puppies. Nobody tried to train me, which is what was needed first. (I got him from the shelter as a sickly but still strong and rambunctious adolescent.)

We've actually improved a lot. It was my fault he had the opportunity to dash into the front yard, but when he brought the possum in he did "out" for me and stood by while I tended to it. The groundhog -well he was right around the corner of the house. Not like a chase was needed. I was pretty surprised (shocked?) and relieved that he sat and then went to the gate with me (walking sideways and hardly taking his eyes off the groundhog that was still standing up and chattering at us).

E., he doesn't have a high prey drive. However, if that groundhog had made a burrow under a stump one night, he would have been trapped and unable to defend himself. One stump is very broad and somewhat over a foot I believe, BackyardZoo. I never saw its burrow potential until I cleared the vinca mass from it.

Bats - very interesting! A topic for its own thread.

Questions re attracting (or NOT) wildlife to a garden:

1) Do you think clearing the really heavy vinca cover from the stumps made them attractive as a potential burrow for the groundhog?
2) Does a heavy vinca infestation dicourage animals from the area because it may impede their ability to escape predators? I noticed but never thought about this - squirrels rarely ran across the ground with the heavy vinca on it. They would skitter and play acros the non-vinca land but almost always used trees and branches to move over vincaland. One of the early areas I cleared was all along the fence line, in about three feet, It includes the tree stumps. It made a wide clear path for the groundhog.
3) Does English ivy (hedera helix) deter animals from nesting, resting, hiding? A long pile of old firewood is 50/50 still covered in vinca and ivy. My dog ocassionally sticks his head deep into the vinca half to snuffle around, but he has never stuck his head into the ivy side - not once.

Have I just developed a vinca/ivy paranoia?

Vinca and other vines are excellent hiding places for snakes - so, therefore squirrels and the like will avoid them. They prefer the clear ground where they can both run quickly and see if they need to and burrows where they can see a snake coming. :-) I don't know why you dog would avoid the ivy side vs the vinca side, but it might be that there were just no interesting smells over on that side.

The best ways I can think of to deter wildlife is to remove the cover available (both vines AND stumps..) and to remove food & water sources. A local outside cat tends to be an excellent deterrant as well, if you like cats..

Don't worry about the dog training too much - mine still run rampant over us & I spend 2 summers working with a professional dog trainer in high school. But training takes TIME that I just don't seem to have.

I do think attracting wildlife to the yard is not without its repercussions.
I enjoy the birds and squirrels but I don't want to attract racoons and possums.
I have dogs and we don't need the altercations, or the fleas and ticks.

I have stopped providing water outdoors, not only for birds, but the dog dish as well. The water was the biggest attractant for the racoons. I eliminated the outdoor dog water dish and the bird bath and it has reduced the number racoon foot prints that I find.

You do NOT want to plant English ivy (hedera helix). Trust me on this one, you don't want to do it.

But, notgrnjean, if you want songbirds to come visit you, the last thing you want outside is a cat.