How to create Dog Friendly Landscapes
How to Create Dog-Friendly Landscapes in the San Antonio Area
It is important to keep our dogs in mind when designing our Outdoor Landscaping Projects. We can achieve dog-friendly landscapes by installing ornamental grasses & smooth stones instead of rough, scratchy bushes & sharp rocks. We can also install the proper sod, create a designated poop area, make sure that they have adequate water/shelter & avoid Toxic Plants.
Install a Pet-Friendly Lawn
Besides the obvious heavy foot traffic, our dogs can also hurt our laws every time they urinate and poop. So it is important to choose a strong, traffic & urine tolerant grass. Bermuda & Zoysia are the most high-traffic tolerant grasses for the San Antonio area. Out of these 2 kinds of grass, Bermuda would be the best choice because it is fast repairing, handles traffic very well & you can reseed as often as needed. But it does not do well in shaded areas. Zoysia also does well and can tolerate moderate shade unlike Bermuda while handling high-traffic areas as well. But seeds can be harder to find. Sod can be key to creating dog-friendly landscapes.
Designate a Poop Area
In order to keep your outdoors looking and smelling good, especially for your guests and to avoid excessive damage to your lawn, it is important to create a space with crushed granite or mulch where your dog can do their business. It is quite easy to train your dog to only poop and pee in these areas. Start by walking them over to the area when you know that they need to go. When they do end up going elsewhere, reprimand the behavior so that they start to catch on. Immediately pick up the Poop and place it in the designated area. They will understand what they are supposed to do in no time.
Proper Shade & Hydration Areas
We all know how hot it gets in San Antonio during the summer months so it is important to designate an area where our dogs can cool down when needed. Even if your dog spends most of the time indoors, it can be easy to get busy and forget to bring them back inside. This can be accomplished with Patio Covers, Pergolas, Dog Houses, or even a Large Umbrella. Besides keeping freshwater, we can also install beautiful water fountains that will provide our dogs with fresh water whenever they need it, not too mention that they can also stay relaxed with the soothing sound of the water splashing down. Proper Shelter & access to water is very important when you create dog-friendly landscapes.
Avoid Toxic Plants to Dogs
There are hundreds of plants that can harm our dogs, so it is important to consult with your Landscaper or Local Nursery to make sure that you do not get these toxic plants installed in your landscapes. You’ll be amazed that some of the most common plants used in the San Antonio area can have detrimental effects on our pets.
Here are a few examples of Toxic plants. Please view a complete list of ASPCA’s list of Toxic Plants for dogs.
Aloe Vera. Although this plant has healing qualities for humans they can be very toxic to dogs.
Amaryllis & Lilies. These flowers produce toxins that can affect our dogs which include excessive drooling, vomiting, and blood pressure lowering.
Caladiums. Also known as “elephant ears” can cause calcium oxalate that can produce sores, burning, and swelling.
Begonias. A popular plant in South Texas is poisonous to both dogs and cats.
Texas Mountain Laurel. These beautiful plants have toxic red mescal beans that can cause nausea, convulsions & even death in some extreme cases.
Sago Palms. These wonderful drought-tolerant plants have poisonous seeds that have a high concentration of cycasin that can cause our dogs to vomit, have bloody stools, increased urination and some neurological symptoms like seizures, etc.
Please contact us if you have any questions and we will be glad to help you create your dog friendly landscapes.
