Bush - Dog-Friendly Gardening: Creating a Safe Haven for You and Your Dog

Acknowledgements

A lot of people helped with this book, and a big thank you is due to the many friends as well as to all the Tellington-Touch instructors, practitioners and trainees who so generously shared ideas, stories and pictures, including:

Kathy Allison, Bob Atkins, Hilda Bootsmann, Val Borland, Maxine Bray, Jacqui Carter, Victoria Colville, Claire Colvin, Tina Constance, Mags Denness, Julii Elliott, Claudette Evans, Janet Finlay, Sarah Fisher, Keith Gullis, Ali Hetherington, Bill Hinton, Garry Hinton, Rachel Jackson, Anita Janssen, Kerry Jenkinson, Deborah Kieboom, Ali Knight, Jon Langley, Sally Long, Rachael Manns, Sarah Marsh, Will Marsh, Angie McCue, Marie Miller, Emma Mitchell, Shona Moon, Corinne Moore, Megan Moore, Ben Page, Lisa Page, Claire Pearson, Briony Price, Hayley Price, Julie Sadler, Toni Shelbourne, Kevin Spurgeon, Straid Veterinary Clinic, Anne Whitfield, Sarah Wright. And Andy Jones for last-miniute kennel pic!

Special thanks also go to Julie Webb thanks for all your patience! and to my two office assistants and head gardeners, Archie and Angel.

Foreword by Anthony Head

I love dogs I really love them. Big ones, little ones, long ones, round ones. I love their intrepid characters, their extraordinary expressiveness. When I see a dog walking along the street, Im always captivated by their unfaltering loyalty to their owner a genuine pleasure at being by his or her side. You can see it in their faces; as they go through a myriad of expressions reacting to all the various stimuli that they encounter, one overriding emotion prevails one of pride or love or something quite overwhelming that seems to stem from the bond they feel with us, the human race.

Many of the problems that owners encounter with their dogs derive from boredom, stress or anxiety. If we give them outlets for their natural drives and desires and encourage them to play, work and problem-solve, we can further enhance their lives and ours.

It follows, therefore, that we should do our utmost to enrich their environment and to continue to build bonds between us that will last a lifetime, not just in the home but in the garden, too. The garden does not have to be just a place to stretch their legs, or take that last wee before bedtime. It can be somewhere that our canine friends can enjoy as much as we do, and this brilliant book will give you some new ideas, expand on old ones, and above all help to keep your beloved dog safe.

Karen Bush is a dear friend and, like me and my partner, Sarah, a consummate dog lover. I am truly honoured that she asked me to write this foreword. Without a doubt this book should be on the bookshelf of every dog owner. Your dog will thank you for it.

Anthony Head.

(Courtesy Sarah Fisher)

Introduction

Walk into any bookshop or library and, whilst youll find vast numbers of gardening books stacked on the shelves, most of them wont offer much by way of helpful advice for dog owners. When pets are mentioned, its often in the context of them being pests rather than much-loved companions.

This book aims to help you find a way of successfully combining both dog and garden, and as well as looking at solutions to age-old problems such as dealing with urine burns on the lawn, also offers suggestions for how you can make your plot more dog-friendly: a stimulating, fun, and above all, safe place for him to be. All of the advice relating to medical treatment has been checked and approved by a veterinary surgeon.

Even if you dont really consider yourself a gardener, as you begin taking a more active interest in your garden purely for your dogs benefit, of course you may find it triggers a hitherto unsuspected gardening gene. If not, dont worry: your efforts will still be appreciated by your canine friend!