Ridding Garden of Pest Creatures

This picture shows our Pharaoh Hounds hard at work in the garden. Keeping the garden free of unwanted creatures is something they do often. Sadly they are not always terribly humane, and it is up to us humans to attempt to assist these pests finding humane ends to their timer in our backyard.

I don't mind the birds in the garden, if fact I love the birds who visit us. Fortunately, most of the birds are able to avoid becoming a meal to our hounds. It's a bit of a trade off - the pharaoh hound is an imported creature to our land, and the reptiles are all native to our land.

The snakes are one species I don't shed tears over, if they lose their life here. When our dogs capture a lizard though, whether it's a bearded dragon, blue tongue lizard or sleepy lizard, that pains me. I don't like it when the dogs find one of these wanderers... I just wish they would wander further, and stay in the places the dogs can't get to.

Our schnauzer is now an older lady, and she's not of the same nature as the pharaoh hounds, so these creatures, and the birds as well, are all safe from her. I just wish the dogs would all focus on the mice who invade our kitchen every now and then ...

Spring is Waking Up the Hounds!

Well, the sun is shining down (in between spring showers), and the dogs are leaving their sofa far more often, and venturing out to the garden. As I may have mentioned before, Buster is not a real dog, but the dogs he is based upon certainly are real dogs. They piss and shit, dig and race around, just like all dogs do.

Three of our dogs are Pharaoh Hounds, one of them a Standard Schnauzer. So this means the three hounds add chasing things into their mix of daily doings. The Schnauzer, being an older lady, and a sensible dog, leaves the chasing up to the leaner, crazier dogs... Schnauzers were originally created by German farmers to use as general farming dogs. So they were obedient and useful helpers. They were also child-friendly, earning the term 'Kinderwatcher', meaning child minder.

Pharaoh Hounds were originally named something else entirely, in their nation of origin - Malta. The Pharaoh Hound, or Kelb tal Fenek is the National Dog of Malta. They were used by farmers too, but weren't required to be obedient - their role was to hunt rabbits. Having owned this breed for over 10 years, I certainly know about their love on hunting!

Our Pharaohs will hunt any creatures that are available, outside. They've caught and killed lizards, birds, mice and at least one snake. Inside, they tend to ignore the mice, which is soooooo annoying! I've seen our pharaoh hounds snapping at flies, grasshoppers, butterflies and other assorted insects. And I've seen our Pharaoh Hound girls watching Air Force planes as they zoom by overhead ... It makes me wonder what they'd do if one ever landed here!

So, Spring is here, and the birds are all coming down with a dose of Spring Fever. The birds are so busy gathering nest building material, and engaging in the mating game, that I fear they're not always paying adequate attention to their safety. I suspect our hounds have been getting the odd bit of home killed meat, complete with feathers, here and there. I love birds, I love watching them, and it always makes me sorry when one of them falls victim to our dogs.

I love our dogs too, though, and I know it's perfectly natural for them to hunt and kill. The Laws of Nature can seem cruel, but that's just me beeing silly. Nature has many Rules and Laws, and I'm just one person, who is also subject to the Laws of Nature. I can only hope Nature continues to be kind to me, as I endeavour to be kind to Nature ...

Give a book for Christmas!

I'm truly hoping to have more copies of Dig It! available for Christmas - put and order in, and I'll get a reprint done (if I get enough orders).

Money back guaranteed if I can't get a book to you.

Dogs and gardens are eternal friends and an eternal frustration when things don't go right. The thing to do is to keep your sense of humour!

Look at the funny side of life and you'll enjoy yourself so much more!

Good 'Dog in the Garden' stories

I was talking to some people yesterday when I was poet in residence at the Mallala Hotel. We got talking about dogs, because I had showed them a copy of my 'Dig It! Gardening Tips for Dogs' book.

One of them told me about how he came to get his dog. It was not a nice story, but it had a happy ending. This man, Philip, lives in Singapore, and he had noticed a dog on a wire, so it could run 'loose', but there was no shade at all. This wasn't a once off situation, he saw it for some time. Philip was unhappy about the situation, and offered to buy the dog.

The owners refused, and said they couldn't bear to part with their dog. Philip said, what if I tell the authorities about how you are keeping the dog? The people backed down and sold the dog to Philip. The dog now lives a much happier life, with plenty of shade, and shelter when it rains. This dog is a kind of child substitute, much loved and cared for. Philip and his wife are happy to have saved the dog from distress, and thrilled to have the dog in their lives.

The other person, Scott, had a different story. He has a cairn terrier, which he takes hunting. The dog is a very good hunter, and Scott likes him for his hunting abilities.

Last winter Scott's dog was doing some 'pruning' of the creeper going up Scott's pergola. The dog chewed the plant right down to ground level, and Scott felt like shooting the dog, he was so angry. But he calmed down and the dog was allowed to live. Then, come spring, that creeper crept up and over the pergola, thick and lush and healthier than it had ever been. Scott is a firm believer in letting his dog get involved in the gardening now!

I was happy to hear both of these stories, it shows how beneficial it can be if you get your dog out there in the garden, and how much joy a dog can bring to a person's life.

Dogs in the Garden

I was talking to someone the other day and they told me their dog doesn't do any gardening. Doesn't dig holes, or chew plants, none of that naughty stuff.

Then they remembered. Their dog likes to move plants around a bit. He digs plants up, moves them to another part of the garden, then replants the plant in the new spot.

The person said it almost apologetically, like they were sorry their dog wasn't destructive! I would love to have a dog that did what that person's dog does. One of our dogs had a real thing about a camelia we had in a pot.
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Helga, our first schnauzer, would dig the camelia out of its pot, time and time again, until the inevitable happened and we got sick of putting it back in the pot and just chucked it away. The camelia was looking sicker and sicker all the time. They don't like having their roots mucked around with.

Helga is also the dog that taught us how tasty bonsai trees are, or possible how bad out protective fencing abilities are. In the end the bonsai trees lived on a table on the back patio, surrounded by chicken wire and posts. It wasn't the most attractive display in the world, but it kept the plants safe.

In her defense, I will say that Helga was a puppy at the time, and she grew out of the habit. Or maybe she didn't do it any more because we moved house and the bonsai was kept in a part of the garden the dogs didn't have easy access to.

Anyway, our bonsai are safe from dogs now. It's just the bugs and the sun doing them damage these days.