How to Train Your Dog to Stay Out of the Garden

Put your dog on a leash and walk the perimeter of your garden to introduce the garden. Do this a few times a day, or each time your dog is outside, for a few days.

Put up border or utility flags along the path of the garden to mark your dog’s boundaries. These won’t keep him from entering the garden, but rather give a visual of his boundary.

Continue to walk this border once the flags are up, but start pointing to the flags. Your dog should be interested enough to sniff them as you point. Each time your pup touches a flag to his nose, give him a treat for acknowledging the border line. Do this for a few days, up to a week.

Take the leash off your dog and walk the border of your garden. Every few steps your dog takes without crossing the line offer a treat and give him lots of verbal praise.

After walking this space several times a day on and off leash, pull the flags up and walk the space off leash without the flags. Your dog should stay on the correct side of the garden line.

Be sure to reward your dog for a job well done each time he’s outside without crossing the boundary line into your garden.

Teach your dog the ‘leave it’ command and move that command into your garden spaces.

Hold a treat in your hand, close your fingers around it, and let your dog sniff. Say the command ‘leave it.’

Give him a reward from your other hand for not getting to the treat in your closed hand.

Practice these steps several times in short training sessions for a few days.

Hide a treat on the floor under your hand. Use the ‘leave it’ command with your dog as with the steps above. If he’s learned from the above steps, he shouldn’t even sniff the treat. Be sure to offer a different treat if he’s successful at leaving the treat on the floor alone.

Once your dog understands 'leave it' and will not show interest in the item you have hidden, begin to place toys and treats in the open. Using the leave it command, expect your dog to not bother the items. Always reward with a different treat for a job well done.

Walk your dog to your garden’s edge and use the 'leave it' command. It may take a few tries and a leash to keep him on the correct side of the garden, but he will begin to associate the ‘leave it’ command with not being in the garden. Reward him each time he stays on the correct side of the garden.

Be sure to stay with your dog for the first few weeks your dog is walking near your garden. This will give you control and the opportunity to use the command. Once he can be trusted, use the command before you let him outside. He should recognize he is supposed to leave the garden alone when he’s in that space.

Add unappealing items to the border of your garden. Plants that have a bad odor or plants such as cactus can keep your dog from entering your garden.

You can place a fence, even if temporary, around your garden to keep your dog, as well as other critters, out.

Sprinkle crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper along the garden’s edge. Your dog’s enhanced sense of smell likely won’t enjoy the scent, keeping him out of your garden.

Build a water feature along your garden’s edge to deter your dog from crossing that boundary into the garden. This will also add beauty and the soft sound of flowing water to your garden.

If you have yet to build a garden and are wondering how well it will fare with a dog around, you may want to consider planting a container garden. Your dog could walk around large raised beds or pots without bothering the plants growing inside.