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Pet Friendly Landscape Company

Pawfriendly Landscapes (formerly Home & Garden Landscapes) is Colorado’s ONLY child & pet friendly landscape company. Established in 1998, we pride ourselves on promoting a healthy relationship between pets and their owners. Practically every call we receive is from a desperate dog owner who says, “Our dog(s) has eaten our yard! Help!” We do NOT promote shock collars or any harsh punishments for a dog – after all, the dog is just being a dog. Every dog owner should be so blessed to have an energetic dog who enjoys running up and down their yard, sees sprinkler heads as a “toy” and digs to China for fun! Thank goodness you’re blessed with a healthy dog that can demonstrate so much energy! When we get these calls we tell the homeowner, “please don’t get angry or frustrated, this is a dog and it’s his yard too – we will teach you how to live harmoniously”. The nicest response is “we did not relinquish our dog to a shelter because we were able to work with our dog AND it was affordable! Thank you so much, Pawfriendly Landscapes!” And that’s exactly the way it should be!

Top Ten Dog Problems

What alternatives are there to shock collars? It’s simple – NOTHING TAKES THE PLACE OF EXPERIENCE! We have had SO many years of “DOING” what works and we have developed MANY wonderful, non-threatening techniques. To itemize the “complaints” are:

1. “My dog digs – what can I do?” Install LARGE cobble rock! It is not only beautiful, but it is very awkward for dogs to walk and let alone to dig. They shy away from cobble, regardless of size of the dog. Mastiffs will even stay off of it – however, a homeowner needs to install at least 3 -5 feet width of cobble to prevent the dog from digging or walking on the cobble. It’s a great technique!
2. “My garden already exists, I cannot afford to install lots of new cobble, what else can I do?” Easy, easy, easy answer – install textured plants! Dogs hate plants with thorns (don’t we all?)  and they will stay off of barberries, junipers, rose carpets, pyracantha and beautiful boulders! Boulders can prevent them from digging and running along gardens, HOWEVER, I encourage people to create an attractive running path along their fence (especially if it’s next to a green belt or high traffic area) with pea green gravel so the little critter can run, play and simply be a dog!
3. “I just paid $2000 to have my dogs’ tendons repaired because he hurt himself on edging – what can I do?” There are SO many ways to prevent a dog from hurting himself on edging! It’s not only hard on an owner financially but emotionally too! We use roll top edging (available at all bulk material stores like Pioneer) strip stone, black jack, brick or pavers for an edging. No do will hurt himself on it – steel edging has a “safety” cap BUT it pops off and your little critter will hurt himself (you might too!)! It’s worth the investment to use a different edging – labor and material might be a wee but more expensive that steel edging BUT in the long run, no cuts or injuries will occur!
4. “My dog eats sprinkler heads” – we suggest “run your sprinklers at night OR bury the drips in cobble so he won’t dig and find them!” They HEAR the irrigation and think “yea, a toy!” So many (including mine!) will eat the heads BUT you need to run the irrigation when they’re not in the yard or bury it so they can’t get to it. We analyze every situation and do what suits the client and their dog.
5. “My dog leaves urine burns” – they do and they will – especially females! However, we always create a beautiful dog area with pea gravel or .75” rock mulch for them to use rather than grass. We locate these doggie areas as far away from the patio as possible. We want the owners to entertain their friends and be happy while using their patio so we like to keep “doggie” areas away from it.
6. “My dog run smells bad and my dog is not happy in it”. We do NOT promote small, confined areas for dogs BUT many people have pet doors that go right into a backyard and do not want their dogs running into the entire backyard. We suggest two simple solutions: a) Create a large dog area that is shaded – no south-western exposures unless lots of shade trees are established OR a shade cloth can be used on top of the do area! B) NEVER, EVER use landscape fabric if the dog is going to “live” in this dog area! In other words, if he does not have the entire yard to play in, please do not use landscape fabric. When a doggie defecates or urinates he may eliminate on pea gravel or .75” rock mulch but IF there is a landscape cloth installed, his “filth” will not decompose into the ground BUT will “decompose” on the fabric creating a stench and an unhealthy environment.
7. “My dog runs up and down my grass and kills it while following dogs or neighbors walking along side my fence”. I ALWAYS say, let’s create an attractive dog path with pea gravel (most dogs like pea gravel) and pet friendly edging! You must always use edging when there is a transition in your yard – therefore, you must make sure it is pet friendly since your dog uses it!
8. “What plants are toxic?” We do not use foxgloves, hemlock, poinsettias (indoor plants!), yews, and Easter lilies. Dogs need to “graze” quite a bit on these plants for toxicity, however, please check with poison control for the amount of ingestion per plant – they can be reached at 303-739-1100.
9. “What NOT to plant near dog areas” – any bee attracting plants such as Blue Mist/Blue Beard Spirea and Russian Sage. Remember, ALL flowering plants attract bees while in bloom but some have sweeter nectar than others (such as Blue Mist Spirea/Russian Sage); therefore you should not plant these aforementioned plants near entrances, pet areas, and children areas.
10. “I have indoor cats, what can I do to supplement their need to eat fresh plants?” We encourage people to grow indoor grass and catnip. Both are very hardy and can grow will full sun and water! Cats love to graze and we prefer INDOOR cats so we need to meet their needs. Install these plants in a hot sunny area in your house and your cats will love it!

You can also call Pawfriendly Landscapes to find out about a new and innovative product they custom-design and build for you – Indoor Doggie Litter- boxes, for loft-dewellers, or injured or convalescing dogs.