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Your lush, green lawn is a special sanctuary for your whole family, furry friends included! But did you know your yard can provide more for your dog than a safe space and room to run? By considering your dog’s five senses–smell, hearing, touch, sight, and taste–you can enrich your dog’s experience, giving them an outlet for their mental and physical energy. After all: a tired dog is a happy dog!
Dogs have an incredibly strong sense of smell, estimated to be as much as 10,000 times more sensitive than humans! It’s a huge part of how they experience the world. Fill your garden with fragrant, dog-friendly plants, like chamomile, lavender, rosemary, mint, and barley grass to give them something to sniff. Move your pots around regularly, or dig up existing flowers to plant new ones once in a while, so your dog doesn’t get bored with the arrangement.
Playing with sound is another great way to enrich your dog’s world. The natural swishing sounds of leaves and ornamental grasses can be soothing to your dog. A bird feeder will also bring bird songs and the rustling of other small animals. Consider incorporating wind chimes and a babbling water fountain to break up the typical noise of cars and neighbors. All of this comes together to create a pleasant and diverse soundscape for dogs and humans alike.
Use a variety of textures and materials to allow your dog to feel some interesting terrain under their paws. Give them gravel or mulch pathways in addition to the grass and patio space. Ramps and platforms can allow them to climb and explore safely, while a sand box gives them an outlet for their digging instinct.
Though dogs are colour blind, seeing the world in shades of blue, yellow, and grey, they definitely benefit from visual interest in a space where they spend a large portion of their time. Fill your garden with plants of varying heights and colours, as well as elements that move with the wind. Decorative garden flags, pinwheels, wind chimes, and bird feeders with animal activity can all catch your dog’s eye and attention. If your dog is not reactive, adding a plastic, see-through window to the fence at their level can give them endless entertainment as they keep an eye on the neighborhood.
If you’ve ever caught your dog eating something they shouldn’t, like dead bugs or scraps of garbage from the floor, you know that eating is another way they explore the world. Taste is closely tied to their superior sense of smell, so it's not unusual for them to put something in their mouth to learn more about it. This is why it’s important to make sure that the plants in your dog-friendly garden are safe and non-toxic for dogs. Avoid toxic plant varieties like tulips, lily of the valley, rhododendron, and autumn crocuses. For a happy taste experience, hide treats throughout the yard to let your dog go on a treasure hunt with a delicious reward!
