Dog gone dog!

Having a dog in the city often means having a dog in your garden. Pretty soon you notice patches in the lawn, holes in the flower beds and a new little path running from the back door to the front that wasn't included in the design plans.

Before you send Rover back to the pound with a dead gladiola wrapped around its neck, think about ways to prioritize your yard. Is there an area you just absolutely don't want your little meatball messing around in? If so, focus on really protecting this area with a fence. You can spend as little or as much money on a fence as you like.

Plant your delicates and tenders in containers or hanging baskets. Plant up and away from the dog. Buy garden pouches and attach them to a nice sunny wall or that fence you just built.

Delineate an area for the dog where it is okay to dig and make a mess. Train the dog to use this spot and not others by making it a nice space for the animal to relax-a shady spot, a grassy spot, a nice place to dig. There's nothing wrong with giving animals boundaries-in fact, they like it.

It's difficult to keep a lawn looking nice when you have a big dog. Consider taking some of the lawn out and building a stone patio.

Train it! Or call a trainer who can come to your yard and give you hands on/site specific advice.

Spend some money on training and you could save money in the future replacing dead plants and redoing landscaping.