I live next to a park, is a ruined garden inevitable with a dog?

[cromartyforties]

Slowly moving towards getting a dog, haven't had one since I was a child. That dog was a beagle with zero recall and we lived in the countryside and couldn't secure all our boundaries, next to farmland, so we weren't able to let her run around freely outside and she got taken out for wees and frequent walks. That's not reflective of how most people are with their dogs though, so I don't know how it 'works'.

We live in a semi-detached bordering a middling sized park/field, no play areas, often used by dog walkers. It is a matter of 5 seconds to get from the front door to being in the park.

We also have a garden which has no lawn Cottage garden style so a mixture of paving and big borders. Husband is a gardener and I love the garden as it is and don't particularly want a dog to dig it all up.

If I am WFH I can frequently take the dog out for a run around. I just don't want to leave a dog outside all day, unattended, and have it ruin the garden. I don't mind stepping into the park in pjs to take dog for a quick wee.

Is it reasonable to assume that we could manage having a dog without it ruining our garden?

It's a field type park, mostly used by dogwalkers/people walking to work/ occasionally people sitting under the trees. There's no planting there or any floral borders etc, so nothing for a dog to 'spoil'. I'd already specified that it was well used by dogwalkers - you are actively looking for a point of contention and not being helpful.

What breed are you looking at?

Not looking yet, and haven't narrowed it down to a breed. Any recommendations?
Contrary to the people who think I'm about to irresponsibly dive into owning a dog, I want to make sure that we can provide the best home for it, and get the right dog for our circumstances. That might mean fencing off part of the garden, and creating a more dog friendly section.
It definitely means more learning about training, because that's something I can't remember from owning a dog in childhood as I was too young and our dog was poorly trained - I took her for regular walks when I was older but can't remember the puppy years. Thank you for people who have commented about training - I don't know what it is realistic to be able to achieve and I recognise I need to know more about this.
Probably won't get a dog for at least another 12 months. Want to make sure it is the right decision as it will (hopefully) change our lives.

@cromartyforties I'd personally got for something fairly small and placid as you're not going to want them digging even if you manage to fence an area off - the only problem is they wont hold their bladders for as long as they get older as a bigger dog will but their wees/poos are smaller so will do less damage as well as the digging etc

My dog is never unsupervised in the garden. My garden is as I planned it to be.

I think you'll be fine op. My dog doesn't dig, but likes somewhere to lie in the garden and chill. So if you are happy with that then it's all good.

I have two dogs and two cats and have the back door open most of the year. The dogs have never dug in the garden - some do some don't but I guess you can train them not to. But if you are getting a puppy it will be hard not to have them toilet out there at some point, but it doesn't have to be in your beds.

We have a beagle and he could be trusted in the garden once he outgrew the puppy/digging stage, which was when he was around 18 months old.

He now goes out regularly for a couple of hours (while I'm home) and sunbathes on the grass or the patio quite happily. I bring him in if he barks but he's not destructive and doesn't dig now he's an adult.

Most of it is down to training and management. You could section off an area of the garden where the dog could be safely left unsupervised, or you could use fencing and/or chicken wire to protect your plants from any digging, or put the dog on a short tie-out lead so that he could roam in a restricted area only.

Personally I find it very convenient to just be able to let my dog into the garden when I wake up and before bed without having to faff about with shoes, poo bags, a coat etc. I just let him out to do his business and then pick any poos up later.

How do you plan on toilet training? Especially before the dog is fully vaccinated - as it's not safe for it to be in a public field until then.
And are you going to feel safe going in to the field for potential 2am toilet trips?

It it's possible to train dogs to go in a specific place. We had a spot at the side of the house where we put a strip of artificial grass and encouraged out dog to go there. Obviously it got cleaned regularly.

Our dog is 2 now and generally still supervised in the garden - I have caught her trying to dig to bury a ball a couple of times and don't want the garden all dug up! My husband loves the garden and has a variety of plants - some poisonous which dog knows to avoid and some edible veg which she used to try and steal when she was younger but knows not to now... she likes to steal the plant labels though and run around teasing us!

She is trained to wee and poo in a designated area which is not on the grass or she goes on her walks. We used to take her to the area on her lead and say "wee wee" and wait until she went then give a treat, now she will go to the side door to be let out for a wee/poo then once she's been she is allowed on the grass!

My sister has a garden that sounds just like the OP’s. Her dog is walked 2 of 3 times a day but he’s also allowed free access to the garden.when they are home. He shows absolutely no interest in what few plants they have and always toilets in a one particular area. What few poos he does there are moved as soon as they are seen and the stones he wees on are regularly hosed down.
We look after him when she’s on holiday and because we don’t tend to walk him first thing he always poos right bang in the middle of the lawn which we bag up immediately. He wees on whichever plant takes his fancy and If he”s seen doing it we just go out with a watering can to dilute the damage. He has never shown any interest in digging up plants but he goes love chasing the squirrels and the cats which means that plants sometimes get trampled

I’ve had a terrier cross hound and now have a working terrier. Neither have ruined the garden. They do use it to wee and poo and play but neither have dug and after the puppy phase all plants have been fine.

Dogs will find their own entertainment when unsupervised as youngsters or under stimulated mentally as dogs. Filfill that need and you more than likely will have no problems.

Just don't give it the chance to form bad habits and by the time he's grown up he won't try it. Block off any part of the garden you don't want him to dig up/ wee on.
My dog loved digging in plant pots when unsupervised so we learnt the hard way. Also loved chewing on anything woody.

Moved all pots out of the way and he soon lost interest. He loves a chill out there now. It's tricky with a puppy so you just need to be prepared.

I’ve had dogs all my life, several at a time and I’ve never had a ruined garden. Mine are taught and accept that they are not allowed on the borders. Occasionally, one will wander on, but come off when told. They prefer the grass. I have never had terriers of any kind though. I think they are inclined to dig.

I have a garden and dogs. The garden is sectioned off. The dogs have unsupervised access to the 1st part, which is, like yours, a cottage garden with paving. I made border edges from upright pieces of wood, but branches / tree trimmings would also work, until plants were established. I have a herb bed which they peed on, so I put the herbs in tall pots. It looks better that way. I have had the odd loss, of new plants, but on the whole, it’s been fine. The second part is lawn and borders and our rescue beagle, who lived ferally, digs for leather jackets, which is annoying. I also used to have a greyhound who nibbled blossom and berries, but that was sweet. Zoomies wrecked the lawn though. The 3rd part is veg and summer fruit, and I try to keep them out of there. I always think it’s their garden too.